tween bride and
bridegroom, so indiscreet was Mr. Nibby in his spoken and silent
admiration. After consuming a great deal of indifferent champagne at
Mr. Nibby's lodgings the blissful couple departed to spend a week at
Bournemouth, and Polly returned to the room in Shaftesbury Avenue,
which henceforth she would occupy alone. "And a good riddance!" she
said to herself pettishly as she stripped off her wedding garments.

On this very evening she wrote to Mr. Gammon--the letter he was never
to read.

Mr. Gammon had received an invitation to the ceremony, but through
pressure of business was unable to accept it. He felt, too, that there
would have been awkwardness in thus meeting with Polly for the first
time since their rupture on the Embankment.

Polly, of course, concluded that he kept away solely because he did not
wish to see her. In the mood induced by this reflection, and by the
turbid emotions natural to such a day, she penned her farewell to the
insulting and perfidious man. Mr. Gammon was informed that never and
nowhere would Miss Sparkes demean herself by exchanging another word
with him; that he was a low and vulgar and ignorant person, without
manners enough for a road-scraper; moreover, that she had long since
been the object of _sincere_ attentions from someone so vastly his
superior that they were not to be named in the same month. This
overflow of feeling was some relief, but Polly could not rest until she
had also written to Mrs. Clover. She made known to her aunt that Mr.
Gammon had of late been guilty of such insolent behaviour to her (the
writer) that she had serious thoughts of seeking protection from the
police. "As he is such a great friend of yours and Minnie's, I thought
I had better warn you. Perhaps you might like to try and teach him
better behaviour, though I can't say as you are the person to do it.
And you may be pleased to hear that I should not wonder if I am shortly
to be married to a _gentleman_, which it won't surprise you after that
if I am unable to see anything more of you and your family."

But for a violent storm which broke out after eleven that night, just
as she finished these compositions, Polly would have posted them
forthwith, and Mr. Gammon would in that case have received his letter
by the first post next morning. As it was they remained in Polly's room
all night, and only an hour or two after their actual dispatch came the
fateful telegram which was to make such a revol