NEIGHBOURS. 
Mr. Wildgoose gave a ‘‘ great spread ” on the even- 
ing of the fire. Of course Mr. Brown was invited, 
but he declined, on the plea of being quite ‘‘ done up ” 
with the day’s , exertions, but actually he had not for- 
gotten the after results of the last spree, and had no 
wish to incur or run to the risk of incurring them 
again. In replying to the invitation, he jocularly re- 
marked that ^‘Wildgoose was a cool fellowg after 
setting fire to his coffee, and neaidy burning him out 
of his bungalow, on the very same day to invite him 
to dinner. When Mr. Wildgoose received this note, 
he and some of his friends had just returned from the 
fire. Of course they were tired and thirsty, so they 
finished off some bottles of champagne, which seemed 
to rouse his w*it, which indeed wois always rea(>y for 
a spark. So in. reply he wrote Mr. Browii, that he 
was not done with him yet. He had only been 
partially successful in burning him out, but he was 
going to persevere, so he wmiild be over immediately 
and now do his best in trying to smoke him out ! 
He would bring no tobacco with him, so if he had 
not a good suj)ply he wmuld smoke him dry, and it 
he was smoked dry it would not require much press- 
ing to come hack with him and get wet with two 
botiles of champagne which had been stowed away in 
a hide, on purpose fo- his sj)ecia] use. Mr. Brown 
laughed; his neighbour luctfi “ such a fellow,” but,- although 
his name was Brown, thei’e was not much “gr(>eii” 
in it. Two bottles of champagne were nothing be- 
tween two strong young fellows, but what would it lead 
to? His friend would not let him off witli this, there 
would be plenty m'ue of ‘‘other stuff'” on the side- 
board, Mr. Brown knew his friend better than his 
friend knew him. Mr. Browm was a Scotchman, and Mr, 
Wildgoose vvas English, hut perhaps many of our readers 
could catch this fact, without being told of it. 
It was a long time before it was safe to walk in 
the newly bnrnt-off' clearing, because, although it bad 
generally died out, yet in certain places hidden embers 
weae still glownng, and the passer-by m'ight suddenly 
pat his foot into a hot mass of ashes, which, 
if it did nothing worse, at all events spoilt his shoes. 
But, after a time, when work might be with safety 
commenced. The first job Mr. Wildgoose did, was to 
trace and cut a road, on the shortest route and easiest 
gradient up to the boundary of the ‘ ‘ Peela Tottam’^ 
coffee. Of course Mr. Brown could not do less than 
connect this road with one of his own, so that his 
neighbour could mount his pony at his own bungalow 
and gallop over to Brown’s in less than haif-an-hour. 
When Mr. Wildgoose felt dull and lonely, he would 
now never invite his neighbours, as the invitation was 
