of Yatton was enlarged, the invaluable elective franchise being given to those most in need of the advantages it could immediately procure; and the fleeting nature of whose interest, naturally enhanced their desire to consult the interests of those who had a permanent and deep stake in its welfare. Though, therefore, the change effected by the new act had so considerably added to the roll of electors, it had not given ground for serious apprehension as to the security of the seat of the owner of the Yatton property. After a very long and private interview between Gammon and Titmouse, in which something transpired which may be referred to hereafter, it was agreed that-(the New Writs having issued within one week after the calmed and sobered new constituencies had been organized—which again had been wisely effected within a week or two after the passing of the act) — Mr Titmouse should instantly scare away all competition, by announcing his determination to start for the borough. As soon as this was known, a deputation from the new electors in Grilston waited upon Mr Titmouse-to propose the terms on which their support was to be obtained. Titmouse was somewhat startled-but Gammon saw in it the legitimate working of the new system; and-nothing was ever better managed-nobody in any mischievous secret-no one compromised; but the result was, that one hundred and nine plumpers were secured in Grilston alone for Mr Titmouse. Then Gammon appointed Messrs Bloodsuck and Son the local agents of Titmouse; for whom he wrote an address to the electors-and, Titmouse promising to have it printed forthwith, Mr Gammon returned to town for a day or two. Nothing could have been more skilful than the address which he had prepared-terse, and comprehensive, and showy, meaning every thing or nothing-(dolosus semper versatur in generalibus, was an observation of Lord Coke's, on which Gammon kept his eye fixed in drawing up his "address.") Yet it came to pass that on the evening of the day of Gammon's departure, a Mr Phelim O'Doodle, a splendid billiard-player, and also one of the first members returned-only a few days before-for an Irish borough in the Liberal interest, chanced to take Yatton in his way to Scotland from

London; and being intimate with Mr Titmouse, from whom he had borrowed a little money a few months before, to enable him to present himself to his constituency-they sate down to canvass the merits of the Address which the astute but absent Gammon had prepared for Titmouse. They pronounced it "devilish dull and tame ;" Mr O'Doodle comparing it to toddy, with the whisky omitted: and availing himself of Gammon's draft as far as he approved of it, he drew up the following Address, which put Titmouse into an ecstasy; and he sent it off the very next morning for insertion in the Yorkshire Stingo. Here is an exact copy of that judicious and able performance.

"To the worthy and independent

electors of Yatton.

"GENTLEMEN,-His Majesty hav"ing been pleased to dissolve the late "Parliament, under very remarkable "and exciting circumstances, and, in "the midst of the transports of enthu"siasm arising out of the passing of "that second Great Charter of our "Liberties, the Act for Giving Every"body Everything, to call upon you "to exercise immediately the high "and glorious privilege of choosing

your representative in the New "Parliament, I beg leave to announce "myself as a candidate for that dis"tinguished honour. Gentlemen, "long before I succeeded in establish"ing my right to reside among you " in my present capacity, I felt a deep "interest in the welfare of the tenants "of the property, and especially of "those residing in the parts adjacent, "and who are now so happily intro"duced into the constituency of this "ancient and loyal borough. I trust "that the circumstance of my ances"tors having resided for ages within "this borough, will not indispose "you to a favourable reception of "their descendant and representative. "Gentlemen, my political opinions "are those which led to the passing "of the Great Measure I have alluded "to, and which are bound up in it. "Without going into details which "are too multifarious for the limits of "such an address as the present, let "me assure you, that though firmly "resolved to uphold the agricultural "interests of this great country, I am "equally anxious to sustain the com"mercial and manufacturing interests;

faintest glimmering of hope was suddenly and completely extinguished, and the old gentleman felt quite desolate. He looked up, on finishing the paragraph, and gazed rather ruefully at his indignant and sympathizing companion.

"It seems all up, Gammon, certainly don't it?" said he, with a flustered air.

"Indeed, my dear sir, it does! You have my sincerest"

"Now, come, t'other end of the thing, Gammon! You know every promise of marriage has two endsone joins the heart, and t'other the pocket; out heart, in pocket-so have at him, by Jove!" He rose up and rubbed his hands as he stood before the fire."Breach of promise-thundering damages-devilish deep purse -special jury-broken heart, and all that! I wish he'd written her more letters! Adad, I'll have a shot at him by next assizes a writ on the file this very day! What d'ye think on't, friend Gammon, between ourselves?" "Why, my dear sir-to tell you the truth-ar'n't you really well out of it? He's a miserable little upstart he'd have made a wretched husband for so superior a girl as Miss Quirk." "Ah-ay! ay! She is a good girl, Gammon-there you're right; would have made the best of wives my eyes, (between ourselves!) how that'll go to the jury! Gad, I fancy I see 'em-perhaps all of 'em daughters of their own.'

"Looking at the thing calmly, Mr Quirk," said Gammon gravely-apprehensive of Mr Quirk's carrying too far so very absurd an affair—“ where's the evidence of the promise? Because, you know, there's certainly something depends on that—eh ?"

"Evidence? Deuce take you, Gammon! where are your wits? Evidence? Lots-lots of it! A'n't there I-her father? A'n't I a competent witness? Wait and see old Caleb Quirk get into the box. I'll settle his hash in half a minute."

"Yes-if you're believed, perhaps." "Believe be -! Who's to be believed, if her own father isn't?" "Why, you may be too much swayed by your feelings!" "Feelings be ! It's past all he has none so he must pay, for he has cash! He ought to be made an example of!"

that;

"Still, to come to the point, Mr Quirk, I vow it quite teases me-this matter of the evidence"

A man

"Evidence? Why, Lord bless my soul, Gammon," quoth Quirk testily, "haven't you had your eyes and ears open all this while? Gad, what a crack witness you'd make! of your your intellect-serve a friend at a pinch-and in a matter about his daughter? Ah, how often you've seen 'em together-walking, talking, laughing, dancing, riding-writ in her album-made her presents, and she him. Evidence? Oceans of it, and to spare! Secure Subtle-and I wouldn't take £5000 for my verdict!"

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Why, you see, Mr Quirk," said Gammon, very seriously" though I've striven my utmost these six months to bring it about, the artful little scamp has never given me the least thing that I could lay hold of, and swear to.'

"Oh, you'll recollect enough, in due time, friend Gammon, if you'll only turn your attention to it; and if you'll bear in mind it's life and death to my poor girl. Oh Lord! I must get my sister to break it to her, and I'll send sealed instructions to Mr Weasel, shall we, say? or Lynx? ay, Lynx; for he'll then have to fight for his own pleadings; and can't turn round at the trial and say, 'this is not right,' and that's wrong,' and, why didn't you have such and such evidence? Lynx is the man; and I'll lay the venue in Yorkshire, for Titmouse is devilish disliked down there; and a special jury will be only too glad to give him a desperate slap in the chops! We'll lay the damages at twenty thousand pounds! Ah, ha! I'll teach the young villain to break the hearts of an old man and his daughter. But, egad," he pulled out his watch, half-past two; and Nicky Crowbar sure to be put up at three! By Jove! it won't do to be out of the way; he's head of the gang, and they always come down very li beral when they're in trouble. Snap! Amminadab! hollo! who's there? Drat them all, why don't they speak?" The old gentleman was soon, however, attended to.

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"Are they here ?" he enquired as Mr Amminadab entered.

"Yes sir, all three; and the coach is at the door, too. Nicky Crowbar's to be up at three, sir".

"I see I know-I'm ready," re

plied Mr Quirk, who was presently seated in the coach with three gentle. men, to whom he minutely explained the person of Mr Nicky Crowbar, and the place at which it was quite certain that Mr Crowbar could not have been at half-past eight o'clock on Tuesday the 9th of July, seeing that he happened at that precise time to be elsewhere, in company with these three gentlemen-to wit, at Chelsea, and not at Clapham.

Though Mr Gammon thus sympathized with one of the gentle beings who had been "rifled of all their sweetness," I grieve to say that the other, Miss Tag-rag, never occupied his thoughts for one moment. He neither knew nor cared whether or not she was apprized of the destruction of all her fond hopes, by the paragraph which had appeared in the Aurora. In fact, he felt that he had really done enough, on the part of Mr Titmouse, for his early friend and patron, Mr Tag rag, on whom the stream of fortune had set in strong and steady; and, in short, Mr Gammon knew that Mr Tag-rag had received a substantial memento of his connexion with Tittlebat Titmouse. In fact, how truly disinterested a man was Mr Gammon towards all with whom he came in contact! What had he not done, as I have been saying, for the Tag-rags? What for Mr Titmouse? What for the Earl of Dreddlington? What for Mr Quirk, and even Snap? As for Mr Quirk, had he not been put in possession of his long coveted bond for L. 10,000? of which, by the way, he allotted L.1000 only to the man-Mr Gammon-by whose unwearying exertions and consummate ability he obtained so splendid a prize, and L.300 to Mr Snap. Then, had not Mr Quirk also been paid his bill against Titmouse of L.5000 and upwards, and L.2500 by Mr Aubrey? And, governed by the articles of their partnership, what a lion's half of this spoil had not been appropriated to the respectable old head of the firm? Mr Gammon did undoubtedly complain indignantly of the trifling portion allotted to him, but he was encountered by such a desperate pertinacity on the part of Mr Quirk as baffled him entirely, and caused him to abandon his further claim in disgust and despair. Thus, the L.20,000 obtained by Mr

Titmouse, on mortgage of the Yatton property, was reduced at once to the sum of L.5000;-but out of this handsome balance had yet to come, first, L.800, with interest, due to Mr Quirk for subsistence-money advanced to his protegé; secondly, L.500 due to Mr Snap, for monies alleged to have been also lent by him to his friend Titmouse at different times, in the manner that has been already explained to the reader-Snap's demand for repayment being accompanied by verbatim copies of between forty and fifty memoranda,

many of them in pencil,-notes of hand, receipts, I.O.U's, &c., in whose handwriting the figures representing the sums lent, and the times when, could not be ascertained, and did not signify: it being, in point of law, good primâ facie evidence for Snap, in the event of a trial, simply to produce the documents and prove the signature of his friend Mr Titmouse. Titmouse discharged a volley of imprecations at Snap's head, on receiving this unexpected claim, and referred it to Mr Gammon; who, after subjecting it to a bona fide and very rigorous examination, found it in vain to attempt to resist, or even diminish it; such perfect method and accuracy had Snap observed in his accounts, that they secured him a clear gain of L.350; the difference between that sum and L.500, being the amount actually and bona fide advanced by him to Titmouse. Deducting, therefore, L. 1300, (the amount of the two minor demands of L.800 and L.500 above specified,) there remained to Mr Titmouse out of the L.20,000 the sum of L.3700; and he ought to have been thankful; for he might have got nothing,-or even have been brought in debtor to Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap. I say that Mr Gammon would seem, from the above statement of accounts, not to have been dealt with in any degree adequately to his merits. He felt it so, but soon reconciled himself to it, occupied as he was with arduous and extensive speculations, amidst all the complication of which he never for a moment lost sight of one object, viz.-himself. His schemes were boldly conceived, and he went about the accomplishment of them with equal patience and sagacity. Almost every thing was going as he could wish. He had contrived to place himself in a very con

venient fast-and-loose sort of position with reference to his fellow-partners one which admitted of his easily disengaging himself from them, whenever the proper time arrived for taking such a step. He was absolute and paramount over Titmouse, and could always secure his instant submission, by virtue of the fearful and mysterious talisman which he ever and anon flashed before his startled eyes. He had acquired great influence, also, over the Earl of Dreddlington-an influence which was constantly on the increase; and had seen come to pass an event which he judged to be of great importance to him- namely, the engagement between Titmouse and the Lady Cecilia. Yet was there one object which he had proposed to himself as incalculably valuable and supremely desirable-as the consummation of all his designs and wishes; -I mean the obtaining the hand of Miss Aubrey--and in which he had yet a fearful misgiving of failure. But he was a man whose courage rose with every obstacle; and he fixedly resolved within himself to succeed, at any cost. 'Twas not alone his exquisite appreciation of her personal beauty

her grace, her accomplishments, her lovely temper, her lofty spirit, her high birth-objects all of them dazzling enough to a man of such a powerful and ambitious mind, and placed in such circumstances in life as Gammon. There were certain other considerations, intimately involved in all his calculations, which rendered success in this affair a matter of capital importance-nay indispensable. Knowing, as I do, what had passed, at different times, between that proud and determined girl, and her constant and enthusiastic lover, Mr Delamere, I am as certain as a man can be of any thing that has not actually happened, that, though she may possibly not be fated to become Mrs Delamere, she will certainly NEVER become - Mrs Gammon. Loving Kate as I do, and being thoroughly acquainted with Gammon, I feel deep interest in his movements, and am watching them with great apprehension:-she, lovely, innocent, unsuspicious; he, subtle, selfish, unscrupulous, desperate! And he has great power in his hands: is he not silently surrounding his destined prey with unperceived but inevitable

meshes? God guard thee, my Kate, and reward thy noble devotion to thy brother and his fallen fortunes! Do we chide thee for clinging to them with fond tenacity in their extremity, when thou art daily importuned to enter into that station which thou wouldst so adorn?

Gammon's reception by the Aubreys, in Vivian Street-kind and courteous though it had surely been-had ever since rankled in his heart. Their abstaining from a request to him to prolong his stay, or to renew his visit, he had noted at the time, and had ever since reflected upon with pique and discouragement. Nevertheless he was resolved, at all hazards, to become at least an occasional visiter in Vivian Street. When a fortnight had elapsed without any further intimation to Mr Aubrey concerning the dreaded balance due to the firm, Gammon ventured to call in, for the purpose of assuring Mr Aubrey that it was no mere temporary lull; that he might divest his mind of all uneasiness on the subject; and of asking whether he (Gammon) had not told Mr Aubrey truly that he both could, and would restrain the hand of Mr Quirk. Could Mr Aubrey be otherwise than grateful for such active and manifestly disinterested kindness? Again Gammon made his appearance at Mrs Aubrey's tea-table-and was again received with all the sweetness and frankness of manner which he had formerly experienced from her and Miss Aubrey. Again he called, on some adroit pretext or another-and once heard Miss Aubrey's rich voice and exquisite performance on the piano. He became subject to emotions and impulses of a sort that he had never before experienced: yet, whenever he retired from their fascinating society, he felt an aching void, as it were, within-he perceived the absence of all sympathy towards him; he felt indignant-but that did not quench the ardour of his aspirations. 'Tis hardly necessary to say, that on every occasion Gammon effectually concealed the profound and agitating feelings which the sight of Miss Aubrey called forth in him; and what a tax was this upon his powers of concealment and self-control! How he laid himself out to amuse and interest them all! With what racy humour would he describe the vulgar absurdi