not good for the beehive cannot be good for the bee.'"

"Yes, yes!" cried Dyce, eagerly. "Thank you very much for reminding
me; I had quite forgotten it."

They were no longer alone in the library; two other men had strolled
in, and were seated reading; on this account, Lord Dymchurch subdued
his voice even more than usual, for he had a horror of appearing to
talk pretentiously, or of talking at all when his words might fall
upon indifferent ears. Respectful of this recognised characteristic,
Lashmar turned the conversation for a minute to lighter themes, then
rose and moved away. He felt that he had made an impression, that
Lord Dymchurch thought more of him than hitherto, and this sent him
forth in buoyant mood. That evening, economy disregarded, he dined
well at a favourite restaurant.

On the third day after posting his letter to Constance Bride, he
received her reply. It was much longer than he had expected.
Beginning with a rather formal expression of interest in Dyce's
views, Constance went on to say that she had already spoken of him
to Lady Ogram, who would be very glad to make his acquaintance. He
might call at Rivenoak whenever he liked; Lady Ogram generally had a
short drive in the morning, but in the afternoon she was always at
home. The state of her health did not allow her to move much; her
eyes forbade much reading; consequently, talk with interesting
people was one of her chief resources.

"I say with _interesting_ people, and use the word advisedly.
Anything that does _not_ interest her, she will not endure. Being
frankness itself, she says exactly what she thinks, without the