The '' Good-bye'' Day. 177 



all, it sliould prove a blank; what a laugh 

 there will be at his expense !" 



'^ ^0," continued I, smoothing down my 

 chin (we didn't then wear beards,- more's the 

 pity) — ''no, Tom Smith — or ' Gentleman' Smith, 

 as he is most appropriately often called — is too 

 old a bird to expose himself to be pelted with 

 'chaff;' depend upon it, there is more in this 

 paragraph than 'is dreamt of in our philo- 

 sophy ;' " and I forthwith handed the myste- 

 rious document to my companion. 



" You may be a philosopher," said Stave- 

 ley, with a most provokingly intelligent smile, 

 "but, old fellow, you have most assuredly 

 proved yourself no conjuror ; it is evident that 

 this is a little jeu de mots, implying that it is 

 to be likewise a 'good-bye' or farewell day. 

 But although, of course, aware of his being a 

 'mighty hunter,' I had no idea that your 

 friend Tom Smith was such a wit as to be 

 capable of perpetrating this atrocious pun !" 



"Tom Smith," replied I, "is capable of 



