. He sunk entirely the circumstance of his having seen Miss Snaffle the day before; he also forbore to touch on his intention of paying that lady a second visit; and indeed on any one point that could give the smallest reason for conjecture that the whole was any other than a matter of a common cursory kind, which, in proportion as it was mysterious, so it sunk to nothing, the mystery being

cleared away. He was very much alive however to all those matters relative to Sir Daniel Dogbolt.—He hoped his friend would be able to clear them up: for, after all, he should not consider that part of the business at an end without a full and explicit satisfaction for the insult his wife had sustained in his absence.

'I am heartily sorry you were absent,' said Standfast. 'Proud as I was of chastising his insolence, it was certainly your right.'

Lord Hazard acknowledged his obligations, and proceeded to finish his account of this business, in which, upon the whole, he so well succeeded, that Lady Hazard declared she was, except a little remaining curiosity, perfectly satisfied.
Now came the tutor's turn. He began with saying he had a much longer tale to tell than either of them, and that since he was not then bound by the painful duty which had hitherto punctiliously kept him from divulging it, he thought himself obliged openly and without reserve to declare all he knew on the subject.
'But,' added he, 'I believe my lord they are too artful a set for us to place any reliance on what they tell us. What I am going now to inform you, I forced from the pretty baronet—if

he be one—who had the unparalleled insolence to insult this lady, for which—and I hope your lordship will not blame my too forward zeal, I had the honour of calling him to account.

Standfast here received the compliments he had once more fished for, and then went on: not without first exclaiming
'Heavens! why my lord a perfect stranger would have been entitled to the assistance I gave, much less her ladyship. A meer common exercise of humanity. Besides, the gentleman gave me very little trouble. He fences pretty well, but I soon disarmed him; and having his life in my power, I made use of this opportunity of extorting from him an account of himself and his associates. He said he had long secretly admired Lady Hazard, that he had tried many experiments to get an opportunity of disclosing his passion, but found none which had the smallest appearance of feasibility till about three
