_Undershell_ (_in an undertone to_ Lady MAISIE, _as they follow last_). Lady Maisie, I--er--this is just a _little_ unexpected. I confess I don't quite understand your precise motive in suggesting so--so hasty a departure.
_Lady Maisie_ (_without looking at him_). Don't you, Mr. Blair? Perhaps--when you come to think over it all quietly--you _will_.
[Illustration: "PERHAPS--WHEN YOU COME TO THINK OVER IT ALL QUIETLY--YOU WILL."]
_Undershell_ (_to himself_). Shall I? I certainly can't say I do just---- Why, yes, I _do_! That bully Spurrell with his horsewhip! She dreads an encounter between us--and I should much prefer to avoid it myself. Yes; that's it, of course. She is willing to sacrifice anything rather than endanger _my_ personal safety! What unselfish angels some women are! Even that sneering fellow Drysdale will be impressed when I tell him this.... Yes, it's best that I should go--I see that now. I don't so much mind leaving. Without any false humility, I can hardly avoid seeing that, even in the short time I have been amongst these people, I have produced a decided impression. And there is at least one--perhaps _two_--who will miss me when I am gone.
[_He goes into the Dining-hall, with restored complacency._
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.
This is a series of works, each in One Volume, by the best Writers of the day, English and American. The Volumes are suitable for the pocket and the shelf; they are convenient to handle, being of the square 16mo size, while from their appearance, as well as from their literary merit, they deserve a place in the library. The volumes are bound in cloth, and are uniform, except in thickness and in price. The prices will be 2s., 3s., and 4s.
The CHRISTIAN WORLD.--"Mrs. Ward has done nothing finer than this brief story. The sustained interest, which does not permit the reader to miss a line; the vivid clearness in which each character stands out in self-revelation; the unfailing insight into the familiar and confused workings of the village mind--all represent work of the highest class. 'The Story of Bessie Costrell' will become an English classic."
The TIMES.--"There are masterly touches and striking sentences in many pages of this little volume.... Mrs. Humphry Ward's admirers will say that she has seldom written with more force than in describing the tardy remorse of the hard, unrelenting husband."