that I could bear the house alone," Mark replied. "You
see, Mrs. Cunningham and my uncle's ward could not very well remain in a
bachelor's home, and naturally, after what has happened, they would not
like to do so, even if they could. They have gone down to Weymouth for
a few weeks for a complete change; and Mrs. Cunningham talks of taking
a house in town for a time. I am going to look for lodgings, and I want
your advice as to the quarter likely to suit me."

"Why not take up your abode here for a time? There is a vacant room, and
I should be very glad to have you with me."

"Thank you very much, Dick, but I should prefer being alone. You will
have friends dropping in to see you, and at present I should be poor
company. It will be some little time before I shall feel equal to
society."

"Of course, Mark. I always speak first and think afterwards, as you know
pretty well by this time. Well, what sort of lodgings do you want?"

"I want them to be in a good but not in a thoroughly fashionable street.
In time, no doubt, I shall like a little society, and shall get you to
introduce me to some of the quieter of your friends, and so gradually
feel my way."

"I will do all that sort of thing for you, Mark. As you know, I am not
one of those who see much fun in gambling or drinking, though one must
play a little to be in the fashion. Still, I never go heavily into it.
I risk a few guineas and then leave it. My own inclinations lie rather
towards sport, and in this I can indulge without being out of the
fashion. All the tip top people now patronize the ring, and I do so
in my small way too. I am on good terms with all the principal prize
fighters, and put on the gloves with one or other of them pretty nearly
every day. I have taken courses of lessons regularly from four or five
of them, and I can tell you that I can hold my own with most of the
Corinthians. It is a grand sport, and I don't know how I should get
on without it; after the hard exercise I was accustomed to down in the
country, it keeps one's muscles in splendid order, and I can tell you
that if one happens to get into a fight in the streets, it is no light
thing to be able to polish off an antagonist in a round or two without
getting a mark on your face that would keep you a prisoner in your room
for a week or more."

"Yes, I should like very much to take lessons too, Dick; it is one of
the things that I have always wished to do. I suppose one can do it of
an