turday afternoon; and, as soon as they had dried them

h us until late in the evening, and Brown proposed that

h out a plot. Afterwards we can c

ng each man selected his own, and became so indignant at the bitter criticism to which it was subje

e there was half a line about myself in a newspaper, I should have tramped London to obtain that publication. Now, when I see a column headed with my name, I hurr

me quite what this friend was. Because he was my first friend, and we lived together in a world that was much bigger than this world-more full

er. We did not know then that what we meant, when we asked for "criticism," was encouragement. We thoug

d a high opinion of the other's talents I am convinced, but our heads were full of silly saws. We said to ourselves: "There are many who will praise a man; it is only his frien

nt the fallacy of these ideas. But then it w

o the other, and when he had finished he would say, "No

is thoughts, though he may

ng hearts are scored with wrinkles. Often we grow weary and faint-hearted. Is it not so, my friend? No one has faith in us, and in our dark hours we doubt ourselves. You are my comr

stitute for cruelty, would answer more in frankness than in friendship. T

re also faults (there are in some plays), and these I seized upon and made merry over. I could

e fire-he was but a very young man, you must remember-and then, standing before me with a white face, told me, unsolicit

ry crowded, and if we loose each other's hands we are soon hu

of the cool night air, was strolling home by the Embankment. A

you, guv'nor?" he said. The voice sounded

d by my hands. As the faint light illumined his

ar

"I didn't know it was you," he sai

houlder. His coat was unpleasantly greasy, and I drew my hand away again

conventional to be worth telling. Some of us go up, you k

a greasy pole, and am trying to stick there. But it i

t. He thrust his face forward close to mine,

an you could do any

side, I casting about for word

while, "I'm comfortable enough. We take life easi

I burst out angrily. "You had talent. You

think if somebody had believed in me it might have helped me. But nobody did, and at last I

ishment. "Nobody believed in you!" I repeated. "

ering our "candid cri

uietly, "I never heard

the neighbourhood of the Savoy, and, as he spoke, he

e me for a little way, they were soon swallowed up in the sound of other steps, and

the churchyard railings, a

nt was he, sir?" q

ery shabbily dressed-migh

in this town," replied the man. "I'm afraid

footsteps die away, knowing I should ne

is quite worth all the suffering that is inflicted in her behalf-whether she and we are better

at. We were made acquainted with this fact by havi

o improve himself; that is, where he was wrong. His method was to arrange the punt before starting in a line with the point towards which he wished to proceed, and then to push hard, without ever looking behind him, until something suddenl

long the passage at the moment, and the result to her was that she receive

on from the boy that he had come; but this double knock annoyed her: so much "style" was out

y boxing his ears first on one side and then on the other, "

ined the boy, rubbing his hea

looking round, but seei

at," answered the boy, sta

e is he?" a

oice; "'e was a-standin' there, at the o

and a spent but infuriated swimmer strugg

ently much relieved at this satisfactory solution

g him to do it." Saying which, my dripping friend, who had now scrambled upon deck, leant

received a fit and proper reward for his services. I had often felt inclined to give him something myself. I think

ce a week he should "make himself generally us

rds, and I repeated them to Amend

y morning at seven, and bring us our milk and the letters, an

ook stoc

on for him, sir, I should say, b

mp would cause us to leap from our seats and cry: "What on earth has happened?"

our boat would have died from drought. Never one drop of water did they receive from him. He was for ever taking them water, but he never arrived there with it. As a rule he upset the pail before he got it on to the boat at all, and this was the best thing that could happen, because then the water simply went back into the river, and did no harm to any one. Sometimes, however, he would succeed in landing it, and then the chances were he would spill it over the deck or into the passage. Now and again, he would get half-way up the ladder before the accident occurred.

He could not be sure of stepping from his own punt on to the boat with safety. As ofte

med of herself," I heard her telling him one morning; "she cou

tural. A comet appeared in the sky that year, and ev

there, sir?" He talked about

ed, "it's come. Ha

, s

look for it to-night

ke to see it. It's got

very fin

t 'ad a tail. Where do

ywhere. You'll see it in you

a sack of potatoes, plunged head f

sked him if he ha

couldn't see

you l

I looked a

it then?" I exclaimed. "It was a cl

n, sir. Where

in Amenda, who happened to be standi

everyw

had taken the stable lantern

mixed us a salad, according to a recipe given him by his aunt. On the Saturday morning, everybody was, of course, very ill. Everybody always is very ill after partaking of a

rry for you; but, for all that you can tell, if you hadn't eaten any of that stuff you might have been very much worse-perhaps dead. In all pro

y arrived I sei

ou something for colic-the result of vegetable poisoning. It must be something very strong, and enough for fo

back into his punt, and pushed off vigorously. I watche

th enough to sit still and feebly abuse him. At the end of an hour we were all feeling very much better. At the end of an

m sitting by the open door of his mother's cottage, with

's the matter? Why didn't y

nswered, "I was so queer.

n the morning," I said;

give me, sir: it

broke in

y, when you got to Mr.

mething to counteract the effects of vegetable poisoning.

at did

I'd better have enough for one to begin with; and th

ou tol

e right, and that 'e 'oped it would be a warning to me. And t

ou dra

s, s

the matter with you-that you were never feeling better

, s

ny kind occur to you in connection with t

, s

ord with the known laws governing human nature, that its details do not square with the aver

ley fashion to appear most cheerful when most depressed; it was that petty misfortunes and mishaps genuinely amused and inspirited him. Most of us can recall our unpleasant experiences with amused affection; Jephson

wed, and by supper time we were, as all Englishmen and women

and sat watching the lightning, which still played incessantly. Then, not unnaturally, the talk drifted i

were not. The one that left the strongest impre

ught, though I had not seen him for years. We walked together to Charing Cross, and there we shook hands and parted. Next morn

fall into. What was remarkable about the matter, however, was that throughout our walk I had conversed with the man under the imp

listening very thoughtfully, asked me if I be

I answered. "What do you mean by 's

Let me put a definite case. A spiritualist friend of mine, a sensible and by no means imaginative man, once told me that a table, through the medium of which the spirit of a friend had been in the ha

erally," he continued, "it seems to me that the difference between what we call the natural and the supernatural is merely the difference between frequency

ility of our spirit friends to give the quaint entertainments cr

we are by the exigencies of society, should care to spend its evenings carrying on a l

t I cannot understand,

her. Suppose a man died with the dearest wish of his heart unfulfilled, do you believe

this world at all, it is certainly more reasonable to imagine them engaged upon a task such as you suggest, than to

upon the back. "I was told a story this morning at the hospital by an old French doctor. The actual fa

e, however, is the part that is not

to think, however, it was connected with a woman. I think that, because he who had been wronged hated him who had wrong

, and the other man followed him. It became a point-to-point race, the first man having the adva

other was behind him, and hoping now and again that he might have baffled him, would rest for a while. The second man, knowing always just how

wer to the never-vari

lock last even

me something to eat, quick, whi

calculation would

et, Monsieur puts his

ge passed this way, with

sed early this m

francs apiece if you are thr

or dead hors

ir value wh

ervently, for men, when they are in sore straits, clutch eagerly at the straws of faith. He prayed that he might be forgiven his sin, and, more important still,

so that when the first man raised his eyes, he saw the face of his e

look of joy that shone out of the other man's eyes. And the other ma

is opportunity had come, there burst from the cathedral tower a sudden clash of bells, and the man, whose opp

he lay

ne the wrong rose up and

was the body of a stranger who had died suddenly in the c

n the tragedy became a worthy and usef

nt among them, stood in a certain corner a human skeleton. It was a very old and much

necessary to p

archment-faced old man who kept a dingy shop, where nothing

eur wanted-a singularly fine and well-proportioned 'study.' It should

hen Monsieur entered his laboratory th

to collect his thoughts. But Monsieur's thoughts were unruly,

man following. Finding himself reading this, he closed the book angrily, and went and stood by the window and looked out. He

in the room was laughing also. Struck suddenly still, with his feet glued to the ground, he stood listening for a while: then so

p sweat from his head a

girl, he opened the door and went in. To shame himself, he took his lamp in his hand, and crossing over to the far corner where

grinning head. The flame of the lamp flickere

creep in anywhere. He repeated this explanation to himself as he recrossed the room, walking backwards, with his eyes f

y about him, his eye fell upon a high screen, standing before the door. He dragged it forward, and placed it between himself and the thing, so that he could not see it-nor it see him. Then he

n so as to favour such an illusion. But what he saw was a bony hand coming ro

ng-where was it when they entered the room? and when they told him they had seen it standing where it always stood, and had gone down into the room to look again, because of his frenz

d. Then there came a chill autumn evening when the man

d books around him, and sat down before them in his h

he would fight his unreasoning fear. He crossed to the door and locked himself in, and flung th

good-night, as was her custom. She received no response, at first, and, growing nervous,

ice that had replied to her had been strangely grating and mechanical. Trying to de

into the next day, so no one thought to be surprised. When, however, evening came, and yet he did not

door and called to him, then beat with their fists upon

rst open the door, and, after many bl

But when they drew nearer and the light fell upon him, they saw the livid marks of bony fingers

*

oard. He said he felt he should like just a nip of brandy before going to bed. That is one o