186 THE SMUGGLER. 



mise! In three or four days, you know;" and with another 

 cordial farewell, they parted. 



When the stranger was gone, however, Mr. Croyland. 

 remained standing in the vestibule for several minutes, gazing 

 down upon the floor-cloth, and murmuring to himself various 

 broken sentences, from time to time. " Who'd have thought 

 it," he said; "thirty years come Lady-day next, since we 

 saw each other! But this isn't quite right of the boy: I will 

 scold him; I will frighten him, too. He shouldn't deceive; 

 nobody should deceive: it's not right. But after all, in love 

 and war, every stratagem is fair, they say; and I'll work for 

 him, that I will. Here, Edith, my love," he continued, 

 calling up the stairs, for he had heard his niece's light foot 

 above, "come, and take a walk with me, my dear: it will do 

 us both good." 



Edith came down in a moment, with a hat (or bonnet) in 

 her hand; and although Mr. Croyland affected, on most occa- 

 sions, to be by no means communicative, yet there was in his 

 whole manner, and in the expression of his face, quite sufficient 

 to indicate to his niece, that he was labouring under the pres- 

 sure of a secret, which was not a very sad or dark one. 



"There, my dear!" he exclaimed, "I said just now that 

 I would not have you marry; but I shall take off the restric- 

 tion. I will not prohibit the banns, only in case you should 

 wish to marry some one I don't approve. But I've got a 

 husband for you; I've got a husband for you, better than all 

 the Radfords that ever were christened; though, by the way, 

 I doubt whether these fellows ever were christened at all: a 

 set of unbelieving, half-barbarous sceptics. I do not think, 

 upon my conscience, that old Radford believes in anything 

 but the existence of his own individuality." 



" But who is the husband you have got for me?" demanded 

 Edith, forcing herself to assume a look of gaiety which was 

 not natural to her. "I hope he's young, handsome, rich, and 

 agreeable." 



"All, all!" cried Mr. Croyland. "Those are absolute 

 requisites in a lady's estimation, I know. Never was such a 

 set of grasping monkeys as you women. Youth, beauty, 

 riches, and a courtly air; you must have them all, or you are 

 dissatisfied; and the ugliest, plainest, poorest woman in all 

 Europe, thinks that she has every right to a phoenix for her 



