or, at first crimson, gave way to an ashy
paleness, and he seemed like one about to faint. "After all," said she,
"perhaps it was a mere flirtation that people magnified into marriage."

"It was not even that," gasped he out, hoarsely. "I am overstaying my
time, and my mother will be waiting tea for me," muttered he; and with
some scarcely intelligible attempts at begging to be remembered to Alice
and Bella, he took his leave, and hurried away.

While Tony, with a heart almost bursting with agony, wended his way
towards home, Lady Lyle resumed her novel, and Sir Arthur took up the
"Times." After about half an hour's reading he laid down the paper, and
said, "I hope there is no truth in that story about young Butler."

"Not a word of it," said she, dryly.

"Not a word of it! but I thought you believed it."

"Nothing of the kind. It was a lesson the young gentleman has long
needed, and I was only waiting for a good opportunity to give it."

"I don't understand you. What do you mean by a lesson?"

"I have very long suspected that it was a great piece of imprudence on
our part to encourage the intimacy of this young man here, and to give
him that position of familiarity which he obtained amongst us; but I
trusted implicitly to the immeasurable distance that separated him from
our girls, to secure us against danger. That clever man of the world,
Mr. Maitland, however, showed me I was wrong. He was not a week here
till he saw enough to induce him to give me a warning; and though at
first he thought it was Bella's favor he aspired to, he afterwards
perceived it was to Alice he directed his attentions."

"I can't believe this possible. Tony would never dare such a piece of
presumption."

"You forget two things, Sir Arthur. This young fellow fancies that his
good birth makes him the equal of any one; and, secondly, Alice, in her
sense of independence, is exactly the girl to do a folly, and imagine
it to be heroic; so Maitland himself said to me, and it was perfectly
miraculous how well he read her whole nature. And indeed it was he
who suggested to me to charge Tony Butler with being engaged to
the minister's daughter, and told me--and as I saw, with truth--how
thoroughly it would test his suspicions about him. I thought he was
going to faint,--he really swayed back and forwards when I said that it
was one of the girls from whom I had the story."

"If I could only believe this, he should never cross the threshold
agai