the earl, seizing gladly on the word. "Let us have a little
harmony. Don't let our presence disturb your music. Mr. Eld is a local
notability, Ferdinand. Mr. Eld speaks his mind to everybody. I'm afraid
he's on the other side, and in that case you'll have many a tussle with
him before you come to the hustings. Eh? That's so, isn't it, Eld? Eh?
That's so?"

"Oh," said Sennacherib, with the slow local drawl, "we'll tek a bit of a
wrastle now and again, I mek no manner of a doubt."

"And in the mean time," said his lordship, "let us start harmoniously.
Give us a little music, Fuller. Go on just as if we were not here."

"Ruth, my wench," said Fuller, "fetch his lordship a chair, and bring
another for Mr.-----" He hung upon the Mr., searching to recall the
name.

"Devil-a-care," suggested Sennacherib.

"De Blacquaire," said the earl, correcting him. "Mr. Ferdinand de
Blacquaire."

The girl had already moved away, and Ferdinand, with an air in
which criticism melted slowly into approval, watched her through his
eye-glass. The only young man in the quartette party, Reuben Gold, eyed
Ferdinand with a look in which criticism hardened into disapproval, and,
turning away, fluttered the edges of the music sheets before him with
the tip of his bow.

"Look here, lads," said Fuller, "we'll have a slap at that there sonata
of B. Thoven's, eh?"

"Beethoven?" asked Ferdinand, with a little unnecessary stress upon
the name to mark his pronunciation of it. "You play Beethoven? This is
extremely interesting." He spoke to the earl, who rubbed his hands and
nodded. The young first-violin tossed his chestnut-colored mane on one
side with a gesture of irritation. Ruth reappeared with a chair in each
hand. They were old-fashioned and rather heavy, being built of solid
oak, but she carried them lightly and gracefully. Ferdinand started
forward and attempted to relieve her of her burden. At first she
resisted, but he insisting upon the point she yielded. The young
Ferdinand was less graceful than he had meant to be in the carriage of
the chairs, and Ruth looked at Reuben with a smile so faint as scarcely
to be perceptible. Reuben with knitted brows pored over his music,
and the girl returned to her old place and her old attitude by the
apple-tree.

Ferdinand, having the placing of the chairs in his own hands, took up a
position in which, without being obtrusively near, he was close enough
to address Ruth if occasion should arise, as h