h
indignation, and rose passionately from my seat.

"Geoffrey"--pronounced in an undertone, restrained me from committing
an act of violence. I resumed my stool, muttering audibly between my
teeth--

"Contemptible puppy!"

I was quite ready for a quarrel, but Theophilus, contrary to my
expectations, did not choose to take any notice of my imprudent speech.
Not that he wanted personal courage. Like the wasp, he could, when
unprovoked, attack others, and sting with tenfold malice when he felt
or fancied an affront. His forbearance on the present occasion, I
attributed to the very handsome riding-dress in which he had encased
his slight and elegant form. A contest with a strong, powerful young
fellow like me, might have ended in its demolition:

Slashing his boot with his riding-whip, and glancing carelessly towards
the window, he said, with an air of perfect indifference,

"Well, if the rain means to pour in this way all day, it is certain
that I cannot prosecute my journey to Dover on horseback. I must take
the coach, and leave the groom to follow with the horses."

"Dover!" I repeated, with an involuntary start, "are you off for
France?"

"Yes" (with a weary yawn); "I shall not return until I have made the
tour of Europe, and I just stepped in for a moment to say good-by."

"_Unusually_ kind," said I, with a sneer.

He remained silent for a few minutes, and seemed slightly embarrassed,
as if he found difficulty in bringing out what he had to say.

"Geoffrey, I may be absent several years. It is just possible that we
may never meet again."

"I hope so," was the response in my heart, while he continued,

"Your time in this office expires when you reach your majority. Our
paths in life are very different, and from that period I must insist
upon our remaining perfect strangers to each other."

Before I had time to answer his ungracious speech, he turned upon his
heel and left the office, and me literally foaming with passion.

"Thank God he is gone!" cried Harrison. "My dear Geoff, accept my
sincere congratulations. It would indeed be a blessing did you never
meet again."

"Oh, that he had stayed another minute that I might have demolished his
gay plumes! I am so angry, so mortified, George, that I can scarcely
control myself."

"Nonsense! His departure is a fortunate event for you."

"Of course--the absence of one so actively annoying, must make my
bondage more tolerable."

"Listen to me, petulant b