. It may be presumed that Mr. Jones would not thus have expressed himself unless his friend Augustus Scarborough had dropped certain words in conversation in regard to Harr

king at the matter all round, that more was to

a good opinion of

y, which to me is odious. He was down upon you and down upon your father. Of course your father has made a most fraudulent attempt; but what the devil is it to him?" The other young man made no answer, but onl

which he thought entitled him to do so. But the weakness was not of that nature, and he had failed. Then had come the rivalry between Mountjoy and Harry, which had seemed to Augustus to be the extreme of impudence. From of old he had been taught to regard his brother Mountjoy as the first of young men-among commoners; the first in prospects and the first in rank; and to him Florence Mountjoy had been allotted as a bride. How he had himself learned first to envy and then to covet this allotted bride need not here be told. But by degrees it had come to pass that Augustus had determined that his spendthrift brother should fall under his own power, and that the bride should be the reward. How it was that two brothers, so different in character, and yet so alike in their selfishne

last,-Augustus did learn that there had been some great row between his brother and Harry Annesley. Then Mountjoy had disappeared,-had disappeared, as the reader will have understood, with his brother's co-operation,-and Harry had not come forward, when inquiries were made, to declare what he knew of the occurrences of that night. Augustus ha

that young man's about, you know,"

us did not quite understand why it was that they

ns to interfere with me, and I do n

ld thin

onians, or he and I will have a stand-up f

's so bumptious as that

ntjoy's hiding-place, and if so, how had he learned it? Why was it that Harry should be acquainted with that which was dark to all the world besides? Jones was of opinion that the squire knew all about it, and though

he,

't mean to

"How has he lied?" Augustus smiled and shook his head, from which the other man gathered that he was not now t

have heard of a young lady named

ss Mountjoy?"

o such a pass that he is not entitled to have a Miss Mountjoy any longer. It seems the p

marry

n't know that I've made up my mind. At any rate, I

ld thin

t quit of him the better. I should think the young lady would hardly fancy him when she knows t

o, I should

poor Mountjoy,-was the last to see him in London,-and has never come forward to say a word about him, then I think

t un

er. When Harry lectures me about my father and my father about me, one would suppose that there's not a hole in his own coat. I think he'll find that the garment is

on the day following Augustus followed him. "So you're of

got so many things to look after w

t all. I'm not going to ask you to stay. Does it

a ques

equires an answe

o me; but not at

ot pro

ourney down here is very short. It also occurs to me to think so from what

the surgeons ha

o you than I can be. Your condition is in some respects an advantage t

e wrong

ve not d

handwriting in their possession. There is not one who can say that he has even a verbal promise from me. They nev

haps

ied, but to you and to Grey. D–––– the creditors!

n the

ountjoy and that greedy pack of money-lenders? Grey must surely know the truth. But why should not Grey be deceived on the second event as well as the first. There was no limit, Augustus sometimes thought, to his father's cleverness. This idea had occurred to him within the last week, and his mind was tormented with reflecting what might