dews of Heaven, and not with tears; that the limbs of their girls are free, and that they are not crippled by distortions, imposing an unnatural and horrible penance upon their sex; that their lives are spent from day to day at least among the waving trees, and not in the midst of dreadful engines that make young children old before they know what childhood is, and give them the exhaustion and infirmity of age, without, like age, the privilege to die. God send that old nursery tales were true, and that gipsies stole such children by the score!

The great race of the day had just been run; and the close lines of the people on either side of the course suddenly breaking up and pouring into it, imparted a new liveliness to the scene, which was again all busy movement. Some hurried eagerly to catch a glimpse of the winning horse, others darted to and fro searching no less eagerly for the carriages they had left in quest of better stations. Here a little knot gathered round a pea and thimble table to watch the plucking of some unhappy greenhorn, and there another proprietor with his confederates in various disguises-one man in spectacles, another with an eye-glass and a stylish hat, a third dressed as a farmer well to do in the world, with his top coat over his arm and his flash notes in a large leathern pocket-book, and all with heavy-handled whips to represent some innocent country fellows who had trotted there on horseback-sought, by loud and noisy talk and pretended play, to entrap some unwary customer, while the gentlemen confederates (of more villainous aspect still, in clean linen and good clothes,) betrayed their close interest in the concern by the anxious furtive glances they cast on all new comers. These would be hanging on the outskirts of a wide circle of people assembled round some itinerant juggler, opposed in his turn by a noisy band of music, or the classic game of 'Ring the Bull,' whilst ventriloquists holding dialogues with wooden dolls, and fortune-telling women smothering the cries of real babies, divided with them, and many more, the general attention of the company. Drinking-tents were full, glasses began to clink in carriages, hampers to be unpacked, tempting provisions to be set forth, knives and forks to rattle, champagne-corks to fly, eyes to brighten that were not dull before, and pickpockets to count their gains during the last heat. The attention so recently strained on one object of interest was now divided among a hundred; and look where you would, was a motley assemblage of feasting, laughing, talking, begging, gambling, and mummery.

Of the gambling-booths there was a plentiful show, flourishing in all the splendour of carpeted ground, striped hangings, crimson cloth, pinnacled roofs, geranium pots, and livery servants. There were the Stranger's club-house, the Athenæum club-house, the Hampton club-house, the St. James's club-house, and half a mile of club-houses to play in; and there was rouge-et-noir, French hazard, and La Merville, to play at. It is into one of these booths that our story takes its way.

Fitted up with three tables for the purpose of play, and crowded with players and lookers on, it was-although the largest place of the kind upon the courseintensely hot, notwithstanding that a portion of the canvas roof was rolled back to admit more air, and there were two doors for a free passage in and out. Excepting one or two men who-each with a long roll of half-crowns, chequered with a few stray sovereigns, in his left hand-staked their money at every roll of the ball with a business-like sedateness which showed that they were used to it, and had been playing all day, and most probably all the day before, there was no very distinctive character about the players, who were chiefly young men apparently attracted by curiosity, or staking small sums as part of the amusement of the day, with no very great interest in winning or losing. There were two persons present, however, who, as peculiarly good specimens of a class, deserve a passing notice. Of these, one was a man of six or eight and fifty, who sat on a chair near one of

the entrances of the booth, with his hands folded on the top of his stick, and his chin appearing above them. He was a tall, fat, long-bodied man, buttoned up to the throat in a light green coat, which made his body look still longer than it was, and wore besides drab breeches and gaiters, a white neckerchief, and a broad brimmed white hat. Amid all the buzzing noise of the games and the perpetual passing in and out of people, he seemed perfectly calm and abstracted, without the smallest particle of excitement in his composition. He exhibited no indication of weariness, nor, to a casual observer, of interest either. There he sat, quite still and collected. Sometimes, but very rarely, he nodded to some passing face, or beckoned to a waiter to obey a call from one of the tables. The next instant he subsided into his old state. He might have been some profoundly deaf old gentleman, who had come in to take a rest, or he might have been patiently waiting for a friend without the least consciousness of anybody's presence, or fixed in a trance, or under the. influence of opium. People turned round and looked at him; he made no gesture, caught nobody's eye,-let them pass away, and others come on and be succeeded by others, and took no notice. When he did move, it seemed wonderful how he could have seen anything to occasion it. And so, in truth, it was. But there was not a face passed in and out this man failed to see, not a gesture at any one of the three tables that was lost upon him, not a word spoken by the bankers but reached his ear, not a winner or loser he could not have marked; and he was the proprietor of the place.

The other presided over the rouge-et-noir table. He was probably some ten years younger, and was a plump, paunchy, sturdy-looking fellow; with his under lip a little pursed, from a habit of counting money inwardly, as he paid it, but with no decidedly bad expression in his face, which was rather an honest and jolly one than otherwise. He wore no coat, the weather being hot, and stood behind the table with a huge mound of crowns and half-crowns before him, and a cash-box for notes. This game was constantly playing. Perhaps twenty people would be staking at the same time. This man had to roll the ball, to watch the stakes as they were laid down, to gather them off the colour which lost, to pay those who won, to do it all with the utmost despatch, to roll the ball again, and to keep this game perfectly alive. He did it all with a rapidity absolutely marvellous; never hesitating, never making a mistake, never stopping and never ceasing to repeat such unconnected phrases as the following, which, partly from habit, and partly to have something appropriate and business-like to say, he constantly poured out with the same monotonous emphasis, and in nearly the same order, all day long :

"Rooge-a-nore from Paris, gentlemen, make your game and back your own opinions any time while the ball rolls-rooge-a-nore from Paris, gentlemen, it's a French game, gentlemen, I brought it over myself, I did indeed !-rooge-a-nore from Paris-black wins-black-stop a minute, sir, and I'll pay you directlytwo there, half a pound there,-three there, and one there-gentlemen, the ball's a rolling-any time, sir, while the ball rolls-the beauty of this game is, that you can double your stakes or put down your money, gentlemen, any time while the ball rolls-black again-black wins-I never saw such a thing-I never did in all iny life, upon my word I never did: if any gentleman had been backing the black in the last five minutes he must have won five-and-forty pound in four rolls of the ball, he must indeed. Gentlemen, we've port, sherry, cigars, and most excellent champagne. Here, waiter, bring a bottle of champagne, and let's have a dozen or fifteen cigars here-and let's be comfortable, gentlemen-and bring some clean glasses, any time while the ball rolls. I lost one hundred and thirty-seven pound yesterday, gentleman, at one roll of the ball: I did indeed! how do you do, sir," (recognising some knowing gentleman without any halt or change of voice, and

giving a wink so slight that it seems an accident,) "will you take a glass of sherry, sir,-here, waiter, bring a clean glass, and hand the sherry to this gentleman-and hand it round, will you waiter-this is the rooge-a-nore from Paris, gentlemenany time while the ball rolls-gentlemen, make your game, and back your own opinions-it's the rooge-a-nore from Paris, quite a new game. I brought it over myself, I did indeed-gentlemen, the ball's a rolling!"

This officer was busily plying his vocation when half-a-dozen persons sauntered through the booth, to whom-but without stopping either in his speech or work— he bowed respectfully, at the same time directing by a look the attention of a man beside him to the tallest figure in the group, in recognition of whom the proprietor pulled off his hat. This was Sir Mulberry Hawk, with whom were his friend and pupil, and a small train of gentlemanly dressed men, of characters more doubtful than obscure.

They dined together sumptuously. The wine flowed freely, as, indeed, it had done all day. Sir Mulberry drank to recompense himself for his recent abstinence, the young lord, to drown his indignation, and the remainder of the party, because the wine was of the best, and they had nothing to pay. It was nearly midnight when they rushed out, wild, burning with wine, their blood boiling, and their brains on fire, to the gaming table.

Here they encountered another party, and like themselves. The excitement of play, hot rooms, and glaring lights, was not calculated to allay the fever of the time. In that giddy whirl of noise and confusion the men were delirious. Who thought of money, ruin, or the morrow, in the savage intoxication of the moment? More wine was called for, glass after glass was drained, their parched and scalding mouths were cracked with thirst. Down poured the wine like oil on blazing fire. And still the riot went on-the debauchery gained its height, glasses were dashed upon the floor by hands that could not carry them to lips, oaths were shouted out by lips which could hardly form the words to vent them in; drunken losers cursed and roared; some mounted on the tables, waving bottles above their heads and bidding defiance to the rest; some danced, some sang, some tore the cards and raved. Tumult and frenzy reigned supreme; when a noise arose that drowned all others, and two men, seizing each other by the throat, struggled into the middle of the room. A dozen voices, until now unheard, called aloud to part them. Those who had kept themselves cool to win, and who earned their living in such scenes, threw themselves upon the combatants, and forcing them asunder, dragged them some space apart.

"Let me go!" cried Sir Mulberry, in a thick hoarse voice, "he struck me! Do you hear? I say, he struck me. Have I a friend here? Who is this? Westwood. Do you hear me say he struck me!"

"I hear, I hear," replied one of those who held him. "Come away for to-night." "I will not by G-," he replied, fiercely. "A dozen men about us saw the blow." "To-morrow will be ample time," said the friend.

"It will not be ample time !" cried Sir Mulberry, gnashing his teeth. "To-night -at once-here!" His passion was so great that he could not articulate, but stood clenching his fist, tearing his hair, and stamping upon the ground. "What is this, my lord?" said one of those who surrounded him. blows past?"

"Have

"One blow has," was the panting reply. "I struck him-I proclaim it to all here. I struck him, and he well knows why. I say with him, let the quarrel be adjusted now. Captain Adams," said the young lord, looking hurriedly about him, and addressing one of those who had interposed, "Let me speak with you, I beg."

The person addressed stepped forward, and taking the young man's arm, they retired together, followed shortly afterwards by Sir Mulberry and his friend.

It was a profligate haunt of the worst repute, and not a place in which such an affair was likely to awaken any sympathy for either party, or to call forth any further remonstrance or interposition. Elsewhere its further progress would have been instantly prevented, and time allowed for sober and cool reflection; but not there. Disturbed in their orgies, the party broke up; some reeled away with looks of tipsy gravity, others withdrew noisily discussing what had just occurred; the gentlemen of honour, who lived upon their winnings, remarked to each other as they went out that Hawk was a good shot: and those who had been most noisy fell fast asleep upon the sofas, and thought no more about it.

Meanwhile the two seconds, as they may be called now, after a long conference, each with his principal, met together in another room. Both utterly heartless, both men upon town, both thoroughly initiated in its worst vices, both deeply in debt, both fallen from some higher estate, both addicted to every depravity for which society can find some genteel name, and plead its most depraving conventionalities as an excuse, they were naturally gentlemen of the most unblemished honour themselves, and of great nicety concerning the honour of other people.

These two gentlemen were unusually cheerful just now, for the affair was pretty certain to make some noise, and could scarcely fail to enhance their reputations considerably.

"This is an awkward affair, Adams," said Mr. Westwood, drawing himself up. "Very," returned the captain; "a blow has been struck, and there is but one course, of course."

"No apology, I suppose ?" said Mr. Westwood.

"Not a syllable, sir, from my man, if we talk till doomsday," returned the captain. "The original cause of the dispute, I understand, was some girl or other, to whom your principal applied some terms, which Lord Frederick, defending the girl, repelled. But this led to a long recrimination upon a great many sore subjects, charges, and countercharges. Sir Mulberry was sarcastic; Lord Frederick was excited, and struck him in the heat of provocation, and under circumstances of great aggravation. That blow, unless there is a full retraction on the part of Sir Mulberry, Lord Frederick is ready to justify."

"There is no more to be said," returned the other, "but to settle the hour and the place of meeting. It's a responsibility; but there is a strong feeling to have it over do you object to say at sunrise?"

"Sharp work," replied the captain, referring to his watch; "however, as this seems to have been a long time brooding, and negociation is only a waste of words-no."

"Something may possibly be said out of doors, after what passed in the other room, which renders it desirable that we should be off without delay, and quite clear of town," said Mr. Westwood. "What do you say to one of the meadows opposite Twickenham, by the river-side ?"

The captain saw no objection.

"Shall we join company in the avenue of trees which leads from Petersham to Ham House, and settle the exact spot when we arrive there ?" said Mr. Westwood. To this the captain also assented. After a few other preliminaries, equally brief, and having settled the road each party should take to avoid suspicion, they separated. "We shall just have comfortable time, my lord," said the captain, when he had communicated the arrangements, "to call at my rooms for a case of pistols, and then jog coolly down. If you will allow me to dismiss your servant, we 'll take my cab, for yours, perhaps, might be recognised."

What a contrast, when they reached the street, to the scene they had just left *

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Thay namai drogh the quiet streets, made their call at the captain's lodgings, deared the town, and emerged upon the open road, without hindrance or molestation. Fills, res pelas, bedres, everything locked very beautiful; the young man scarvely seemed to have noticed them before, though he had passed the same objects a thousand times. There was a peace and serenity upon them all strangely in variance with the bewilderment and confusion of his own half-sobered thoughts, and yet impressive and welcome. He had no fear upon his mind; but as he looked about him he had less anger, and though all old delusions, relative to his worthless late companion, were now cleared away, he rather wished he had never known him, than thought of its having come to this.

The past night, the day before, and many other days and nights besides, all mingled themselves up in one unintelligible and senseless whirl; he could not separate the transactions of one time from those of another. Last night seemed a week ago, and months ago were as last night. Now the noise of the wheels resolved itself into some wild tune, in which he could recognise scraps of airs he knew, and now there was nothing in his ears but a stunning and bewildering sound like rushing water. But his companion rallied him on being so silent, and they talked and laughed boisterously. When they stopped he was a little surprised to find himself in the act of smoking, but on reflection he remembered when and where he had taken the cigar.

They stopped at the avenue gate and alighted, leaving the carriage to the care of the servant, who was a smart fellow, and nearly as well accustomed to such proceedings as his master. Sir Mulberry and his friend were already there, and all four walked in profound silence up the aisle of stately elm trees, which, meeting far above their heads, formed a long green perspective of gothic arches, terminating like some old ruin in the open sky.

After a pause, and a brief conference between the seconds, they at length turned to the right, and taking a track across a little meadow, passed Ham House, and came into some fields beyond. In one of these they stopped. The ground was measured, some usual forms gone through, the two principals were placed front to front at the distance agreed upon, and Sir Mulberry turned his face towards his young adversary for the first time. He was very pale-his eyes were blood-shot, his dress disordered, and his hair dishevelled-all, most probably, the consequences of the previous day and night. For the face, it expressed nothing but violent and evil passions. He shaded his eyes with his hand, gazed at his opponent steadfastly for a few moments, and then, taking the weapon which was tendered to him, bent his eyes upon that, and looked up no more until the word was given, when he instantly fired.

The two shots were fired as nearly as possible at the same instant. At that instant the young lord turned his head sharply round, fixed upon his adversary a stly stare, and, without a groan or stagger, fell down dead.