t I have the trouble of inviting you to Rivenoak? Is my
conversation so wearisome that you keep away as long as you can?"

"Dear lady, you put me to shame!" cried Mr. Breakspeare, bending low
before her. "It's work, work, I assure you, that forbids me the honour
and the delight of waiting upon you, except at very rare intervals. We
have an uphill fight, you know."

"Pull your coat off," the hostess interrupted, "and let us have
something to eat. I'm as hungry as a hunter, whatever _you_ may be. You
sedentary people, I suppose, don't know what it is to have an appetite."

The editor was ill-tailored, and very carelessly dressed. His rather
long hair was brushed straight back from the forehead, and curved up a
little at the ends. Without having exactly a dirty appearance, he
lacked freshness, seemed to call for the bath his collar fitted badly,
his tie was askew, his cuffs covered too much of the hand. Aged about
fifty, Mr. Breakspeare looked rather younger, for he had a very smooth
high forehead, a clear eye, which lighted up as he spoke, and a pink
complexion answering to the high-noted and rather florid manner of his
speech.

Walking briskly forward--she seemed more vigorous to day than
yesterday--the hostess led to the dining room, where a small square
table received her and her three companions. Lady Ogram's affectation
of appetite lasted only a few minutes; on the other hand, Mr.
Breakspeare ate with keen gusto, and talked very little until he had
satisfied his hunger. Whether by oversight, or intentional
eccentricity, the hostess had not introduced him and Lashmar to each
other; they exchanged casual glances, but no remark. Dyce talked of
what he had seen at the mill; he used a large, free-flowing mode of
speech, which seemed to please Lady Ogram, for she never interrupted
him and had an unusual air of attentiveness. Presently the talk moved
towards politics, and Dyce found a better opportunity of eloquence.

"For some thirty years," he began, with an air of reminiscence, "we
have been busy with questions of physical health. We have been looking
after our bodies and our dwellings. Drainage has been a word to conjure
with, and athletics have become a religion--the only one existing for
multitudes among us. Physical exercise, with a view to health, used to
be the privilege of the upper class; we have been teaching the people
to play games and go in for healthy sports. At the same time there has
been considerable