es; but Clifford, eying the disappointed and eager face of the
culinary sage, took ten guineas from his own share, and pushed them
towards his quondam tutor.

"There!" said he, emphatically.

"Nay, nay," grunted MacGrawler; "I don't want the money,--it is my way
to scorn such dross!" So saying, he pocketed the coins, and turned,
muttering to himself, to the renewal of his festive preparations.

Meanwhile a whispered conversation took place between Augustus and the
captain, and continued till Ned returned.

"And the night's viands smoked along the board!"

Souls of Don Raphael and Ambrose Lamela, what a charming thing it is to
be a rogue for a little time! How merry men are when they have cheated
their brethren! Your innocent milksops never made so jolly a supper
as did our heroes of the way. Clifford, perhaps acted a part, but
the hilarity of his comrades was unfeigned. It was a delicious
contrast,--the boisterous "ha, ha!" of Long Ned, and the secret, dry,
calculating chuckle of Augustus Tomlinson. It was Rabelais against
Voltaire. They united only in the objects of their jests, and foremost
of those objects (wisdom is ever the but of the frivolous!) was the
great Peter MacGrawler.

The graceless dogs were especially merry upon the subject of the sage's
former occupation.

"Come, Mac, you carve this ham," said Ned; "you have had practice in
cutting up."

The learned man whose name was thus disrespectfully abbreviated
proceeded to perform what he was bid. He was about to sit down for that
purpose, when Tomlinson slyly subtracted his chair,--the sage fell.

"No jests at MacGrawler," said the malicious Augustus; "whatever be his
faults as a critic, you see that he is well grounded, and he gets at
once to the bottom of a subject. Mac, suppose your next work be entitled
a Tail of Woe!"

Men who have great minds are rarely flexible,--they do not take a jest
readily; so it was with MacGrawler. He rose in a violent rage; and had
the robbers been more penetrating than they condescended to be, they
might have noticed something dangerous in his eye. As it was, Clifford,
who had often before been the protector of his tutor, interposed in his
behalf, drew the sage a seat near to himself, and filled his plate for
him. It was interesting to see this deference from Power to Learning! It
was Alexander doing homage to Aristotle!

"There is only one thing I regret," cried Ned, with his mouth full,
"about the old lord,--it w