leant against the stair-newel.

'My? What's the matter?' said Joey.

'If this is London, I don't like it at all!' moaned Picotee.

'Well--I never see such a girl--fainting all over the stairs for nothing
in the world.'

'O--it will soon be gone--it is--it is only indigestion.'

'Indigestion? Much you simple country people can know about that! You
should see what devils of indigestions we get in high life--eating
'normous great dinners and suppers that require clever physicians to
carry 'em off, or else they'd carry us off with gout next day; and waking
in the morning with such a splitting headache, and dry throat, and inward
cusses about human nature, that you feel all the world like some great
lord. However, now let's go down again.'

'No, no, no!' said the unhappy maiden imploringly. 'Hark!'

They listened again. The voices of the musician and poetess had changed:
there was a decided frigidity in their tone--then came a louder
expression--then a silence.

'You needn't be afeard,' said Joey. 'They won't fight; bless you, they
busts out quarrelling like this times and times when they've been over-
friendly, but it soon gets straight with 'em again.'

There was now a quick walk across the room, and Joey and his sister drew
down their heads out of sight. Then the room door was slammed, quick
footsteps went along the hall, the front door closed just as loudly, and
Christopher's tread passed into nothing along the pavement.

'That's rather a wuss one than they mostly have; but Lord, 'tis nothing
at all.'

'I don't much like biding here listening!' said Picotee.

'O, 'tis how we do all over the West End,' said Joey. ''Tis yer
ignorance of town life that makes it seem a good deal to 'ee.'

'You can't make much boast about town life; for you haven't left off
talking just as they do down in Wessex.'

'Well, I own to that--what's fair is fair, and 'tis a true charge; but if
I talk the Wessex way 'tisn't for want of knowing better; 'tis because my
staunch nater makes me bide faithful to our old ancient institutions.
You'd soon own 'twasn't ignorance in me, if you knowed what large
quantities of noblemen I gets mixed up with every day. In fact 'tis
thoughted here and there that I shall do very well in the world.'

'Well, let us go down,' said Picotee. 'Everything seems so overpowering
here.'

'O, you'll get broke in soon enough. I felt just the same when I first
entered into society.'

'Do you thin