INTENDED MARRIAGE. PRACTICAL ENCOURAGEMENT. AUNT
CONSTANCE AND MR. PELLEW, AND HOW THEY WERE OLDER THAN ROMEO,
JULIET, GWEN, AND MR. TORRENS. HOW THEY STAYED OUT FIVE MINUTES
LONGER, AND MISS DICKENSON CAME ACROSS THE EARL WITH A CANDLE-LAMP.
HOW GWEN'S FATHER KNEW ALL ABOUT IT. NEVERTHELESS THE EARL DID NOT
KNOW BROWNING. BUT HE SUSPECTED GWEN OF QUIXOTISM, FOR ALL THAT.
ONE'S TONGUE, AND THE CHOICE BETWEEN BITING IT OFF OR HOLDING IT.
HOW GWEN HAD BORROWED LORD CUMBERWORLD'S PENCIL. MRS. BAILEY AND
PARISIAN PROFLIGACY

The galaxy of wax lights had illuminated the Jacobean drawing-room long
enough to have become impatient, if only they had had human souls,
before the first conscientious previous person turned up dressed for
dinner, and felt ashamed and looked at a book. He affected superiority
to things, saying to the subsequent conscientious person:--"Seen
this?--'The Self-Renunciation of Theophilus Gotobed?'--R'viewers sayts
'musing;" and handing him Vol. I., which he was obliged to take. He just
looked inside, and laid it on the table. "Looks intristin'!" he said.

It was bad enough, said Mr. Norbury to Cook sympathetically in
confidence, to put back three-quarters of an hour, without her ladyship
making his lordship behindhander still. This was because news travelled
to the kitchen--mind you never say anything whatever in the hearing of a
servant!--that their two respective ships were in collision in the
Lib'ary; _harguing_ was the exact expression. It was the heads of the
household who were late. Lady Gwendolen apologized for them, saying she
was afraid it was her fault. It was. But she didn't look penitent. She
looked resplendent.

The two couples who had parted company, being anxious to advertise their
honourable conduct, executed a quartet-without-music in extenuation of
what appeared organized treachery. The soprano and tenor had lost sight
of the alto and basso just on the other side of Clocketts Croft, where
you came to a stile. They had from sheer good-faith retraced their steps
to this stile and sat on it reluctantly, in bewilderment of spirit,
praying for the spontaneous reappearance of the wanderers. These latter
testified unanimously that they had seen the tenor assist the soprano
over this stile, and that then the couple had disappeared to the right
through the plantation of young larches, and they had followed them
along a path of enormous length with impene