thrown off. He still wore a waistcoat of pronounced cut, a striking
collar, a necktie of remarkable hue. It was not necessary to approach
him closely to be aware that his person was sprinkled with perfumes. A
recent acquisition was a heavy-looking ring on the little finger of his
right hand. Had you been of his intimates, 'Arry would have explained
to you the double advantage of this ring; not only did it serve as an
adornment, but, as playful demonstration might indicate, it would prove
of singular efficacy in pugilistic conflict.

At the sight of his elder brother, 'Arry hastily put his hands beneath
the table, drew off the ornament, and consigned it furtively to his
waistcoat pocket.

But Alice Maud was by no means what she had been. In all that concerned
his sister, Mutimer was weak; he could quarrel with her, and abuse
her roundly for frailties, but none the less was it one of his keenest
pleasures to see her contented, even in ways that went quite against
his conscience. He might rail against the vanity of dress, but if Alice
needed a new gown, Richard was the first to notice it. The neat little
silver watch she carried was a gift from himself of some years back;
with difficulty he had resisted the temptation to replace it with a gold
one now that it was in his power to do so. Tolerable taste and handiness
with her needle had always kept Alice rather more ladylike in appearance
than the girls of her class are wont to be, but such comparative
distinction no longer sufficed. After certain struggles with himself,
Richard had told his mother that Alice must in future dress 'as a lady';
he authorised her to procure the services of a competent dressmaker,
and, within the bounds of moderation, to expend freely. And the result
was on the whole satisfactory. A girl of good figure, pretty face, and
moderate wit, who has spent some years in a City showroom, does not need
much instruction in the art of wearing fashionable attire becomingly.
Alice wore this evening a gown which would not have been out of place at
five o'clock in a West-end drawing-room; the sleeves were rather short,
sufficiently so to exhibit a very shapely lower arm. She had discovered
new ways of doing her hair; at present it was braided on either side of
the forehead--a style which gave almost a thoughtful air to her face.
When her brother entered she was eating a piece of sponge-cake, which
she held to her lips with peculiar delicacy, as if rehearsing gra