e joke. 'Yes, sir, with the housekeeper. She's
teaching him how to brush his hair, so as to show off his good looks
to the best advantage.' Make up your mind, my friend, to lose Mrs.
Mozeen--especially if she happens to have any money."

"Nonsense, Rothsay! The poor woman is old enough to be Joseph's mother."

"My good fellow, that won't make any difference to Joseph. In the days
when we were rich enough to keep a man-servant, our footman--as handsome
a fellow as ever you saw, and no older than I am--married a witch with
a lame leg. When I asked him why he had made such a fool of himself he
looked quite indignant, and said: 'Sir! she has got six hundred pounds.'
He and the witch keep a public house. What will you bet me that we don't
see your housekeeper drawing beer at the bar, and Joseph getting drunk
in the parlor, before we are a year older?"

I was not well enough to prolong my enjoyment of Rothsay's boyish humor.
Besides, exaggeration to be really amusing must have some relation, no
matter how slender it may be, to the truth. My housekeeper belonged to a
respectable family, and was essentially a person accustomed to respect
herself. Her brother occupied a position of responsibility in the
establishment of a firm of chemists whom I had employed for years past.
Her late husband had farmed his own land, and had owed his ruin to
calamities for which he was in no way responsible. Kind-hearted Mrs.
Mozeen was just the woman to take a motherly interest in a
well-disposed lad like Joseph; and it was equally characteristic of
my valet--especially when Rothsay was thoughtless enough to encourage
him--to pervert an innocent action for the sake of indulging in a stupid
jest. I took advantage of my privilege as an invalid, and changed the
subject.

A week passed. I had expected to hear from Rothsay. To my surprise and
disappointment no letter arrived.

Susan was more considerate. She wrote, very modestly and prettily, to
say that she and her mother had heard of my illness from Mr. Rothsay,
and to express the hope that I should soon be restored to health. A few
days later, Mrs. Rymer's politeness carried her to the length of taking
the journey to London to make inquiries at my door. I did not see her,
of course. She left word that she would have the honor of calling again.

The second week followed. I had by that time perfectly recovered from my
attack of bronchitis--and yet I was too ill to leave the house.

The doctor