be "somebody," something, only great and
glorious! And yet, as One above is my judge, I had not one selfish
craving, not a single purely-personal thought in connection with these
mad wishes. It was but for _her_ sake that I longed for honour and fame
and advancement. Only for her, only for her!

CHAPTER SIX.

"ECSTASY!"

"...From thy rose-red lips my name
Floweth; and then, as in a swoon,
With dinning sound my ears are rife,
My tremulous tongue faltereth,
I lose my colour, I lose my breath,
I drink the cup of a costly death,
Brimm'd with delirious draughts of warmest life!"

Some few days after Christmas, little Miss Pimpernell gave a small
evening party for the especial delectation of those who had so
meritoriously assisted in the decoration of the church.

Of course, it was not at all like the "barty" the celebrated Hans
Breitman "giv'd" to his friends for the imbibition of "lager beer" ad
libitum; but still, one may feel inclined to exclaim, in the exquisite
broken words of that worthy, "Where am dat barty now?" For, time has
worked its usual changes; and all of us have long since been divided,
separated, scattered, and dispersed to the four winds of heaven, so to
speak, to the severance of old ties, and all kindred associations.

I had not had the slightest inkling that the "little affair" was about
to "come off" beforehand. I had met Miss Pimpernell out the very
morning of the day on which it took place; yet--sly old lady that she
was--she hardly gave me a hint of her social intent.

She certainly said that she had a little surprise in store for me; but
when I pressed her to learn what that "something" was, she preserved a
provoking reticence, declining to enlighten me any further. "No,
Frank," she said in her cheery way, "it is of no use your trying to coax
me with your `dear Miss Pimpernell,' or think to flatter me into
divulging my news by false compliments paid to my shabby old bonnet!
No, you shall hear it all in good time, so don't be impatient. I won't
tell you another word now, my boy, there!" she added finally, trotting
off on her parochial rounds and leaving me in suspense until the
evening, to exercise my imagination regarding her contemplated
"surprise."

Then, however, I was let into the secret; and the party was all the more
pleasurable from coming quite unexpectedly. I always like doing things
on the spur of the moment, without premeditation. If you look out for