with shoulders depressed, and a twinkle of the eye, as if he purposed
amazing his auditor.'

'I hope you have had an adventure, for nothing else could justify
you,' said Mary, with some humour, but more gravity.

'Only a stray infant-errant, cast on my mercy at the junction station.
Nurse, between eating and gossiping left behind--bell rings--engine
squeaks--train starts--Fitzjocelyn and infant vis-a-vis.'

'You don't mean a baby?'

'A child of five years old, who soon ceased howling, and confided his
history to me. He had been visiting grandmamma in London, and was
going home to Illershall; so I found the best plan would be to leave
the train at the next station, and take him home.'

'Oh, that was quite another thing!' exclaimed Mary, gratified at
being able to like him. 'Could you find his home?'

'Yes; he knew his name and address too well to be lost or mislaid.
I would have come home as soon as I had seen him in at the door; but
the whole family rushed out on me, and conjured me first to dine and
then to sleep. They are capital people. Dobbs is superintendent of
the copper and tin works--a thoroughly right-minded man, with a nice,
ladylike wife, the right sort of sound stuff that old England's heart
is made of. It was worth anything to have seen it! They do
incalculable good with their work-people. I saw the whole concern.'

He launched into an explanation of the process, producing from his