just what you like to her, it can't be pleasant
for her, I'm sure."

The only reply to this, if reply it can be called, was an angry "Psha!"
and, turning on his heel, Mr. Coleman strode with great dignity towards
the window, though the effect was considerably marred by his stumbling
against an ottoman which stood in the way, and hurting his shin to
an extent which entailed rubbing, albeit a sublunary and un-Spartan
operation, as a necessary consequence. A pause ensued, which at length
became so awkward that I was about to hazard some wretched commonplace
or other, for the sake of breaking the silence, when Mrs. Coleman
addressed me with:--

"You'll take some luncheon, Mr. Lawless, I'm sure. Freddy, _ring the
bell!_"

"He'll be ready enough to do that," growled Mr. Coleman; "you could not
have asked a fitter person."

"Of course he will, a dear fellow," replied Mrs. Coleman; "he's always
ready to oblige anybody."

"I disapprove greatly of such extreme facility of disposition," observed
Mr. Coleman; "it lays a young man open to every temptation that comes in
his way; and, for want of a proper degree of firmness and self-respect,
he gets led into all kinds of follies and excesses."

~141~~"Now, my dear Mr. Coleman," returned his wife, "I cannot bear to
hear you talk in that way; you are too hard upon poor Freddy and his
young friends; I'm certain they meant no harm;--if they _did_ ring the
bells by way of a joke, I daresay they had drunk rather more champagne
than was prudent, and scarcely knew what they were about; and really all
they seem to have done was to make people get up a little sooner than
usual, and that is rather a good thing than otherwise, for I'm sure if
you did but know the trouble I have sometimes in getting the maids out
of bed in the morning--and that lazy fine gentleman of a footman too,
he's just as bad.--Why, what's the matter now?"

"I really am astonished at you, Mrs. Coleman," exclaimed her husband,
walking hurriedly across the room--although this time he took good care
to avoid the ottoman, "encouraging that boy of yours in such scandalous
and ungentlemanly proceedings as those he was engaged in last night!
No harm, indeed! I only hope (that is, I don't hope it at all, for he
deserves to be punished, and I wish he may) that the laws of his country
may think there's no harm in it. Mr. Dullmug, the mayor, intends, very
properly in my opinion, to appeal to those laws; that is a thing, I am
p