om his pocket, and throwing it defiantly
upon the table, continues as his lip curls with scorn, "poor men's lives
are cheap in Charleston--let us see what rich men's are worth!"

"His age, George!--you should respect that!" says Mr. Snivel,
laconically.

"His age ought to be my protection."

"Ah!--you forget that the follies of our nature too often go with us to
the grave."

"And am I to suffer because public opinion honors him, and gives him
power to disgrace me? Can he rob me of the one I love--of the one in
whose welfare my whole soul is staked, and do it with impunity?"

"D----d inconvenient, I know, George. Sympathize with you, I do. But,
you see, we are governed here by the laws of chivalry. Don't let your (I
am a piece of a philosopher, you see) temper get up, keep on a stiff
upper lip. You may catch him napping. I respect your feelings, my dear
fellow; ready to do you a bit of a good turn--you understand! Now let me
tell you, my boy, he has made her his adopted, and to-morrow she moves
with him to his quiet little villa near the Magnolia."

"I am a poor, forlorn wretch," interrupts George, with a sigh. "Those
of whom I had a right to expect good counsel, and a helping hand, have
been first to encourage me in the ways of evil--"

"Get money, Mullholland--get money. It takes money to make love strong.
Say what you will, a woman's heart is sure to be sound on the gold
question. Mark ye, Mullholland!--there is an easy way to get money. Do
you take? (His fingers wander over his forehead, as he watches intently
in George's face.) You can make names? Such things are done by men in
higher walks, you know. Quite a common affair in these parts. The Judge
has carried off your property; make a fair exchange--you can use his
name, get money with it, and make it hold fast the woman you love. There
are three things, George, you may set down as facts that will be of
service to you through life, and they are these: when a man eternally
rings in your ears the immoralities of the age, watch him closely; when
a man makes what he has done for others a boast, set him down a knave;
and when a woman dwells upon the excellent qualities of her many
admirers, set her down as wanting. But, get money, and when you have got
it, charm back this beautiful creature."

Such is the advice of Mr. Soloman Snivel, the paid intriguer of the
venerable Judge.

CHAPTER XXV.

A SLIGHT CHANGE IN THE PICTURE.

The two lone revellers r