clouds had faded from the horizon; and night was closing round, as the three men entered the thick of the town. Tom p

ind that he should be left alone with his relations that night, but proposed that they shoul

, "I suppose you are going to some inn; may I accompany you? We can su

lodge, and they are expecting me. Do you not observe that I have c

in its way, but it was such as gentlemen of the highest rank frequently wear in the country,-the knickerb

r meeting. According to the Darwinian doctrine of selection, fine plumage goes far in deciding the preference of Jenny Wren and her sex, o

he society of women, whether ugly or pretty, is an absolute necessity; and I have been trudging without it for so many days tha

to profit. He is passing through a great sorrow; it might have been worse than sorrow. My friend is going to stay in this town. If you are staying here too, pray let h

illingly serve to cheer or comfort your friend, if I could; but I am bound elsewhere, an

t give us both some hours

great pleasure to myself. Agreed! Well, then, I will call at your inn to-morrow at twelve; and I recommend for your i

he fact that the minstrel, desiring to preserve the secret of his na

d's address. If so, I should like my companion to make friends with her. Petticoat interest there at least will be innocent and safe. And I know nothing so likely to keep a big

even started. "Sir, are you a

little child of your own. So much the better: the child may keep

took of his evening meal; and then, feeling the pressure of that melancholic temperament which he so strangely associated wit

esidences of the clergy or of the quiet lay gentry with mediaeval tastes. The main street was thronged with passengers,-some soberly returning home from the evening service; some, the younger, lingering in pleasant promenade with their sweethearts or families, or arm in arm with each other, and having the air of bac

English Sabbath in the pleasantest and rosiest point of view. Somewhat quickening his steps, he entered a broader street, attracted to it involuntarily by a bright light in the centre. On nearing the light he found that it shone forth from a gin-palace, of which the mahogany doors opened and shut momently as customers went in and out. It was the handsomest building he had s

ned eyes, "kind! Alas, my poor sister mortal! if p

denly across her eyes, and retracing her steps, was, in her turn, caught hold of by a rougher hand than hers, as she passed the gi