left me?"

She smiled and blushed.
"I am so surprised," she answered, "I don't know what to say."

"Disagreeably surprised?" I asked.
She first went on with her work, and then replied (a little

sadly, as I thought):
"No!"

I was ready enough to take advantage of my opportunities this
time; but she contrived with perfect politeness to stop me. She

seemed to remember with shame, poor soul, the circumstances under
which I had last seen her.

"How do you come to be at Duskydale?" she inquired, abruptly
changing the subject. "And how did you find us out here?"

While I was giving her the necessary explanations her father came
in. I looked at him with considerable curiosity.

A tall stout gentleman with impressive respectability oozing out
of him at every pore--with a swelling outline of

black-waistcoated stomach, with a lofty forehead, with a smooth
double chin resting pulpily on a white cravat. Everything in

harmony about him except his eyes, and these were so sharp,
bright and resolute that they seemed to contradict the bland

conventionality which overspread all the rest of the man. Eyes
with wonderful intelligence and self-dependence in them; perhaps,

also, with something a little false in them, which I might have
discovered immediately under ordinary circumstances: but I looked

at the doctor through the medium of his daughter, and saw nothing
of him at the first glance but his merits.

"We are both very much indebted to you, sir, for your politeness
in calling," he said, with excessivecivility of manner. "But our

stay at this place has drawn to an end. I only came here for the
re-establishment of my daughter's health. She has benefited

greatly by the change of air, and we have arranged to return home
to-morrow. Otherwise, we should have gladly profited by your kind

offer of tickets for the ball."
Of course I had one eye on the young lady while he was speaking.

She was looking at her father, and a sudden sadness was stealing
over her face. What did it mean? Disappointment at missing the

ball? No, it was a much deeper feeling than that. My interest was
excited. I addressed a complimentary entreaty to the doctor not

to take his daughter away from us. I asked him to reflect on the
irreparable eclipse that he would be casting over the Duskydale

ballroom. To my amazement, she only looked down gloomily on her
work while I spoke; her father laughed contemptuously.

"We are too completely strangers here," he said, "for our loss to
be felt by any one. From all that I can gather, society in

Duskydale will be glad to hear of our departure. I beg your
pardon, Alicia--I ought to have said _my_ departure."

Her name was Alicia! I declare it was a luxury to me to hear
it--the name was so appropriate, so suggestive of the grace and

dignity of her beauty.
I turned toward her when the doctor had done. She looked more

gloomily than before. I protested against the doctor's account of
himself. He laughed again, with a quick distrustful lo ok, this

time, at his daughter.
"If you were to mention my name among your respectable

inhabitants," he went on, with a strong, sneering emphasis on the
word respectable, "they would most likely purse up their lips and

look grave at it. Since I gave up practice as a physician, I have
engaged in chemical investigations on a large scale, destined I

hope, to lead to some important public results. Until I arrive at
these, I am necessarily obliged, in my own interests, to keep my

experiments secret, and to impose similar discretion on the
workmen whom I employ. This unavoidable appearance of mystery,

and the strictlyretired life which my studies compel me to lead,
offend the narrow-minded people in my part of the county, close

to Barkingham; and the unpopularity of my pursuits has followed
me here. The general opinion, I believe, is, that I am seeking by

unholy arts for the philosopher's stone. Plain man, as you see
me, I find myself getting quite the reputation of a Doctor

Faustus in the popular mind. Even educated people in this very
place shake their heads and pity my daughter there for living

with an alchemical parent, within easy smelling-distance of an
explosive laboratory. Excessively absurd, is it not?"

It might have been excessively absurd, but the lovely Alicia sat
with her eyes on her work, looking as if it were excessively sad,

and not giving her father the faintest answering smile when he
glanced toward her and laughed, as he said his last words. I

could not at all tell what to make of it. The doctor talked of
the social consequences of his chemical inquiries as if he were

living in the middle ages. However, I was far too anxious to see
the charming brown eyes again to ask questions which would be

sure to keep them cast down. So I changed the topic to chemistry
in general; and, to the doctor's evidentastonishment and

pleasure, told him of my own early studies in the science.
This led to the mention of my father, whose reputation had

reached the ears of Doctor Dulcifer. As he told me that, his
daughter looked up--the sun of beauty shone on me again! I

touched next on my high connections, and on Lady Malkinshaw; I
described myself as temporarily banished from home for humorous

caricaturing, and amiableyouthful wildness. She was interested;
she smiled--and the sun of beauty shone warmer than ever! I

diverged to general topics, and got brilliant and amusing. She
laughed--the nightingale notes of her merriment bubbled into my

ears caressingly--why could I not shut my eyes and listen to
them? Her color rose; her face grew animated. Poor soul! A little

lively company was but too evidently a rare treat to her. Under
such circumstances, who would not be amusing? If she had said to

me, "Mr. Softly, I like tumbling," I should have made a clown of
myself on the spot. I should have stood on my head (if I could),

and been amply rewarded for the gracefulexertion, if the eyes of
Alicia had looked kindly on my elevated heels!

How long I stayed is more than I can tell. Lunch came up. I eat
and drank, and grew more amusing than ever. When I at last rose

to go, the brown eyes looked on me very kindly, and the doctor
gave me his card.

"If you don't mind trusting yourself in the clutches of Doctor
Faustus," he said, with a gay smile, "I shall be delighted to see

you if you are ever in the neighborhood of Barkingham."
I wrung his hand, mentally relinquishing my secretaryship while I

thanked him for the invitation. I put out my hand next to his
daughter, and the dear friendly girl met the advance with the

most charmingreadiness. She gave me a good, hearty, vigorous,
uncompromising shake. O precious right hand! never did I properly

appreciate your value until that moment.
Going out with my head in the air, and my senses in the seventh

heaven, I jostled an elderly gentleman passing before the garden
gate. I turned round to apologize; it was my brother in office,

the estimable Treasurer of the Duskydale Institute.
"I have been half over the town looking after you," he said. "The

Managing Committee, on reflection, consider your plan of
personally soliciting public attendance at the hall to be

compromising the dignity of the Institution, and beg you,
therefore, to abandon it."

"Very well," said I, "there is no harm done. Thus far, I have
only solicited two persons, Doctor and Miss Dulcifer, in that

delightful little cottage there."
"You don't mean to say you have asked _them_ to come to the

ball!"
"To be sure I have. And I am sorry to say they can't accept the

invitation. Why should they not be asked?"
"Because nobody visits them."

"And why should nobody visit them?"
The Treasurer put his arm confidentially through mine, and walked

me on a few steps.