been his ideal of female loveliness; for
suddenly he stretched forth his hand, and said, with more than his usual
cordial sweetness, "Business or not business, let us speak to each other
as friends,--for the sake of a name that takes me back to Lansmere, to
my youth. I listen to you with interest."

Richard Avenel, much surprised by this unexpected kindliness, and
touched, he knew not why, by the soft and melancholy tone of Harley's
voice, warmly pressed the hand held out to him; and seized with a rare
fit of shyness, coloured and coughed and hemmed and looked first down,
then aside, before he could find the words which were generally ready
enough at his command.

"You are very good, Lord L'Estrange; nothing can be handsomer. I feel it
here, my Lord," striking his buff waistcoat,--"I do, 'pon my honour. But
not to waste your time (time's money), I come to the point. It is about
the borough of Lansmere. Your family interest is very strong in that
borough; but excuse me if I say that I don't think you are aware that I
too have cooked up a pretty considerable interest on the other side. No
offence,--opinions are free. And the popular tide runs strong with us--I
mean with me--at the impending crisis,--that is, at the next election.
Now, I have a great respect for the earl your father, and so have those
who brought me into the world--my father, John, was always a regular
good Blue,--and my respect for yourself since I came into this room
has gone up in the market a very great rise indeed,--considerable. So I
should just like to see if we could set our heads together, and settle
the borough between us two, in a snug private way, as public men ought
to do when they get together, nobody else by, and no necessity for that
sort of humbug, which is so common in this rotten old country. Eh, my
Lord?"

"Mr. Avenel," said Harley, slowly, recovering himself from the
abstraction with which he had listened to Dick's earlier sentences, "I
fear I do not quite understand you; but I have no other interest in the
next election for the borough of Lansmere than as may serve one whom,
whatever be your politics, you must acknowledge to be--"

"A humbug!"

"Mr. Avenel, you cannot mean the person I mean. I speak of one of the
first statesmen of our time,--of Mr. Audley Egerton, of--"

"A stiff-necked, pompous--"

"My earliest and dearest friend."

The rebuke, though gently said, sufficed to silence Dick for a moment;
and when he spoke ag