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IALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] LADY DELMAR: A NOVEL OF TO-DAY. [y THOMAS TERRELL AND T. L. WHITE.1 SYNOPSIS. 4 Waif nattied Jes. about whose parentage there 'fffoat mystery, is adopted by a bocialiet leader, "I'tUan Strange, and an old lapidary named Bnron, .'•o has escaped from Siberia, and is now await- the return of his son and wife from tlia> p'ace. ttange fnlls in love with his ward, but Jess j>i»es across Lord Delmar, a nobleman of loose laf icler, during an election conies', who wins ?r affections. Strange neglects lo tell Jess of •> love, and Delmar tries to persuade her to elope. 6 intends to lull her scruples by a falsa Scotch a»'i'iage and then de3ert licr. CHAPTER X.—Continued. LI 4 RjVvv done, lad ?" repeated hi k/WllZdj Boron indignantly. A^^i/: Why, what more (/ lof^Haven't you saved <& ^er fr°m a |$o«f I wandering, and, may- vl 'NVV^ be, shame? Haven't • you watched her JW^7 ^rolH ber childhood \JfirM \S/J gentleness K ■ wW a of a woman ? Haven't v I you taught her and /t/|I r\ loved her all the }/\),Z^' while? Haven't you l ji made her what she j i9 ? True, she was a i V/: clear child when you ■ j»' brought her here; af but, though the seeds goodiuas were there, the flower might very Jfell have grown crooked, if it had not been f0* tbe careful training. Now, see how rich lt is in blossom how it flings its brightness hnd fragranae on all its surroundings. What ave you done, indeed ?'' Alman smifed sadly. Dear old friend, re too good to me you think too highly nie. You have done as much as, nay, Ore than lhave in teaching our darling." F S'fjiristi, I only helped—nothing more. or the last time, A Iman," and he dropped the x he was holding and leant earnestly for- lat >>' wain y°n- Speak before it is too Arid once more I ask, what do you toean y 1, Are you mad ?" cried the old man, whilti a ^ave of memory rushed across his seared e.ai't, and filled his voice with passionate PaIn. Oh I was so different when I loved my Judith veai-s, long years ago." He Poke his d-ad wife's name with infinite |athos, and a tear rolled down his wrinkled lace. l( AInian laid his hand gently on his friend's. will grant your request soon," he said j ^vb'; "let t'hat satisfy you; but if she 0lUse, then God help me! "he will not, lad," said Boron, confidently, j, Vou think not; but she knows so little of e world, she has seen so few Listen Ihcy ceased speaking, and Boron opened the #3?01'. Jess was singing. The words came stinctly to them. A is the token n imid will wed, Arut l,.ve for ever (ill life is lied, Tiie price of n kiss is ,re tt,'si,e said." Alnian slipped past the old man, and slid °wn the .stairs, and Boron, with a smile, °sed. the door, and went back to the little °*es of jewels. ^ess sang on. ,„P'i! timu shalfc be blessed with wealth uutdd. shalt have all that's bought or sold, 'lru siialt be clothed in silk and poH,' it, "Tis not the price of a maiden's ki.-8.' cl ivts obey thy least command?, Y'ns ana pearls shall adorn thy hand- JliWels brought from far distant Ian.ts.' Ie rii no tlf: piioe of a maiden's lâ5.' I I iiuvc no moic I 'No tnf'i'e ? cried she, No Inor that! 'hese to offer me ? 1'!¡en art thou 10 it-, as poor can be.' Gillian crept noiselessly into tbe room and ^°d behind her, a strange light in his eyes, deadly p;illor over-spreading his face, fehe it j hot hear him. „p.'lave but a lie.irf, and iisthey say ,|'s reckoned of poor account lo-uay, A,s seldom even given away.' And yet, 'lis the price of a kiss.' -he song was over, and Alman Strange ?s kneeling beside her, encircling her waist 19 ai, vilth his arms. p ss> g've that kiss." s:i 0r a second—to him an age—there was B encft; then, with a cry of remorseful s'he sprang to her feet. v>Ph, Alman; don't, don't." j.^he held out her hands imploringly, but he II not heed her. j you will hear me now. Jess, I have oiil ^ou ^or ycars* 1 think when you were lte'. a child you took my heart into your t Pl"g, and have had it ever since. I infant ce a' but I am only human. 1 have tried to from you till the time should come Us •ei| n° sbadow of a fear should stand between bee ou now a^'k°u§k -t have II Weak enough to speak to you in spite of my determination, although I ask you to give me the right of calling you by the sacred name of icife, I do not wish for that blessing till you know the secret of your birth, and then, Jess," his voice trembled with sup- pressed emotion, if in the time that inter venes between this and then, you should meet with one who finds more favour in your eyes, I will resign you without a word, for my love I is for you, not for myself." Ilis arm was round her still; he stroked her hair tenderly, but she shrank away with a piteous sob. Oh, can't you see, won't you see ?'' "Darling, do not cry so; jotj will break my heart," he said tenderly. Have I spoken too soon P I will wait dear, years, and years, if you will it, till you can giy, Aliiian, I have learnt to love you now." Dear, dear Alinan," she sobbed; "I hate myself, I hate myself. You are my first love, Jess," he went on, I have never loved before." (Ih, don't say any more," she implored you are making my task so hard." He was silent; then his heart suddenly seemed to stand still, and a mist gathered slowly before his sight. "Forgive me," she pleaded, looking up at him with streaming eyes. It cannot be, I never dreamt of this I have always loved vou as my brother, but only as my brother. The possibility of another love never presented it- self to me. Oh, don't look like that, Alman, I would rather die than give you pain." He i ever moved, but his arms relaxed their hold and fell straight to his sides. She put her arms round his neck then, in an agony of sorrow, Alman, I did not mean it. Take me, for am I not yours ? What should I have been but for you—am I not yours already ? Take me!" Then slowly, as if sense had deserted him, and was restored again, he moved and looked down at her. Forget this madness on my part, be said huskily, and forgive it; I should be worse than the lowest of all mankind did I accept the sacrifice you offer. It is your heart I want, and you cannot help it if you do not love me I was mad, mad." He turned mechanically to leave her, but she followed him and laid her hand on his arm. Alman, you are not angry with me?" He looked at her with a yearning tender- ness, stooped and kissed her reverently on the forehead, and without another word left the room. She waited till his footsteps died away, and then the sorrow of the last few moments found vent and she cried as if her heart would break. 0 Alman, dear kind Alman, I cannot help it," she thought when her tears were ex- hausted if only I had died before I made you miserable." Alexis Boron was amazed it was one of the dearest wishes of his life to see the two united, and a feeling of anger against Jess found place for the iirst time in bis heart. He paced up and down his narrow room with rapid strides, speaking in disjointed sentences. Who would have thought it ? Bah! she is but a child, after all. And yet, I could have sworn that she would have made another answer a few months ago. What has come over her ? Woman, woman, thou art an un- readable riddle—but I had no cause to say that when I was a young man-live and learn, they say. Well, they speak truly. I have learnt a lesson to-day, and I felt so sure, so sure." A looker-on would have thought that Boron suffered more than his friend; for Alman Strange had quietly resumed his seat at the table and appeared to listen without com- ment. fjome thought seemed to strike the old man, for he went towards him and laid his hand on his shoulder. My lad, do not despair; with God's will all may yet come right. Go away for a bit; it will make a new man of you. Don't let me think that my foolish old blundering has spoilt your life the child will be safe with I me." Alman shook his head, he could not trust himself to speak. "It is, as you said," continued Boron, ,i when I refused to believe you. She is only I a child; her heart is unawkened as yet, but bv-and-bye she will understand and read what is now illegible." Still Alman Strange was motionless; his manhood kept back the only source of conso- lation which blunts the edge of a woman's grief, but the working muscles in his throat made Boron's heart ache as he watched him. It is ever so, my lad, to live is to suffer sorrow and tears—such is life." Another pause, and then, with a muttered excuse, the old man went, as he said, to attend to his furnace, and withdrew to the inner room. lIe closed the door softly behind him, feeling, with extreme delicacy, that his pre- sence was not needed. Alman roused himself and looked round; he was alone. With a shuddering sigh he buried bis face on his folded arms. CHAPTER XL IN THE TEMPLE. Everyone—that is, everyone who is anyone —knows the Temple. The Temple, with its fountain and its trees, and its old halls and libraries, and its rare old church. The Temple with its old associations twined round and round the history of our country; second to no place in this respect, except, perhaps, it be to the sacred vaults of Westminster Abbey. The Temple is associated with our great ones in their lives; the Abbey, with our great ones in the repose of the tomb which shall bear the palm? The living Templar thinks the former. The dead ones that were great think the latter, no doubt; but, then, they are dead, and we write for the living, whose sympathies should be with the living. The Temple is par excellence the domicile of the Bar of England. Of course, jealous Equity will ask, What about Lincoln's Iiin ? We do not think that Lincoln's Inn can even pre- tend to equality with the Temple. It is not so old, it is not so concrete; it has a great his- tory, no doubt, but somehow or other it impossible to attach that history to anything more than the name. lio,.v can you ponder on antiquity when you contemplate that great pile, of Victorian architecture? It is inipos- sible. But stand in the Middle Temple 11 all and look around you, and you will at once feel that it is peopled with ghosts, crowded with recollections. You can see the an Masters of the Bench sitting round that magnificent black table, generations upon generations of them. You can see gay: students boisterous in the enjoyment of call nights without number; the ioving cup goes round and round; it is the same ctip i,o-di.v as then, but the drinkers have passed and passed and passed again, and yoa can see those same students, turn by turn, moving on to man's estate, then stepping on to the raised platform of the Bench, and some of them on to Serjeants' Inn, and at last one or two to the vaults of Westminster Abbey. Yes, this is antiquity; real antiquity, when the sight of the old place is enough to conjure up these thoughts and these spirits, when you are helped to see the past as if it were to-day, when you feel that in a moment you can drop back a hundred years, two hundred, five hun- dred, and even in the old church seven hun- dred years into the past, and you see things as they were then, you alone standing living to protest against the progress of time. Pardon, we wander from the story; we are apt to do so on the subject of our home, and we ask for forgiveness. But go yourself to the Temple, not with a guide, but alone; wander about its old courts and passages, wander into the balls, and chiefly into the ohur h sacred to the memories of the Knights Templars, and if you are not an iconoolast, you will see for yourself what we feel about It all. John Fenley, of the Middle Temple, Esquire, Barrister-at-! aw, was a very well- known man. lie was a rising junior of about forty-five years of age. The Bar is essen- tially a middle-aged man's profession it is a profession in which experience is the chief qualification, and young men have, as a rulr, no experience, except in directions where their experience may be fruitful of very sad recolleetions. but of nothing more. John Fenley had profited by twenty years of actual work in his profession, and there were very few things that he did not know, and those things he didn't know were probably not worth knowing. He was a tall man, always very smartly dressed, with no beard or moustache, but with iron-grey whiskers very professionally trimmed p he wore a pair of gold eye-glasses, which, whether posed grace- fu'ly upon his nose, or used as a pointer, or to tap a document, were always of consider- able effect upon the mind of the jury. John Fenley was always calm and dignified in his demeanour; his knowledge of law was admitted to be profound; and as his powers of speech also were great, it was felt that, whether he took silk or was promoted to the Bench from stuff, he had a great future before him. If you will go down Middle Temple-lane and turn under the archway leading to Crown Office How, you will see a flight of stone steps to the left of you, evidently leading up into the building. On the doorpost you will observe a very long column of names these are the names of the barristers-at-law who enjoy the right of exercising their profession She'.ç not to be pititd: $he l'lap!d /1(1' c(ti'ds badly and lost." in that building. Erery doorway in the Temple contains as many. Your first impres- sion is one of amazement, your wildest ima- gination has never realised the idea of such a mass of wigs and gowns as must be repre- sented by all these names. Then you will begin to read down the list, aDd you wi!l be surptised that you have never even heard of one of the gentlemen before, unless indeed it be of John Fenley. There are between seven and eight thou- sand barristers, and there is work for, say, live hundred at the most. What becomes of the rest ? God lmows! We saw one the other day carrying loads in Covent Garden Market, We think his name is still on a door in the Temple somewhere. He did not see us we are glad for his sake, poor chap His downfall is not due to drink or vice or anything of that sort. He was not very bright, and he was crowded out; that was all. "The Bar is a profession of disappointment, and there are three sorts of disappointments. There is first that of the man who has failed altogether, who has struggled for years and waited with the patience of a Job, and has got nothing. Probably quite nine out of every ten who are called are doomed to dis- appointment. Then there is that of the man who, having moderate ability, has succeeded moderately, but who has reached a limit, an im- passable barrier which seems to block his way he has to realise that he will never be Lord Chancellor nor Lord Chief Justice, nor even a common judge. It is sad but as we cannot all of us climb on to the Bench, it is a neces- sary fate, although naturally those who are doomed to it feel a disappointment. Then last of all, and by no means least, is that of the man who has devoted his whole life and energies to his profession, who has realised all his ambition, and, having realised it, looks back upon it all. He sees a life devoted to the unravelling of minute, unimportant and now useless details, a life devoted to an everlasting series of efforts to outwit other barristers, or to deceive juties or judges, and the progress of which has depended upon the degree of success with which that feat has been accomplished; a life which, during its whole course, has been spent in contact with the most seamy side of human nature, in constant contemplation of crime, of avarice, of perjury, of e.vrv bad and sordid motive, a life for the living of which no man will ever bless him, which in its course has served no purpose, and which with Its close will leave humanity none the better for that it has been lived. A mangoes in for medicine; he receives the gratitude of mankind, and he has an opportunity of making discoveries which will live for ever he goes in for literature or for art, and the world is made better or nobler by his labours; he goes in for science, and the stock of human knowledge may be in- creased. In every branch of intellectual enterprise he has a chance of doing some good, even though he be nothing but a politician. There is only the exercise of the law which of all the learned professions seems to serve no purpose, to accomplish no end, to leave nothing behind, and yet the Bar is reckoned at the head of human occu- pations perhaps this is in pursuance of that law which seems always to lay down, The less you do the more shall you be esteemed." It was past four, and the courts had risen for the day. John Fenley was in his room settling pleadings, writing opinions, and look- ing up points of law with the aid of the authorities which surrounded him in the shape of countless volumes of law reports and text tooks. Mr. Elias Jones, John Fenley's clerk, was varying the monotony of his occupation by prepari ng a cup of tea. Tea in the Temple," what a fascination this phrase has for the fair sex You are acquainted with a barrister; you have been shopping, and you just run iuto the Temple with a lady friend, and introduce her to the mysteries of (i tea in the Temple." You are shown into the pupils' room as a rule it is the most convenient, as it is generally empty. Barrister's pups," as these budding ones are called, are not assiduous in their labours. Of course, had they known that you were going to honour them with a call, they would not have missed you for the world, and you would have found them buried in briefs and draft papers and authorities, and you would have bestowed a deal of delightful pity upon them but then they did not know, so you find the pupils' room in its normal conditioa-enipty, and the barristers' pups may be seen playing lawn tennis in the gardens just below, or else smoking in the common room, and discussing the 'atest bit of legal scandal ad nauseam. Your friend, the barrister, leaves his papers and clients and oomes and has tea with you. The tea is made by the clerk, and is served in a curious collection of odd tea-cups and saucers, remnants which have survived the handling of Temple laundresses and boys. Every now and then he is oalled out to see a client who wishes to ask a question, and whilst he is gone you skip around and seek to satisfy the natural curiosity of woman by reading the endorsements on the briefs. If your eyes catch the magic words Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division," and just underneath Divorce" in large letters, you gloat over your discovery, and you long just to to untie the red tape and see whether there is anything spicy and interesting concealed in that bundle of papers. However, your friend returns, and when he opens the door he is sura to find you sitting very demurely and quietly discussing the merits of the tea, and he apologises for having been compelled to leave you. Mr. Elias Jones was making tea; there came a knock at the door. Just attend to the kettle," remarked MV, Jones to the boy, who being engaged to run errands, rejoiced in the name of junior clerk. Then Mr. Jones opened the door. f¡ Is Mr. Fenley in ? "Yes, sir, but we are very busy this after- noon who shall I say r Mr. Jones had a horror of callers who did not come on business, and wasted our" time without any corresponding entries being made in the fee book. "Say Lord Delmar." Mr. Jones had heard of Lord Delmar, it just occurred to him that there might be a society divorce or breach of promise in the wind, so he ushered the noble Lord into Fen- ley's room at once. Hallo, Delmar," said Fenley, looking up in some astonishment, what in the name of fortune brings you here ? I hadn't seen you for such a long time, old chap, I thought I'd get as far as the Temple and look you up." Got into some mess or other, I suppose," answered Fenley, just a trifle drily. Not a bit of it; there isn't a raffle. I'm not even in debt, what d'ye think of that now; haven't I reformed ? May I light a cigar ? "Certainly." I heard about you yesterday." Indeed ? About that Fantail affair." Ah yes, I remember, that was an in er- resting case." Poor Poll." She's not to be pitied; she played her cards badly and lost." "It was deuced clever of you to think of the point; however do you lawyers always manage to find a flaw somewhere? We don't always, but in this case I was assisted by the law reports; there is a very well-known case called Lawford against Davis, in which the very same point arose; look here." And the barrister took down a volume from the shelves. Four Probate Division at page sixty-one," he said, turning over the leaves to find the exact place. This is a case of which every lawyer is familiar from some curious circumstances which arose afterwards." If the marriage was void, why did they want a Court to declare it void?" asked Delmar, reading the report. Well, you see the lady had it in her mind to marry again, and as the point was not quite clear, she wished to make certain, so that she might not be said to have committed bigamy." I see this applies only to irregular mar- riages in Scotland, what about regular mar- riages ? "A regular marriage is a marriage by banns. 1 am not well up in Scotch Law, but it appears that if you are married by banns the Act would not apply." It was lucky for Fantail he was not mar- ried by banns." Undoubtedly." "I suppose if Fantail marries again it would be bigamy r "Oh dear, no, the marriage is void; it is the same as if there was no marriage at a^' • C x, • Then a marriage of this kind does not count in the question of bigamy? No," answered the lawyer. "That's all right then." What d'you mean ? "I was thinking of Fantail, it would be so sad for the poor chap not to be married to Poll, and not to be able to marry any one else." You seem to take a wonderful interest in Fantail."

F R Y'S PURE CONCENTRATED C 0 C 0 A% i & From W. H. STANLEY, M.D. kcP I consider it a very delicious Cocoa. It is highly concentrated, and therefore econo- mical as a Family Food. It is the drink par excellence for Children, and gives no trouble in making." rAInS EXHIBITtOy, 1839, GOLD MEDAL AWARDED TO J. S. FRY and SONS. v A

gga* GO* VS1 MiEE At ¥HE TOP km PLACE f 15 SECOND INSIDE THE FIRST HALF.

"Of course; he's an old pal of mine, a very dear old pal." Lord Delmar did not observe the distilla- tion between the lirst marriage being vdid and the second being void. The second mar- riage constitutes the crime in bigamy if the first marriage is void there is no first mar- riage, then the second marriage is valid, and there is no crime if, on the other hand, the first marriage is valid, then the going through the ceremony of the second marriage is the crime; for, the second marriage in such cir- cumstances never could be valid. However, he was satisfied with the answer and did nof trouble to pursue the subject further. Mr. Elias Jones brought in the tea. "How is the Earl ? inquired Fenley. He is bothering me to stand for East St. Peter's again." Well, why don't you? It would give you something to do." Look here, Fenley, it's all very well for you lawyers to get into Parliament, you've got something to gain by it. They can make you a judge or a law-officer, or something of the sort, but whatever use is it to me ? And then, I don't care for electioneering down in that beastly East-end. You just go and try it. Why, I couldn't eat a dinner the whole time I was a candidate; I positively felt sick." I believe there's a good chance of success next time, I see the Social Democrats are going to vote for the Home Rule candi- b dates." "Are they? Damn the Social Demo- crats." You're very much out of temper." "No, I'm not, only I do wish the Earl would not be so persistent about this matter of the election; then he wants me to follow the lead of Chamberlain; what d'you think of that l' "I think it would be a mistake, Chamber- lain is making a great blunder; he has been allowed so much rope that he is going to hang himself. The G.O.M. is too strong for Master Joe." For myself, I don't care a fig one way o* the other, only what I do say is that I'm not going to follow the lead of the Chamberlains J I hate the whole of thewS" You'd better adopt Home Rule, it's the winning hand; you will lose the first trick, but after that you must sweep the board." We've no estates in Ireland. I think I might very well go in for Home Hule, that is provided it is going to be carried in the end. Somehow or other the Earl seems to think it is not exactly the thing. You must admit that it is not fashionable." It will be fashionable enough presently. Mark my words, Gladstone will be defeated at first there will be another election di- rectly. people will be frightened, and be will be badly beaten but after that there will oome a some reaction, and when that reaction comes the Hartingtons, and the Chamberlains, and the Henry James's will be relegated to poli- tical extinction. The Conservative Party will remain, but the Liberal Unionist will be annihilated. You go in for Home Rulej that is if you care a fig for any future politi- cal career." I'll think about it. I do not really con- sider the Earl has any settled principles, only he likes to be on the winning side and 80 do I, for the matter of that. Whatever you do, however, don't become a Liberal Unionist. If you want to rat, be a Tory out and out, but don't try to sit on the rail it can't be done in this case." Mr. Llias Jones here interrupted with the information that Messrs. Tozer and Tozer were waiting to see Mr. Fenley to endorse a writ for them. Lord Delmar said "Good- bye," and turning down Middle Temple-lane, started at a brisk walk along the Embank- ment. He was perfectly satisfied with the result ot his interview with the barrister. He feH secure as far as Jess was concerned, and, aftei all, if the worst came to the worst, and he should grow tired of her, as he had of Elsa, il would not be a very embarrassing thing tG make ample compensation to her in moneYí and having regard to the humble way in which she had been brought up, it would not be a very costly affair Then he set to work arranging the detaiia, He must get everything in readiness; he would require some money, so he turned up by Charing Cross and went into Coutts' Bank and cashed a cheque for a couple of hundred pounds, which he took in five and ten pound notes. After that he hailed a cab and drovt to bis chambers. "There are two or three men waiting tc see your lordship from Fast St. Peter's, remarked Japhet as be opened the door. What a damned nuisatico How long have they been here ?" Lord Delmar wati fu'l of other thoughts just then, and did not wish to be troubled with deputations. About an hour, my iord," I suppose I had better see them." Japhet helped his master off with his coat, and obsequiously led the wav and opened thfi door. The deputation arose as the noble lord entered. There was the secretary of the Liberal Association of East St. Peter's and Mr. Scroggins, the chairman, and one or two more. Lord Delmar was acquainted with them; he bowed, shook hands with Mr. Scrogginsi and took a seat. Lord Delmar," quoth the secretary, wa have been deputed by the Liberal Association of East St. Peter's to requtst you to contest the seat at the general election." Really, gentlemen," replied the noole lord, "I have scarcely considered the matter; is it quite clear that there will be a dissolu- tion?" 'It-L We have the best authority for it, my lord, that Mr. Gladstone will appeal to the country almost immediately after the divi- sion on the second reading, so we mcsfc be 1 ready." What makes you tbmk that I should bo 7