there, Mr. Tomley?"

"Lonely, Lady Jones?" the clergyman replied with energy, and shaking his
white lock. "I assure you that the place is a howling desert; a great
moor behind, and the great sea in front, and some rocks and the church
between the two. That's about all, but my wife likes it because she used
to stay at the rectory when she was a little girl. Her uncle was the
incumbent there. She declares that she has never been well since she
left the parish."

"And what did you say is the name of the present inhabitant of this
earthly paradise, the man with whom you have exchanged?" interrupted the
Colonel.

"Fregelius--the Reverend Peter Fregelius."

"What an exceedingly odd name! Is he an Englishman?"

"Yes; but I think that his father was a Dane, and he married a Danish
lady."

"Indeed! Is she living?"

"Oh, no. She died a great many years ago. The old gentleman has only one
child left--a girl."

"What is her name?" asked someone idly, in a break of the general
conversation, so that everybody paused to listen to his reply.

"Stella--Stella Fregelius; a very unusual girl."

Then the conversation broke out again with renewed vigour, and all that
those at Morris's end of the table could catch were snatches such as:
"Wonderful eyes"; "Independent young person"; "Well read and musical";
"Oh, yes! poor as church mice, that's why he accepted my offer."

At this point the Doctor began a rather vehement argument with Mr.
Porson as to the advisability of countervailing duties to force foreign
nations to abandon the sugar bounties, and no more was heard of Mr.
Tomley and his plans.

On the whole, Mary enjoyed that dinner-party. Miss Layard, somewhat sore
after her first encounter, attempted to retaliate later.

But by this time Mary's argumentative energy had evaporated. Therefore,
adroitly appealing to Mr. Layard to take her part, she retired from the
fray till, seeing that it grew acrimonious, for this brother and sister
did not love each other, she pretended to hear no more.

"Have you been stopping out all night again and staring at the sea,
Morris?" she inquired; "because I understand it is a habit of yours. You
seem so sleepy. I know that I must have looked just like you when that
old political gentleman took me in to dinner, and I made an exhibition
of myself."

"What was that?" asked Morris.

So she told him the story of her unlawful slumbers, and so amusingly
that he burst out laughing and remained