ts of Smith and his sons too well to expect them to
save it. In fact, the letter before him, which he ended by giving me
to read, had been written by the poor woman at her husband's dictation,
in the belief that Harold was the heir, to demand their passage-money
from him, and that there was a sad little postscript put in afterwards,
unknown to her tyrant. "My boy, don't do it. It will be much better
for you not;" and, brave woman as she was, she added no entreaty that
his refusal might be softened. I asked if she had had any more
children. "No, happily," was Harold's answer. "If I might only wring
that fellow's neck, I could take care of her." In fact, I should
think, when he wanted to come within Harold's grasp, he hardly knew
what he asked.

This finished, it appeared that Harold wanted to have a letter finished
to Prometesky which he had begun some days before. This astonished me
more, both by the questions Prometesky had been asking, and the answers
Harold was returning, as to the state of the country and the condition
of the people. They did much to relieve my mind of the fears I had
sometimes entertained of Harold's being a ferocious demagogue incited
thereto by his friend.

Who would have thought there was so much depth in his brain? He ended
by saying, "Eustace takes kindly to his new position, and is gone today
to see Mr. Tracy, nephew to Lord Erymanth, but who does not appear
disposed to carry on the same hostility to us."

I exclaimed at his having said nothing of the lion either to his mother
or his friend, and asked leave to add it, which he did not refuse,
though saying there was no use in it, and that he wanted me to do one
thing more for him--namely, to write to his agent in Sydney an order
which he signed for the transmission of some money to England. He had
learnt from Mr. Yolland that morning that the "Dragon's Head" and some
adjoining houses at Mycening were for sale, and that the purchaser
could have immediate possession.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Shut it up."

"You can't do much good by shutting up one public-house."

"Eustace will do the same with those on his property."

"I am very much afraid your crusade will not succeed, unless you can
put something better into people's minds."

"I shall see about that," he answered, thinking, I believe, that I was
going to suggest religion, from all mention of which he shrank, as if
it touched a wound. "Smith talked of reli