somer, more self-reliant-looking young
fellow I had never seen; and I was not long in the house before I
observed--with secret tears of amusement--that it was not only in looks
he remained unchanged. The same dictatorialness and sharp tongue; the
same thinly-veiled insolence to Duncan; the same swift smiles from his
entrancing lips--thank Heaven undisfigured by any moustache--to myself;
the same unalterable gentleness to Janet. His invariable courtesy to
Duncan's wife made me very happy. It was as I said: there was much good
in the boy.

Paul had a little money of his own to begin with, and I did think
Duncan, with his fortune, might have sent an exceptionally clever lad
like that to one of the Universities, and made something of him
afterwards--a lawyer, say; but instead of that, Paul was put into
business in London, and, I was glad to hear, was doing very well.

As for Duncan's hideous white brick castle, with its paltry half-dozen
acres, entered by lodges of the utmost pretension, and his coach-houses
full of flashy carriages, with the family coat-of-arms(!) upon each, I
thought the whole place one of the most contemptible patches of snobbery
on this fair earth; and I was glad my father's toil-bleared eyes were
hid in the grave, so that they should not have the shame of resting upon
it.

In spite of what I thought, however, I did my best to keep a solemn face
at Paul's smart speeches, which were often amusing, and often simply
impudence.

Duncan, as of yore, went as though he saw him not.

I had not been at Duncan's palace long before I came to the conclusion
that there was some private understanding betwixt the two young people;
and, at last, just before I left, my suspicions were confirmed.

Hastily pushing open the library door, which stood ajar, I saw Paul with
his back to me, at the end of the room, looking into the conservatory.
He had evidently just entered from the garden. "Janet," he called, in a
voice the import of which there could be no mistaking; and with a rush,
I heard several pots crash; Janet, who had no doubt happened to have her
head turned the other way, sprang into view, and threw herself into his
arms.

I quietly withdrew, and went away very, very happy. I knew Paul had a
promise of a first-rate appointment abroad, by-and-by; and supposing I
should hear more of this before long, I went placidly away home to the
far north. Instead of that, in six months or so, Janet wrote announcing
her