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has come to pick a quarrel with Bell; and large dining-room, in front of the fireplace, that she is likely to grant him everything a young man is standing. He has a timehe asks; and, if she does not, there will be table in his hand, which he is pretending infinite trouble and vexation. I consider to read, and his hat is on his head. He it most provoking-and most thoughtless hastily removes that most important part and inconsiderate on his part-to thrust of an Englishman's attire, when my Lady himself upon us in this way." enters the room, and then he comes forward with a certain apprehension and embarrassed look on his face. If he had been growing nervous about his reception, there was nothing, at all events, to be feared from Queen Titania, who would have welcomed the himself with an effusive courtesy, if only she had regarded it as her duty.

"And yet, after all," I say, as she fastens on a bracelet which was given her nearly twenty years ago now, "is there anything more natural? A young man is in love with a young woman

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"It is his own fault," she interposes. "Perhaps. So much the worse. He ought all the more to have your compassion, instead of your indignant scorn. Well, she leaves his charming society to go off on a wild rampage through the country. A possible rival accompanies her. The young man is torn asunder with doubts and fears. He writes to her. She does not answer. His anxiety becomes a madness; and forthwith he sets off in pursuit of her. Is there anything in all this to brand him as an outcast from humanity?"

"Why, look at the folly of it! If the girl had proper spirit, would it not drive her into refusing him altogether?"

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"Foolish, my dear, yes! but not criminal. Now the whole of you seem to look on Arthur as a monster of wickedness, beeause he is anxious to marry the girl he is fond of."

My Lady alters the disposition of the thin tracery of silver cord which runs through the dark masses of her hair, and as she thus manages to shelve the subject, she says

"I suppose we shall have a pleasant time at dinner. Arthur will be fiercely amusing. Plenty of sarcasm going about. Deadly looks of hatred. Jokes as heavy as that one Bell talks of-that was carried to the window by four men, and killed a policeman when it tumbled over."

My Lady is gently reminded that this story was told of a German, before the date of Bell's conversion; whereupon she answers coolly

"Oh, I do not suppose that Count von Rosen is like all Germans. I think he is quite an exception — a very creditable exception. I know I have never met anyone the least like him before."

"But heroes were not common in your county, were they?"

"They were in yours," says Tita, putting her arm within mine, and speaking with the most gracious sweetness; "and that was why they took no notice of you." We go downstairs. At the head of the

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Oh, Arthur," she says, her whole face lighting up with a gladness which amazed even me, who am accustomed to watch her ways, "I am really delighted to see you. How good of you to come and spend the evening with us on so short a notice. I hope we have not taken you away from any other engagement?"

"No," says the young man, apparently very much touched by this kindness, “and -and-it is I who ought to apologize for breaking in on you like this."

"Then you will spend to-morrow with us also?" says my Lady, quite pleasantly. Indeed, there is nothing like facing the inevitable with a good grace.

"Yes," says Arthur, rather humbly, “if you think I'm not intruding."

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Why, your coming will be quite a relief. I should never have forgiven you if you had been in our neighbourhood without coming to see us."

You might think that this little speech was of the nature of a fib. But it was not, just at that moment. When people are absent, Tita is about as cool, and accurate, and severe in her judgment of them as any woman can be; and she is not disinclined to state her opinion. But once they come near her and especially if she has to play the part of hostess, and entertain them the natural and exuberant kindness of the woman drives her into the most curious freaks of unconscious hypocrisy. Half an hour before she had been talking of Arthur in a way that would have considerably astonished that young man, if he had known; and had been looking forward with dismay and vexation to all the embarrassments of his visit. Now, however, that he was there

thrown on her mercy as it were-she showed him a quite inordinate kindness, and that in the most honest way in the world. A couple of minutes sufficed to convince Arthur that he had at least one firm friend in our household.

He began to look anxiously towards the

door. Presently, a voice that he knew Republican phenomena that had recently pretty well was heard outside; and then been manifested in this country.

- ominous conjunction!-the Lieutenant Now what conceivable connection is and Bell entered together. Von Rosen there between the irritation of an anxious had held the door open for his companion, lover and Republicanism? Master Arthur so that Bell advanced first towards our had never alarmed any of us by professing visitor. Her face was quite calm and a wild opinions on that subject or on any trifle reserved; and yet every one could other. We never knew that the young see that as she shook hands with the man had any political views, beyond a young man, there was a timid, half-con- sort of nebulous faith in the Crown and cealed look of pleasure and welcome in the Constitution. Consider, therefore, our her eyes. He, on his part, was gloomily amazement when, at this moment, he ceremonious. He scarcely took any no- boldly and somewhat scornfully announced tice of the greeting which the Lieutenant himself a Democrat, and informed us that carelessly addressed to him. He accom- the time was come for dismissing old supanied us over to the table, and took a perstitions and destroying the last monopseat on the right hand of Tita, with a si-olies of feudalism. There would be a lence that portended evil. We were likely to have a pleasant evening.

Had he possessed a little more worldly prudence or savoir faire, he would now have made some light excuse for his being present. He ought, for form's sake, to have given us to understand that, as he was obliged to be in Oxford, he had come on by rail to pay us a visit. But as it was, no explanation was forthcoming. Our Apemantus had apparently dropped from the skies. He looked very uncomfortable; and replied in monosyllables to the various and continuous remarks that Tita addressed to him. He had never spoken to Bell, who sat next him, and who was herself silent. Indeed, the constraint and embarrassment from which she was suffering began to vex the Lieutenant, who strove in vain to conquer it by every means in his power.

heavy account to settle with the aristocracy that had for generations made laws to secure its own interests, and tied up the land of the country so that an idle population had to drift into the big towns and become paupers. All this was over. New times were at hand. England was ripe for a new revolution; and woe to them that tried to stem the tide !

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The explanation of which outburst was merely this that Arthur was so angry and impatient with the state of things immediately around him, that he was po3sessed with a wild desire to upset and destroy something. And there is nothing so easy to upset and destroy, in rhetoric, as the present political basis of this country.

Well, we looked at the lad. His face was still aglow; and there was something of triumph as well as of fierceness in it. The hero of the old Silesian song, when his sweetheart has forgotten the vows she made, and the ring she gave him is broken in two, would like to rush away into battle, and sleep by camp-fires, under the still night. But nothing half so ordinary would do for our fire-eater, who, because he could not very well kill a Prussian lieutenant, must needs attack the British Crown. Was there any one of us four

The barometer steadily fell. The atmosphere grew more and more gloomy, until a storm of some sort was inevitable. The anxious efforts of Queen Tita to introduce some cheerfulness were touching to see; and as for Bell, she joined in the talk about our journey, and what we had seen, in a series of disconnected observations that were uttered in a low and timid tone, as if she was afraid to draw down inclined to resent this burst of sham herolightning from the thunder-clouds. Lieutenant von Rosen had at first addressed a word or two to our guest; but finding the labour not productive, he had dropped him entirely out of the conversation. Meanwhile Arthur had drunk a glass or two of sherry. He was evidently nettled at finding the Lieutenant almost monopolizing attention; for Tita herself had given up in despair, and was content to listen. Von Rosen was speaking as usual of the differences between English and German ways, and social aims, and what not, until at last he drifted into some mention of the

ics? Was there not in it something of the desperation of wretchedness that was far more entitled to awaken compassion? Had Arthur been less in love, he would have been more prudent. Had he controlled his emotions in that admirable fashion with which most of our young gentlemen now-a-days seem to set about the business of choosing a wife, he would not have made himself absurd. There was something almost pitiable in this wild, incoherent, ridiculous effort of a young man to do or say something striking and picturesque before the eyes of a girl whose

affections he feared were drifting away | sentimental melancholy; and when he did from him.

The Lieutenant, to whom this outbreak way particularly addressed, took the affair very good-naturedly. He said, with a smile

"Do you know who will be the most disappointed, if you should have a Republic in England? Why, the Republicans that are very anxious for it just now. Perhaps some of them are very respectable men-yes, I believe that; but if I am not wrong, the men who make the great fuss about it in your nation are not like that. Agitators is not that what you call them? And, if you have England a Republic, do you think the government of the country will be given to those noisy persons of the present? No- that is not possible. I think. When the Republic comes, if it does come at all-and I do not know how much force is in this demonstration all your great men, your well-educated men, your men of good position and good breeding and good feeling -they will all come forward, as they do now, to see that the country is properly governed. And what will become of the present Republicans, who are angry because they cannot get into Parliament, and who wish for a change that they may become great persons? When you take away the Crown, they will not all be kings, I think: there is too much of good sense in this country, and of public spirit, that makes your best men give up their own comfort to look after the government - and so it will be then."

"I hope there will be no violent change in our time, at least," said Queen Tita.

"Madame is anxious about the Church, I know," remarked the Lieutenant, with great gravity; but he looked at Bell, and Bell could not altogether conceal a smile. Arthur, watching them both, noticed that little bit of private understanding; and the gloom on his face visibly deepened.

manage to speak to Bell, he addressed her in a wistful and pathetic manner, as if she were some one on board a vessel and he saw her gradually going away from him, her friends, and her native land. One little revelation, nevertheless, comforted him greatly; and lovers apt to magnify their misfortunes will note that he might have enjoyed this solace long before if only he had exercised the most ordinary frankness.

"You got a letter I sent you to Oxford, I suppose?" he said, with a studied carelessness.

"Yes," said Bell, with a little conscious colour in her face, as she bent down her eyes.

"I am glad I had the chance of seeing you to-night," he continued, with the same effort at self-possesion, "because I-I fancied you might be unwell- or some accident happened since you did not send the telegram I begged of you."

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"Oh, you were going to answer it?" he says with his face suddenly getting bright.

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Yes," she says, looking up with some surprise. "You did not suppose I wouldn't answer it?"

In fact, that was just what he had supposed, considering that she had been grievously offended by the tone of his letter.

"I meant to have let you know how we all were, and how far we had got," says Bell, conveying an intimation that this sort of letter might be sent by anybody to anybody.

Nevertheless, Arthur greatly recovered himself after this assurance. She had not broken off with him, after all. He explained that the letter must have been delayed on the way, or she would have got it the day before. He drank another glass of champagne, and said, with a laugh, that he had meditated surprising us, but that the design had failed, for everyone seemed to have expected him.

This must be said, however, that when an embarrassing evening is unavoidable, a dinner is the best method of tiding it over. The various small incidents of the feast supply any ominous gaps in the conversation; and there is, besides, a thawing influence in good meat and drink which the fiercest of tempers finds it hard to withstand. After the ebullition about Republicanism, Arthur had quieted somewhat. By the time we had got down to the sweets, and perhaps with the aid of a little "I only came down this afternoon; and champagne the lad never drank much I suppose I must go back on Monday," he at any time, I ought to say-his anger remarked, ruefully. had become modified into a morose and

This looked so very like a request for an

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Well, he certainly had marked forms of pronunciation, which I have considered it unnecessary to reproduce in recording his talk. He said "I hef" for "I have," and He "a goot shawt' for "a good shot." also made occasional blunders in accent, through adopting the accent of the Latin word from which the English word is derived. But what were such trifles to the main fact that he could make himself understood?

After dinner, Von Rosen got up and proposed that he and I should go down to the billiard-room — which is in the "But this is very strange," he said; end of the building abutting on the "how much more clearly Mademoiselle stable-yard and smoke a cigar. Surely speaks than any English lady, or any Enggenerosity could go no further. Arthur looked surprised; and wore quite a pleasant smile on his face when we rose and left.

But perhaps it was merely selfishness that caused our Uhlan to leave the field; for as we two went down the passage, and made our way up to the spacious room, he said

"I am rather sorry for mademoiselle. She does not seem to be very glad to meet her old friend-perhaps because he is not in a good temper. That is why I did say we should go and play billiards -- there will be a chance of explanation - and tomorrow he will be all right. It is foolish of him to be disagreeable. All this time of dinner, I was thinking to myself how well he might make himself agreeable if he only wished with knowing all the polite phrases with ease, and being able to talk without thinking. For me, that is different, you know. I am bound in by stupid limits; and when I think to say something nice to anyone-then I stop because I know nothing of the words-just like at a wall."

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lish person I have known yet. It is very remarkable to me, how I have great difficulty to follow people who talk like as if they had several tongues rolling in their mouth and others speak very fastand others let the ends of the words slide away but Miss Bell, she is always clear, distinct, and very pleasant to hear, and then she never speaks very loud as most of your people do to a foreigner."

Perhaps,” I say, "there is a reason for Bell's clearness of speech." "Why?

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"Perhaps she takes pains to be very distinct in talking to you, while she manages not to show it. Perhaps other people can notice that she speaks with a little more deliberation to you than to anyone else."

Von Rosen was obviously much struck. "Is that possible?" he said, with his eyes full of wonder. "I have not noticed that she did talk slow to me."

"No
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she conceals it admirably; but all the same such is the fact. It is not so much slowness as a sort of careful precision of pronunciation that she affects and you ought to be very grateful for such consideration."

“Oh, I think it is very good of her — very good indeed - and I would thank her

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"Don't do that, or you will have no more of it. And at present my Lady is catching up a trick of talking in the same way."

"But I have remarked that you English always say that to a foreigner, and will not tell him when he is wrong. I know I am often wrong and always about your past tenses yourwas loving' and did love,' and 'loved' and like that; and I believe I am very wrong with always saying 'do' and 'did,' for I studied to give myself free speaking English many years ago, and the book I studied with was 'Pepys' Diary,' Then he broke the balls; and by fair because it is all written in the first person, strength of arm screwed the white into the and by a man of good station. Now I find corner pocket. Nobody was more astonyou do not say 'I did think,' but ' I thought,' 'ished than himself, except the marker. It

"It is very kind," said the Lieutenant, turning to the table with rather a thoughtful manner. "You would not have expected a young girl like that to be so reflective of other people."

was, indeed, the first losing hazard he had ever made; never having played before on a table with pockets. His next stroke was not so successful; and so he consoled himself with lighting a Partaga about eight inches in length.

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"At all events." he continued, "your language has not the difference of Sie' and 'du,' which is a great advantage. Oh, it is a very perplexing thing sometimes. Suppose you do know a young lady very well, and you have agreed with her in private you shall always call each other du;' and then before other people you call her Sie-it is very hard not to call her 'du,' by mistake, and then everyone jumps up, and stares at you, and all the secret is known. That is a very terrible thing."

"And please what is the interesting ceremony with which you drink brüderschaft with a young lady? The same as usual? -a large jug of becr― your arms intertwined

"No-no-no!" he cried. "It is all a mystery. You shall not know anything of that. But it is very good-it is a very pleasant thing-to have brüderschaft with a young lady although you drink no beer, and have no ceremonies about it."

"And what did Fräulein Fallersleben's mamma say when you called her daughter 'du' by mistake?

The large empty room resounded with the Lieutenant's laughter.

"That is a good guess-oh! a very good guess-but not just good enough. For it was she who did call me 'du;' and all the people were surprised- and then some did laugh- but she herself-oh! she was very angry with herself, and with me too, and for some time she called me 'Sie' even when we were together, until it was like to be a quarrel. But one more quarrel," added the Lieutenant, with indifference, "was not much matter. It was usually one every day - and then writing of sorrowful letters at the night next morning some reconciliation kerment! what is the use of talking of all that nonsense!"

and

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And then once more the ball flew about the table; finally lodging in a pocket, and scoring three for a miss. Indeed, our Uhlan was not at home with our big English tables, their small balls, pointed cues, and perpetual pockets. Even when he got a good chance of a cannon, the smallness of the balls caused him to fail entirely. But he had a very excellent cigar. It was something to be away from the embarrassment that had prevailed at dinner.

Perhaps, too, he enjoyed a certain sense of austere self-satisfaction in having left to Arthur full possession of the field. On the whole he enjoyed himself very well; and then, our cigars being finished, we had a final look at the horses, and then returned to the coffee-room.

"I am afraid," said Von Rosen, with some alarm, "we have been negligent of our duties."

Master Arthur had left some half-hour before. The ladies had retired. Only one or two of the heaviest topers were left in the bar-parlour; the waiters looked as if they considered their week's work fairly over.

"Tell me," said my Prussian friend, as he got his candle, "is that young gentleman coming round here to-morrow?" Probably he is."

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"Do you not think, then, it would be good to hire a vehicle and go away somewhere for a drive all the day before he comes?"

"To-morrow is Sunday." "Well?"

"Do you fancy you would get either Bell or my Lady to go driving on Sunday? Don't you propose such a thing, if you are wise. There is a Cathedral in this town; and the best thing you can do is to study its history and associations early in the morning. You will have plenty of time to think over them to-morrow, inside the building itself.”

"Oh, I do not object to that," he remarked, coolly, as he went upstairs, "and I do not care to have too much driving-it is only to prevent Mademoiselle being annoyed, as I think she was at dinner this evening - that is all. I suppose we may go for a walk to-morrow after the church-time ? And he will come? Very well, he will not harm me, I am sure; but - but it is a pity that is all."

And with this somewhat mysterious conclusion, the Lientenant disappeared towards his own room.

From The Popular Science Review. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL POSITION OF

ALCOHOL.

BY DR. RICHARDSON, F.R.S.

Ar the present moment, the "Alcohol Question," as it is called, is, in various ways, one of the most anxious subjects of out-door controversy. The leaders of the temperance movement, seeing the tide that

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