ted to bear what was in reality my burden; for Julia had
distinguished me and not him with all the signs of affection, and of the
two I had the more thoroughly forgotten her; I believe Temple was first
in toasting her at Squire Gregory's table.  There is nothing like a pent-
up secret of the heart for accumulating powers of speech; I mean in
youth.  The mental distilling process sets in later, and then you have
irony instead of eloquence.  From brooding on my father, and not daring
to mention his name lest I should hear evil of it, my thoughts were a
proud family, proud of their origin, proud of their isolation,--and not
to be able to divine them was for the world to confess itself basely
beneath their level.  But, when they did pour out, they were tremendous,
as Temple found.  This oratorical display of mine gave me an ascendancy
over him.  He adored eloquence, not to say grandiloquence: he was the son
of a barrister.  'Let 's go and see her at once, Richie,' he said of
Julia.  'I 'm ready to be off as soon as you like; I'm ready to do
anything that will please you'; which was untrue, but it was useless to
tell him so.  I sighed at my sad gift of penetration, and tossed the
fresh example of it into the treasury of vanity.

'Temple,' said I, dissembling a little; 'I tell you candidly: you won't
please me by doing anything disagreeable to you.  A dog pulled by the
collar is not much of a companion.  I start for Julia to-morrow before
daylight.  If you like your bed best, stop there; and mind you amuse
Janet for me duing my absence.'

'I'm not going to let any one make comparisons between us,' Temple
muttered.

He dropped dozens of similar remarks, and sometimes talked downright
flattery, I had so deeply impressed him.

We breakfasted by candle-light, and rode away on a frosty foggy morning,
keeping our groom fifty yards to the rear, a laughable sight, with both
his coat-pockets bulging, a couple of Riversley turnover pasties in one,
and a bottle of champagne in the other, for our lunch on the road.  Now
and then, 