Brothers

er and older," sa

till retained the bloom and freshness of the débutante. She stood at the middle window of the morning-room of Randolph House, the big brown house at the corner of Belgrave Square, from whose hospitable doors Archibald and Mark Samphire had driven to L

er?" Lady Ra

the London sparrows had to bathe, and that they learned to love it. How jolly they look,

laid down th

n made a minor canon of Wes

Randolph perceived a faint pink blu

is coming here t

in South Africa, buying and selling gold-mines. He was now a junior par

come to us at Birr Wood for the Whitsuntide

ere careful to mak

et

him for eighteen months. Yes-ask him. Make him co

l with the De Courcy eyes, but in vain. "And yet she is not cold," mused her friend; "a passionate nature if ever there was one. How will it end?" She often told herself that this ever-increasing interest in Betty made life worth the living. She recognised in her qualities which invited speculation. Betty had a sense of religion lacki

im Corrance. He explained that he had

he days when you were so kind to us. So I asked if you were at home

she added quickly: "She is upstairs, prink

him again this afternoon," said Jim gr

Lady Randolph drily

against which Mark was contending. La

u indict Mark's common sense and worldly wisdom, but are you

ce was

offer, a freethinker, a woman of the world. It is amazing that I can sympathise at all with Mark, yet I do, and so do you, my friend. You are no more sure tha

was so warm, that Lady Randolph made certain the girl's heart was untouched so far as Jim Corrance was concerned. Soon after the three joined Lord Randolph in the dining-room, where

she added: "Have you heard of Archie's prefermen

omest young man in the Church of

rchie had a leg for a ga

a man into high places; and Archie is hard-working

of his friend's success; but Betty

as always got what he wanted. Some fellows at

hich ought to have gone to the eldest son-George? Archie won the old lady's heart, when he was a boy, by writing her a wonderful letter;

k dictated it, for a lark. And I contributed a word or two. She sent Archie a fiver when he got into the Sixth, and he c

tainly a favourite of the Gods. Luck? Good Gad-who

behind the counter of a haberdashe

to sit beside young Samphire and you, my boy, but the other lad, Mark, the fe

lso his last

ared. "You don't mean that.

d Betty, "but his stam

," said Lord Randolph. "What a pi

ys comes out," said

d. Lady Randolph commissioned him to persuade Mark to be of the party. Archibald-she felt assured-

t those few minutes stood out sable against the white background of their previous intercourse. Never could he forget Mark's delight at seeing him: the light in his blue eyes, the grasp of his thin hand, the thrill of his voice. And yet, to offset this, was the grim fact that his friend's health and strength wer

e names of the successful strivers, the prosperous tradesmen, merchants, and bankers. Farther on, in Fleet Street, might be seen other names-those of the heralds and recorders of human effort-the famous newspapers. Jim's eyes spa

unhurt. Jim gave him half a crown and a scolding, much to the amusement of the burly policeman, who was of opinion that the young rascal might

, clear eyes, and general air of sanity. Some of the men at the Mission were ill-equipped for the pleasures of life, and therefore, perhaps, more justified in accepting its pains in the hope of compensation hereafte

said the young fellow. "Can I offer you

will j

ther-isn't it? And a thirst is catching. I've been working amongst the navvies this mor

d from them, by a natural transition, to David Ross, who had just been

a bishop nowadays must be more concerned with the present than the past. Ross chucked the schools, and he was right; he has given his attention to conditions of life amongst the very poor, and I belie

this conversation, and the

seldom get. Half our fellows are discouraged, and show

aid Jim abruptly. "It's amazing

ty, which at first Mark refused to join. Jim grew warm in persuasion, accusing Mark of churlishness

preach in Westchester

e you," Jim re

p-p-preach,"

lies imprisoned in a speck of dust. Seen by the polarised light of his imagination these dreary dwellings showed all the colours of the spectrum. Here lived a family of weavers; there, behind those grimy windows, were fashioned the wonderful hats-the bank-holiday hats of Whitechapel. Of every trade pursued in this

re mount

ack-eh?" Corrance said quickly. He was sorry he had put the

rhaps, as one climbs higher the pleasant valleys will g

far-down hill." Then, reading dismay in Mark's face, he added with a laugh: "Don't speak; I have said to

troubled waters surged betwe