d did he become. His features were, in fact, a kind of
"bore-ometer," in which, from the liveliness of the expression, you
might calculate the stupidity of the tormentor; and the mercury of his
nature rose, not fell, under pressure. And so you would have said had
you but seen him that evening, as, seated beside Dalton, he heard,
for hours long, how Irish gentlemen were ruined and their fortunes
squandered. What jolly times they were when men resisted the law and
never feared a debt! Not that, while devouring all the "rapparee"
experiences of the father, he had no eye for the daughters, and did not
see what was passing around him. Ay, that did he, and mark well how Lady
Hester attached herself to Kate Dalton, flattered by every sign of her
unbought admiration, and delighted with the wondering homage of the
artless girl. He watched Onslow, too, turn from the inanimate charms
of Nelly's sculptured figures, to gaze upon the long dark lashes and
brilliant complexion of her sister. He saw all the little comedy that
went on around him, even to poor Nelly's confusion, as she assisted Andy
to arrange a tea-table, and, for the first time since their arrival,
proceed to make use of that little service of white and gold which,
placed on a marble table for show, constitutes the invariable decoration
of every humble German drawing-room. He even overheard her, as she left
the room, giving Andy her directions a dozen times over, how he was to
procure the tea, and the sugar, and the milk, extravagances she did not
syllable without a sigh. He saw and heard everything, and rapidly drew
his own inferences, not alone of their poverty, but of their unfitness
to struggle with it.

"And yet, I'd wager these people," said he to himself, "are revelling in
superfluities; at least, as compared to me! But, so it is, the rock that
one man ties round his neck, another would make a stepping-stone of!"
This satisfactory conclusion gave additional sweetness to the bland
smile with which he took his teacup from Nelly's hand, while he
pronounced the beverage the very best he had ever tasted out of Moscow.
And so we must leave the party.

CHAPTER XV. CONTRASTS

"So you think, Grounsell, I may be able to leave this in a day or two?"
said Sir Stafford, as, on the day following the events we have just
related, he slowly walked up and down his dressing-room.

"By the end of the week, if the weather only continue fine, we may be on
the road again."