lution he had
expressed with so much energy but a minute before, struck us both at the
same instant, and occasioned a fit of laughter, which we did not check
till we recollected with what dissonance any approach to mirth must
strike the ear of the prisoner (for such he was in fact, if not in name)
in the adjoining apartment.

"Now, sir; come, Mr. Fairlegh, you'll be late for breakfast," were the
first sounds that reached my understanding on the following morning:
I say understanding, as I had heard, mixed up with my dreams, sundry
noises produced by unclosing shutters, arranging water-jugs, etc., which
appeared to my sleep-bewildered senses to have been going on for at
least half an hour. My faculties not being sufficiently aroused to
enable me to speak, Thomas continued, "You'll be late, Mr. Fairlegh";
then came an aside, "My wig, how he do sleep! I hope he ain't been
a-taking lauddelum, or morpheus, or anything of a somnambulous natur. I
wouldn't be master, always to have six boys a weighing on my mind, for
all the wealth of the Ingies.--Mr. Fairlegh, I say!"

"There, don't make such a row," replied I, jumping ~95~~out of bed and
making a dash at my clothes; "is it late?"

"Jest nine o'clock, sir; master and Mr. Cumberland's been gone these two
hours. Shocking affair that, sir; it always gives me quite a turn when
any of our gents is expelled: it's like being thrown out of place at a
minute's warning, as I said to cook only this morning. 'Cook,' says I,
'life's a curious thing,' there's----"

"The breakfast bell ringing, by all that's unlucky," exclaimed I; and
downstairs I ran, with one arm in, and one out of my jacket, leaving
Thomas to conclude his speculations on the mutability of human affairs
as he best might, solus.

"How are we going to kill time to-day?" inquired Oaklands, as soon as we
had done breakfast.

"We mustn't do anything to outrage the proprieties," said Coleman;
"remember we are on _parole d'honneur_."

"On a fiddlestick," interrupted Lawless; "let's all ride over to
the Duke of York, at Bradford, shoot some pigeons, have a champagne
breakfast, and be home again in time for the old woman's feed at five
o'clock. I daresay I can pick up one or two fellows to go with us."

"No," said Oaklands, "that sort of thing won't do to-day. I quite agree
with Freddy, we ought not to do anything to annoy the Doctor upon this
occasion; come, Lawless, I'm sure you'll say so too, if you give it a
moment's