said Mrs. Derrick, whose mind
evidently stood in abeyance upon this speech.

"One you didn't hear, ma'am. It was a definition of me, to myself. It
isn't the first," said the doctor gravely. "Mrs. Derrick, are you
friends with me?"

"As much as I ever was," said Mrs. Derrick, smilingly. "I always
thought you wanted putting in order."

"How did you know that?"

"Why, because you were out of order," said Mrs. Derrick, knitting away.
The doctor uttered the lowest of whistles and looked down at his boot.

"It's because of that unlucky dog!" he muttered. "Linden--" (glancing
up from under his eyebrows) "when I was a boy, I set my dog on Miss
Faith's cat."

"Felt yourself called upon to uphold natural antipathies--"

"Miss Faith, have you a cat now?" said the doctor looking over to her.

"No, sir."

"And I have no dog!" said the doctor. "I have only horses. If I could
manage to do without animals altogether,--Mrs. Derrick, have you
forgiven me?" This last was in a changed tone.

"I don't want to talk about it, doctor," said Mrs. Derrick very soberly.

"About forgiving me?" he said as soberly.

"And I don't mean to."

"Nor I," said the doctor quietly; "but you are going to inflict more
punishment on me than I deserve."

"What am I going to do?" said Mrs. Derrick. "If you know, I don't."

"Refuse to give me your hand, perhaps."

"I never did that to anybody, yet," she said pleasantly.

"Then you must let me do as we do in another country."

He bent his face to her hand as he spoke, and kissed it. There was no
mockery in the action. Done by some people it would have been
ridiculous. By Dr. Harrison, in the circumstances, it was in the
highest degree graceful. It spoke sympathy, penitence, respect, manly
confession, and submission, too simply not to be what it certainly was
in some measure, a true expression of feeling. Mrs. Derrick on her part
looked amused,--her old recollections of the boy constantly tinged her
impressions of the man; and perhaps not without reason.

"You're as like yourself as ever you can be, doctor!" she said, smiling
at him. "How you used to try to get round me!"

"I don't remember!" said the doctor. "I am sure I never succeeded, Mrs.
Derrick?"

"I'm afraid you did, sometimes," she said, shaking her head. He smiled
a little, and turned the other way.

"Linden, I've been considering the German question."

"Will it please you to state the result?"

"This!" said the doctor. "I ha