"No! I see but one! They are bringing him to the house!" were
morsels of information passed over the shoulders of the foremost
rank of inquisitive fair ones to the rear, but none were able to
answer the returning inquiries.

"Who is it?"

"What does he look like like?"

"Does he offer any resistance?"

"Do you suppose he is a burglar, or only a common vagrant?"

"I thought the Ridgeley grounds were never infested by prowling
beggars, or other vagabonds," said a lady to Mrs. Aylett, who
prudently remained near the fire, even then shivering with the cold,
and casting uneasy looks at the windows.

"Mr. Aylett is a model to his brother magistrates in his treatment
of such nuisances," remarked another "His name is a terror to
strollers, whether they be organ-grinders, pedlers, or
incendiaries."

Mrs. Aylett, excessively pale, applied her vinaigrette to her nose,
and trembled yet more violently.

"I believe he is very strict," she assented. "But I am really afraid
those ladies will take cold! The snow-air is piercing. And they
are--most of them--heated with dancing. Cannot we prevail upon them