The man who doesn't believe in ROBINSON CRUSOE, after THAT, is a man

with a screw loose in his understanding, or a man lost in the mist of

his own self-conceit! Argument is thrown away upon him; and pity is

better reserved for some person with a livelier faith.

I was far on with my second pipe, and still lost in admiration of that

wonderful book, when Penelope (who had been handing round the tea) came

in with her report from the drawing-room. She had left the Bouncers

singing a duet--words beginning with a large "O," and music to

correspond. She had observed that my lady made mistakes in her game

of whist for the first time in our experience of her. She had seen

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the great traveller asleep in a corner. She had overheard Mr. Franklin

sharpening his wits on Mr. Godfrey, at the expense of Ladies' Charities

in general; and she had noticed that Mr. Godfrey hit him back again

rather more smartly than became a gentleman of his benevolent character.

She had detected Miss Rachel, apparently engaged in appeasing Mrs.

Threadgall by showing her some photographs, and really occupied in

stealing looks at Mr. Franklin, which no intelligent lady's maid could

misinterpret for a single instant. Finally, she had missed Mr. Candy,

the doctor, who had mysteriously disappeared from the drawing-room, and

had then mysteriously returned, and entered into conversation with

Mr. Godfrey. Upon the whole, things were prospering better than the

experience of the dinner gave us any right to expect. If we could

only hold on for another hour, old Father Time would bring up their

carriages, and relieve us of them altogether.

Everything wears off in this world; and even the comforting effect of

ROBINSON CRUSOE wore off, after Penelope left me. I got fidgety again,

and resolved on making a survey of the grounds before the rain came.

Instead of taking the footman, whose nose was human, and therefore

useless in any emergency, I took the bloodhound with me. HIS nose for a

stranger was to be depended on. We went all round the premises, and out

into the road--and returned as wise as we went, having discovered no

such thing as a lurking human creature anywhere.

The arrival of the carriages was the signal for the arrival of the rain.

It poured as if it meant to pour all night. With the exception of the

doctor, whose gig was waiting for him, the rest of the company went home

snugly, under cover, in close carriages. I told Mr. Candy that I was

afraid he would get wet through. He told me, in return, that he wondered

I had arrived at my time of life, without knowing that a doctor's skin

was waterproof. So he drove away in the rain, laughing over his own

little joke; and so we got rid of our dinner company.




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