as of great and commanding beauty; and the inland
view presented many scenes and objects highly calculated to invite the
attention of the lover of nature or the curious traveller. It was
evident that the stranger was deficient in both these points.

The history of the next day closely corresponded with that of the
preceding. There he sat. That night there was again a strong muster
around the capacious hearth of the Mermaid. If the stranger was
deficient in that inherent passion of the human mind--curiosity--not so
the villagers. But one sentiment seemed to pervade the assembled party,
and that may be summed up in the words "Who _is_ he?" An echo
responded "Who _is_ he?" Conjecture was literally at a fault. His
very appearance was unknown to all except the fortunate few that had
beheld him in his march from the pier; the fishing boat had put to
sea before any one thought of making inquiry as to the freight it
had delivered, but every one agreed that there was something of an
extraordinary character about the said freight. Ever and anon the
parlour door opened, and a lusty ring of the hand-bell summoned the
hostess into that now mysterious room: and the volley of questions which
assailed her on her return were enough to overturn the very moderate
stock of patience which she possessed, had it been centupled. She
declared that "the jintleman was like other jintlemen, and barring that
he seemed the b'y for the brandy," she saw nothing amiss in him. In the
midst of this excitement in walked the officer commanding the preventive
service of the district. He was soon closeted in the _sanctum_,
and after a due discussion of the singular proceedings of the stranger,
on the part of each member of the Lanport smoking club, the worthy
lieutenant declared "it was not only d----d odd, but very suspicious;"
and that he would beard the foe who had so unceremoniously taken
possession of their own proper apartment, face to face, even though
he should turn out to be Beelzebub, in _propria persona_. This
determination was received with a vast and simultaneous puff of
exultation from every pipe in the room, so that the cloud was for a
short space so great as completely to envelope the ample proportions
of Mrs. Judy Teague, who had been an unnoticed witness of this bold
proposal. The lieutenant was striding onwards in full career towards the
parlour, which lay at the opposite side of the intervening kitchen, when
he somewhat roughly encountere