covered this with a hot blush of shame as soon as his little speech was made. The only comfort he had was that Cara did not talk very much either: but then she listened with pleased looks while the Meredith family chattered. How they all chattered, mother and sons! Roger did not think they could be quite — he did not know what word to use not quitePerfectly respectable people did not, so far as he knew, indulge in such streams of conversation. He felt there was something wrong in so much talk. and more intimate with Cara than himself, | quired a polite effort on their parts to linked to her by ties even of older friend- make out what he meant; and he disship than he could boast of, poor fellow. All this was unthought-of misery. It was true that after the Merediths went away in the short interval before dinner he had half an hour with Cara by herself but she asked him questions about his aunt and about his little sisters, showing no interest in himself, and at last begged him to excuse her, as she must get ready for dinner. Even then he did not know how dark his fate was to be; but he could not get ready for dinner. He looked at himself in the glass, and at his blue tie which he had thought so well of in the morning. And when they went up-stairs after dinThe best that any one could say for poor ner it was still worse. Mr. Beresford Roger was that he looked like a respect- and the others did not sit over their wine, able mechanic in his Sunday costume, and which Roger would have thought the best a consciousness of this fact impressed it- thing possible had he found themselves self upon his own mind for the first time. satisfactory; but as this was not the case, Yes the long glass in the glimmering and he was sure that the only object of half-lighted drawing-room showed him his the young Merediths in not staying below own image as no glass at home had ever and drinking themselves stupid was done-like an engineer in his Sunday anxiety to be with Cara too, he took their clothes, one of his practical “mates" in quick move as another sign of depravity. the workshop, who showed him how to It was new-fashioned, it was un-English, make boilers and screws, and asked him it was almost wicked. He followed upfor beer- exactly like one of them. stairs with a protest in his soul. Cara While this latter thought was in his mind and Mrs. Meredith were sitting together Cara came softly into the room in her over the fire. They drew a little apart as white dress, the most perfect dainty crea- the others came in, and Mr. Beresford ture, tearing poor Roger's heart in two. placed himself by the elder lady, and OsHow unlike she was to himself in his blue wald by Cara. So! Roger said to himtie! he felt as if he could never leave her, self, that was the habitual way in which and yet wished himself with his aunt in they arranged themselves - nothing could Notting Hill; for what had he to do here? be more clear; flirtation, nothing but flirThe dinner was not, perhaps, the abun- tation, between the old people and bedant meal which Roger had been used to tween the young people. It was more than see on occasions when there was company. wrong, it was monstrous. He supposed There was no huge joint, no pair of visible such things did happen in London society, fowls, with a tongue placed between them, where everything that was bad happened; which was his mother's grand dish, but a but to think of poor little innocent Cara succession of small matters handed round, being thrown into the midst of such a set which Roger tried to despise. He tried of people! Roger could scarcely comhard to despise everything- the over- mand his feelings. After standing about dress (as he felt it to be), the flowers on the behind-backs for a time with Edward, dainty table, the ready flow of talk. How who, to tell the truth, seemed a little "out could these fellows find so much to say? of it" too, Roger's sense of horror forced He could have talked to Cara (perhaps) had | him forward to the front of the fire, where they been alone together: but to chatter he suddenly placed himself with that teas these fellows did he could as soon fly, he said to himself. There were no decorous silences, no long pauses, such as he had been used to, but a constant, easy flow of this, which, no doubt, they called conversation! It could not be said that he himself added much to it. Now and then, after considerable pondering, he would fire off a remark, but this seldom happened till after the subject had been dismissed by the others, and when it re merity of enraged shyness which is bolder than assurance. At all events, there could be no particular conversation between Oswald and Cara while he stood there. This made a little break in the lowvoiced talk. Mrs. Meredith, who sat on the other side in a low chair, with a little table by her elbow, on which stood a lamp, turned from Mr. Beresford to look at him. He could not easily think ill of this soft smiling lady; but he made an effort, and | if it is not a very good living, so much the succeeded even in this. worse for me. No one else will pay much "Are you at the university, Mr. Bur- attention. Whether one does what one chell?" she said, smiling upon him. likes or does what one must, makes all the difference There was some work lying upon her little table. He jumped at this evidence of Sabbath-breaking and profanity with inward satisfaction as a sign that she must be bad too. "And so, I suppose, am I," said Edward, looking, as Roger thought, towards Cara with a sigh. But I am not very fond of the idea. I hope you like it better than I do?" 66 "That is spoken like a philosopher," said Mr. Beresford, who had been looking at the young bear thus making uncouth noises of self-assertion with distasteful amusement; "but you must recollect that very few of us have the privilege of doing what we like. When we get this advantage, it is generally when we cease to prize it, when we should be thankful to go back to the must, and be under force again." Under other circumstances Roger could only have been respectful to Cara's father, but he was otherwise inspired now, and ready to defy even that most privileged of mortals. "So you people say, sir," he said, with a rough show of respect, "who have things all your own way. So long as you don't know what it is to be under force of circumstances, I suppose it seems rather fine than otherwise to do your duty though you don't like it. I have thought that myself now and again. It looks selfdenying and all that; but if it's true, as people say, that you do best what you like best, I don't see the good of self-denial in that way." "I agree with Mr. Burchell," said Os'Nobody will ask my opinion whether wald; but I go further. What is the I like it or not," said Roger. He caught good of self-denial in any way? It ala glimpse of himself at this moment in a ways involves unkindness to somebody. mirror opposite, and his blue tie seemed Nature gives you a beautiful day, for into glare at him and force him on. "Istance, and you turn your back upon her shall have to do whatever will make me independent soonest. They've got a number of children at home." and work. What could be more unkind and ungrateful? Or Cara says to me, Come out, and play croquet in the square. "What does it matter about details? I use the word croquet as a symbol — or my mother requires my attendance upon her somewhere. Then the rest of the world turn round and call me idle! Self-denial is a disagreeable quality, Cara. Let us avoid it. At the best it is only extracting merit out of necessity, for nobody denies himself except when he's obliged to do so." "It is very fine to be independent," said Mrs. Meredith, in her soft way; 66 or at "I hate croquet," cried Cara, indigleast so all you boys think. You like to nantly. "I never did such a thing in my be able to do what you please without ref-life; besides, it is winter, and I could not erence to your fathers and mothers." She play croquet if I liked it ever so much." looked at her own boys as she spoke, not at Roger, and even this added to his exasperation. How different they were with this soft mother, whose very look was a caress, from what he was, with all the children at home, and a father and mother whom numbers made impartial, and who had few prejudices in Roger's favor. Poor boy, his heart swelled with a sense of his disadvantages; and naturally he did all he could to make them show the more. "Independence don't mean that sort of thing to me," he said; "it is taking the expense off my father, that's what they think of. I must get my own living as soon as I can, that is what it means; and "Sybarite!" said Mrs. Meredith, shaking her head at her son; and then she turned to talk to Mr. Beresford, and the four young people were left to themselves. "Sit down, Roger," said Cara; “why should you stand up there as if you were "Only perhaps, Cara? Don't take away the little satisfaction one has in doing a thing that is disagreeable. Look here," said Edward, suddenly seating himself in the vacant place by her which Roger had neglected to take, "going to India is very disagreeable to me. I think I could do just as well at home. My feeling is all against it; I might, perhaps, make more money there, but money is not everything. There is no necessity that I can see, one way or another; but my mother wishes it that is to say, my mother thinks my father would like it defying the world. You are all quite | the house was quite capable of taking up, wrong. It is not self-denial to do what although restrained by his presence from you are forced to do. When you give up actually doing so. Then the separation of anything of your own free will because it the family. the father in India, the is right, then perhaps mother here. What a house for Cara to be thrown into! What an example for her! A woman who lived apart from her husband and yet asked people to dinner could not be a proper woman to have the charge of Cara. Of course, she was just the sort of person to encourage a girl in flirting, to put evil into her head. These were the thoughts that kept burning and scorching the brain of poor Roger as he stood before the fire in this strange house, the people on either side of him so much engaged with each other, and he so completely left out. Why did he come here to make himself unhappy? Why build such foolish hopes upon this day? His aunt at Notting Hill would have been a much better companion, a great deal kinder, and she would be wondering now what had become of him, or thinking, perhaps, that he was enjoying himself! Strange enjoyment! He made a distinct pause in his thoughts to realize her, but he made no sort of movement to go away, which was the only thing he could do to relieve her anxiety. She would wonder if he meant to come back; if he was going to stay all night; or if he had gone off straight from his friend's house to catch the train. There were not all the usual trains on Sunday nights, and this would perplex her, poor lady, still more. All this passed through his mind, and he was very uncomfortable. Yet he made no attempt to go away. Roger looked quickly at Mrs. Meredith. "Is there a father?" he said to himself, with a mental whistle of astonishment, to which he dared not give audible utterance. "Whew!" and the astute young man immediately leaped to the conviction that here was something unquestionably wrong. "I thought it was Oswald — whom | Mr. Meredith wanted " Oswald laughed. "Have you not found out, Cara, that Oswald is an individual?" he said. "If Ned likes to be knocked about the world according to other people's fancies, that is his affair. I don't. Yes, it was Oswald that was wanted; but I never was a man for competitive examinations, my ideas don't run in that channel, so I dropped my mantle upon my brother. Oh, he will have compensation; he will be a member of council while I am only a briefless barrister. He will move princes about like chessmen while I have no influence with any one but a stray editor. Ned will be the great man of the family—what, you don't approve of me! You would rather Ned stayed at home than I?" Cara had given him a very young girl's most emphatic sign of disapproval. She turned her shoulder upon him, and averted her head. Poor Roger looked on with a burning heart, seeing the two brothers, one on each side of her, contending, as it seemed, for her approbation. The fact that there were two seemed to shut him out more and more. He was indignant, disappointed, wounded. He said to himself in his heart every ill thing he could think of against this strange house. First, the Sunday dinner-party even though he had himself condoned it by becoming one of the guests; second, the work left on the table, which he felt sure the mistress of Roger," said Cara, getting up suddenly, for she felt herself embarrassed on her side, and was glad of a way of escape, "are you going back to the college tonight?" Her question chimed in with his thoughts, but he did not reply in the way that would have seemed most in keeping with those thoughts. "It does not matter," he said; "I think I shall go down by the first train to-morrow." As soon as he felt her soft eyes upon him the foolish young fellow thought that all must go well. morrow," which was an incoherent utterance that Cara could not understand. "Have you been enjoying it, then? I was afraid you did not like them," said Cara, very low, so that no one could hear but himself. Then Roger glowed with sudden kindness, and felt ready to embrace the whole party. "It is only my bad manners," he said. "Oh, Cara, have I been making myself disagreeable? You know they always go on at me about my manners at home." she sang, looking herself, that little white vision, only half-visible, like anything angelic or fairy-like which the imagination chose to select. Roger listened with his heart full. But for the apparition of that other figure beside her, behind her, who stood keeping time with an involuntary movement of his head and hand in a way which tempted even his brother to blaspheme, Roger's heart would have run over with a soft ecstasy. He had never heard Cara sing before, except in her "Your manners are well enough," she schoolgirl days. As for the other two, the said, with a serious look. "I thought you elder pair, Mr. Beresford's countenance were not pleased. Come, then, and sit cleared and he resumed his talk, and Mrs. down, and talk with the rest; they are Meredith once more gave him her whole more like you than they are like me. You attention, while Edward and Roger stared ought to be friends, for you are all-into the back drawing-room. boys. A girl has less to say to them. not address nor take any notice of each And then Edward is going to India, other, but gazed blankly at Cara, who, having already one attendant, evidently wanted none of them. When she had come to an end of that song, Mrs. Meredith, though she was to all appearance absorbed in what Mr. Beresford was saying, cast a word over her shoulder to the young performer. too "I would rather talk to you; but I will do whatever you like, Cara." "Yes; but do it, then," she said with a smile, and, leaving him there, she went over to the other side of the fire, and sat down under the shadow of Mrs. Meredith, from whence she looked across placidly at the three whom she had abandoned. Mrs. Meredith smiled upon Cara, putting out her hand caressingly to lay it upon the girl's shoulder. They made a pretty group; but Mr. Beresford, who was leaning over the little table, talking earnestly, did not care for the interruption. A slight cloud came over his face when his daughter came within hearing. He finished what he was saying quickly, and then was silent; it had not been intended for her ear. While on the other side of the room the young men looked at each other in a kind of armed truce, and a moment of dead silence elapsed, the first that had occurred since they came into the room, in the midst of which Mrs. Meredith was heard saying, "I fear you are not amusing yourself, Cara. Are the boys disagreeable? Go and sing something for us. I like your soft little voice on Sunday night. Sing me the 'Angels;' that suits you best." "Just what I was going to suggest," said Oswald, getting up and going to the piano to open it for her. It was in the back part of the room, which was but partially lighted. Both the others, in their different ways, bestowed a private benediction on Oswald, who was more ready than either of them. They sat looking wistfully into the dimness, listening to Cara's soft voice, which rose out of it like a bird. "Angels, ever bright and fair," They did "That was very sweet; thank you, dear. Now sing us something else." And Cara went on. Roger sat and listened, between misery and rapture. He did not know which predominated.. Edward, to whose state of mind no one had any clue, turned over a book, and hummed the air she was singing. Not a word passed between the young men, notwithstanding that they were both boys, as Cara had said, both going to India, and with every kind of bond of external resemblance. But Roger did not feel any direct hatred to Edward as he did to the other, who was always thrusting himself forward; and thus an hour passed away. When that was over, Cara rose and said good-night. Then there was a question who was to take her home, which showed as much as did his own attitude — reclining tranquilly in his chair that Mr. Beresford had no idea of going away. Here Roger sprang to the front, for once forestalling Oswald. He took his leave hurriedly, with confused thanks to Mrs. Meredith, and followed Cara closely as she went down-stairs, alarmed lest some one might interfere even at the last moment. It was but a few steps, unfortunately, from one door to the other, and though she lingered a moment on the steps, wrapping her shawl closely around her, Cara did not ask him to go in. It was very kind of you to come," she said, giving him her hand; "and I am afraid you have not enjoyed it, Roger; but you will like them better when you see more of them." She said this as people say so many things, apologetic and otherwise, not because she wanted to apologize for the Merediths, but because she did not know very well what to say. "I don't think I shall ever like` them,” | said Roger; "but that does not matter. Cara, let me just say one word. I don't think that they are the right kind of people- for you." "For me!" After the first astonishment Cara laughed. "I did not think you set up for being such a critic. What have they done to make you think ill of them? They have been very kind to you." "I did not want their kindness," said Roger, hotly; "they are not the kind of people I like to see you with, Cara.” drawing-room after breakfast. It was Edward Meredith, who came with some message from his mother. He had been Cara's friend when they were both children, though Oswald was the one who had claimed her intimacy since she grew up; and he had come now on a sort of investigation to see for himself whether his brother had taken his place. I think Cara, too, had a consciousness of Edward's meaning, though neither of them could have put it into words; and no idea of love, properly so called, was in the minds of the boy and girl. To be sure, he was twenty-one, no longer legally a boy, and thought himself very much a man in many ways. He was aware that the little serious maiden, who had been the friend of his childhood, appeared very sweet and attractive to him now, and that he did not like Oswald to assume the privileged place by her, to be the one who talked with her and walked with her, and offered her those small services which it is often more "I think I will say good-night," said Cara, with dignity. "It is cold here, and you have a long walk to Notting Hill. It is a pity you missed your train. Good-pleasant to render than to receive. Edward night." She did not so much as look at him, as she turned away and disappeared, the door closing behind her. He had offended her now to make an appropriate finish of this unhappy Sunday! But however cold it might have been to Cara, it was not cold to Roger as he pushed his way at a tremendous pace along the Sunday streets, so much darker than usual on account of the closed shops, and filled with passengers so different from the usual crowd. He would have kept himself warm in Siberia at that pace. His aunt was wait-per or in speech ing for him, but half-disposed to give up her watch, and wondering what had become of him, as he thought she would. "I am very glad to have you for another night, Roger; but I thought you must have rushed off to catch the train without thinking of your portmanteau," she said; and then she gave him a glass of wine, half-proud, half-disappointed to hear that he had dined "with his fine friends," and sent him to bed with kind good-nights; for he had to start early in the morning, and, no doubt, she thought, the day had been fatiguing, though so pleasant. She was kinder than Cara; perhaps it would have been better for him if he had not gone to the square at all, but contented himself with Notting Hill. CHAPTER XVII. EDWARD. CARA had a visitor quite early next day, when she had just retired up-stairs to the was not jealous of his brother, but he "How long it is since I have been here!" Edward said at last; "not since the days when I used to be afraid to move |