great glass
of mahogany-colored brandy and water for himself; and then he looked
round the elegant little apartment, and felt perfectly happy. As
Titmouse advanced with his gin and water, his spirits got higher and
higher, and his tongue more fluent. He once or twice dropped the "Mr."
when addressing Tag-rag; several times smiled, and once even winked at
the embarrassed Miss Tag-rag. Mr. Tag-rag saw it, and could not control
himself--for he had got to the end of his first glass of brandy and
water, and (a most unusual procedure with _him_) mixed himself a second
quite _as_ strong as the former.

"Tab! ah, Tab! what _has_ been the matter with you all these months?"
said he, chucking her under the chin--and then he winked his eye at her
and then at Titmouse.

"Papa!" exclaimed Miss Tag-rag, looking down, and blushing up to her
very temples.

"Ah, Titmouse--Titmouse--give me your hand," said Tag-rag; "you'll
forget us all when you're a great man--but we shall always remember
you!"

"You're very good--very!" said Titmouse, cordially returning the
pressure of Tag-rag's hand. At that instant it suddenly occurred to him
to adopt the suggestion of Mr. Gammon. Tag-rag was going on very fast,
indeed, about the disinterested nature of his feelings towards Titmouse;
towards whom, he said, he had always felt just as he did at that
moment--'twas in vain to deny it.

"I'm sure your conduct shows it, sir," commenced Titmouse, feeling a
shudder like that with which a timid bather approaches the margin of the
cold stream. "I could have taken my oath, sir, that when you had heard
what has happened, you would have refused to let me come into your
house!"----

"Ah, ha!--that's _rather_ an odd idea, too!" said Tag-rag, with
good-humored jocularity. "If I felt a true friendship for you as plain
Titmouse, it's so likely I should have _cut_ you just when--ahem! My
dear sir! It was _I_ that thought _you_ wouldn't have come into _my_
house! A likely thing, indeed!"

Titmouse was puzzled. His perceptions, never very quick or clear, were
now undoubtedly somewhat obfuscated with what he had been drinking. In
short, he did not understand that Tag-rag had not understood _him_; and
felt rather baffled.

"What surprising ups and downs there are in life, Mr. Titmouse!" said
Mrs. Tag-rag, respectfully--"they're all sent from above, you may depend
upon it, to _try_ us! No one knows how they'd behave, if as how (in a
manner) they were turned ups