The Judgment House

speshul-all about K

y with a bunch of pink papers under his arm shot hither and thit

-all about the war wot's com

loor of a building in the street a

. So it is coming, is it, Johnny Bull; and you do know all about his guns, do you? If it is, a

an impromptu refrain

ite a lot, Johnny

quite a lot,

took the doorway and the staircase at a bound. Like all his kind, he was a good judge of character, and one glance had assured him that he was speeding upon a visit of profit. Half a postman's kno

m'lord-all about

at darkened the window, and he pronoun

t was the same size as a halfpenny; but even before the swift fingers had had a chance to feel the coin, or the glance went down, the face reg

made assurance of the fortune which had come to h

ts contents, and he paused to scan him more closely. He saw the hunger in the lad's eyes as they swept over the breakfas

said, as the boy tur

y'r

ur brea

ng papers closer under his arms, and kept his face turned resolutely a

he said under his breath. "How many

ed. "I'll soon get 'em off now. Luck's wiv me di

he other said, handing

bling was due to honest agitation. He

right," the ot

s natural cupidity had given way to a certain fine f

o'll be glad to give a penny to know all about Kruger's guns." He too so

h a humour which opened the doors of Ian Stafford's heart wide; for

d. "I'll get my profit, never fear. Now what about

lad's glance went eagerly towards the door, for the tension of

. But, no, you'd better have a wash-up first, if

ekfist wiv y'

ight grimace-"and there's plenty left fo

attempt to justify his decision to eat this noble breakfa

st piping hot again. It was an easy task, as heaters were inseparable from his bachelor meals, and, though this was o

ed the coffee too, but that his master took the pot from his hand and with a nod and a smile dismissed him; and his master's smile was worth a good deal to Gleg. It was an exacting if well-paid service, for Ian Stafford was the most particular man in Europe, and he had grown excessively so during the past three years, which, as Gleg observed, had brought gr

ed; for he had decided that the general cause of the change in his master

ive his guest a fair chance at the food and to overcome his self-consciousness. He got an occasional glance at the trencherman, however, as he changed the sheets, stepped acro

the table were decreasing, he put down his paper.

gryce, not never any time," the boy answe

here e

jar of marmalade and half a slice of toast. "I likes

rturbations of a crossing from Flushing still in his system, and its equilibrium not fully restored; and yet, with the w

ot from where he sat, and he thought each of them would thank whatever gods they knew for

zzle with War Stores-Milner and Kruger No Nearer a Settlement-Sull

and goodly toil and civilized conditions, this sickly froth of the muddy and dolorous stream of lower England? So much withdrawn from the sources of the possible re

st hold our own," he said, aloud, with a sigh. "If it comes, we must see it through; but the breakfasts w

s your name

" was th

t el

', y'r

ger-

nyme I got,"

ther's or your

none. I only

s her

ame yistiddy. She was took on at the opera yistiddy, to sing wit

of his own family, and of much account in circles he frequented. "

she'd have to be called somefink, and so they called her that

he do befor

e says. 'Not much,' Lou says, 'not if I knows it. I seed your kind frequent.' But 'e stuck to it, an' says, 'It's stryght, an' a lydy will come for you to-morrer, if you'll be 'ere on this spot, or tell me w'ere you can be found.' An' Lou says, says she, 'You buy my flowers, so's I kin git me bread-baskit full, a

at's 'er-that's 'er!" he said

ued her from the flames. He had bought it then. It had been unpacked again by Gleg, and put in the place it had occupied for a day or two before he had gone

?" he said, musingly, to t

ood look at it,"

s 'er-done up for th

s all right, then. That

keep close to that there wall,' I sez. 'There's a ch

me the lad snuggled up to a wall which had a warm chim

become of you?"

, turning over the two shillings and some coppers

you a sovereign," he said-"twenty shillings, for your fair start; and I want you to

right almost came into the

He seemed anxious to get away, and looked round for his cap. He

nine o'clock on Sunday-week with the

moment later, hearing a whoop, Stafford went to the window and, looking down, he saw his late visitor turning a car

we shall see," he said. "Perhaps it will be m

mah on the mantelpiece. He went ov

Isn't there one of you that can be absolutely true? Isn't there one that won't smirch her soul and kill the faith of those that love her for some moment's excitement, for gold to gratify a vanity, or to have a wider sweep to her skirts? Vain, va

to England, I should begin to unpack a lot of old memories, empty out the box-room, and come across some useless and discarded things. I'll settle

Ayres, Johannesburg. His lip curled a little with almost playful scorn. At St. Petersburg, Vienna, and elsewhere he had been vaguely conscious of these social changes; but they did not come within the ambit of his daily life, and so it had not mattered. And there was no reason why it should matter now. His England was a land the original elements of which would

y only rushed and pushed where their spreading tails could be seen by the multitude. They never got farther west than Rotten Row, which was in possession of three classes of people-those who sat in Parliament, those who had seats on the Stock Exchange, and those who could not sit their horses. Three years had not do

down the columns, came upon

re presently to receive at Glencader Castle the Duke and Duchess of Sheffield, the Prince and Princess of Cleaves, M. S

t he has done, and she is a genius by nature, and with so much left undone. The Slavonian Ambassador-him, and the French Foreign Minister! That looks like a useful combination at this moment-at this moment. She has a gift for combinations, a wonderful skill, a still

, where he had placed it nearly three years ago, a letter. He looked at the long, sliding handwriting, so graceful and fi

d, ironically, to these letters. "I ought to have banished her long ago, but, to tell you the truth, I didn't realize how much

ttle supercilious and scornful. Sitting down by the table, he spread the letter out, and read it with great delibera

many good hours together, there has been such confidence between us, that no other friendship can ever be the same; and I shall always want to go to you, and ask your advice, and learn to be wise. You will not turn a cold shoulder on me, will you? I think you yourself realized that my wish to wait a year before giving a final answer was proof

ng, sat back in his chair

r worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part, amen-' That was the way to have done it, if it was to be done at all. Her cleverness forsook her when she wrote that letter. 'Our year of pr

er, but got up, went over to the fir

a terrible confession, damning evidence, a self-made exposure, and to keep it is too brutal, too hard on the woman. If anything h

ly, she had taken the waste-basket and emptied it into the flames. She had watched the tiny fragments burn in a fire not hotter than that in her own eyes, which presently were washed by a flood of bitter tears and passionate and unavailing protest. For hours she had s

ave not been generous live up to things; to you it is given to live down to them; and no one can do it so well. We have had good times together-happy conversations and some cheerful and entertaining dreams and purposes. We have made the most of opportunity, each in his and her own way. But, my dear Jasmine, don't ever think that you will need to come to me for advice and to learn to be wise. I know of no one from whom I could learn, from whom I have learned, so I much. I am deeply your debtor for revelations which never could have come to me without your help. There is a wonderful future before you, whose variety let Time, not

sincerely, I

t for a while and answered several notes, among them one to Alice Mayhew, now the Countess of Tynemo

eat entertainments for charity, her successful attempts to gather round her the great figures in the political and diplomatic world; and her partial rejection of Byng's old mining and financial confreres an

ted her invitation now to spend the next week-end with her and her husband; and then, with letters to two young nephews in his pocket, he prepared to sally forth to buy them presents, and to get some sweets for the children of a poor invalid cousin to whom for years he had been a generous friend. For children he had a profound love, a

s an empty business, or so it seemed to him, who had come of a large and agreeabl

ent towards the door. His eyes caug

er mind then to marry him, ... I wonder what the end will be.... Sad l