there were many phases of this life in which lord sandilands enjoyed a singular and an extensive popularity, many varieties of the social scale in which his name was mentioned with respect, and not a few in which he was regarded with far more than ordinary interest. in the first place, he was a man well born and well bred, and did honour to his position by his appearance, his manners, and the constant decorum which pervaded and formed part of his life. city merchants, members of parliament, who, having swept out their own counting-houses, of course became rigidest conservatives, when by those wonderful gradations which are known to the reverent as "honest perseverance," and to the irreverent as "lucky flukes," they rose to be heads of the firm, felt immensely honoured by being permitted to play in the same rubber at the portland with the calm, quiet, self-possessed, bald-headed, silver-fringed old nobleman, who was a model of courtesy throughout the game, but who never missed a point or gave a chance. young men imbued with slang, as are the young men of the present day, dropped the metaphor of the prize-ring, music-hall, and the demi-monde villa in the presence of the "high-dried old boy," of whose position there could not be the smallest doubt, and who, on occasion, had shown that he owned a tongue which could make itself felt "doosid unpleasantly, don't you know!--kind of rough side of it, and all that sort of thing, you know!" to women he was always scrupulously attentive, and was in consequence in the greatest favour amongst them. the fact of his wearing the willow for his old love, lady lucy beecher, was répandu from belgrave- to grosvenor-squares; and the story, which had won for him such affectionate interest amongst those who were young at the time when, as all supposed, he was jilted by the fair one, and bore his jilting so manfully, yet lived amongst their descendants, and caused lord sandilands to be regarded as "a sweet old thing," who had suffered in love's cause, by débutantes who were unborn when john borlase first won gertrude gautier's childish heart.

and yet lord sandilands was by no means a representative man. for politics he cared little or nothing. on special occasions he went down to the house and voted with his party, but in that was comprised his whole parliamentary career. he never spoke and never intrigued; the custom-house and the inland revenue enrolled no members who had obtained their appointments at his instance; his personal appearance was unknown to the private secretary of the postmaster-general; nor was his handwriting to be found in the bulging pigeon-holes of the treasury. many years had elapsed since he had arrayed himself in the charming court-costume which intelligence has retained from the customs of the dark ages, and presented himself at the levees of his sovereign. at flower-shows and races, at afternoon park or morning row, at garden-parties or fêtes champêtres, at none of those gatherings where pleasant frivolity rules, was lord sandilands known--at none, rather, save one--the opera. there he was facile princeps; there he was king of the place. the check-takers and the box-keepers knew him as well as they knew the lessee, and stood in as much awe of him. the principal librarians, messrs. ivory, macbone, and déloge, prostrated themselves before him, and were always most anxious to learn his opinion of any novelty, as on that opinion they were accustomed to base their calculation of profit or loss. with schrink, the critic of the statesman--a cynical, humpbacked man, who had a spite against mankind, and "took it out" in writing venomous articles abusive of the world in general, and the musical world in particular--lord sandilands was the only man who had the smallest weight; and many a neophyte has owed the touch of oil which she received, instead of the pickling which threatened her, to a kind word dropped by his lordship in the seclusion of that box on the pit tier to which he alone was admitted, where schrink sat nursing his leg, biting his nails, and glowering with fury alike at singers and audience. behind the scenes his popularity was equally great; the sulky tenors gave up sucking their cough-lozenges and grinding their teeth at his approach, and welcomed him with courteous salutations; the basso roused himself from his stertorous sleep; the prima donna gave up that shrill altercation with her snuffy old mother; the property-men and the scene-shifters, who dashed indiscriminately against the gilded youth who roamed vacantly about, took special care to steer clear of lord sandilands, and touched their paper caps to him as he passed by; and the little ballet-women and chorus-singers dropped deepest curtsies to his lordship, and felt that so long as he was satisfied with them their pound a week was safe.

had he any interest in the management? that was a moot point. ever since the publication of the bankrupt's schedule made patent the fact that a well-known advertising teacher of languages was identical with an even more notorious agricultural-implement maker, one has been afraid to give any positive opinion as to who is who in this most extraordinary world of ours. mr. boulderson munns was the responsible lessee of the grand opera, and held the reins of management; but whose was the money embarked in the speculation it was impossible to say. young jeffcock, the china merchant (jeffcock brothers of shanghai), used to attend all the rehearsals, had boxes always at his command, and was treated with great deference by mr. boulderson munns; but in all these respects he was equalled by jack clayton of the coldstreams, who was notoriously impecunious, who owed even for his button-hole bouquets, and--who spent all his ready-money in hansom cabs and sprat-suppers for the corps de ballet. tommy toshington, who knew most things, declared that lord sandilands had no monetary interest in the house, but that his position gave him greater influence with mr. boulderson munns than was enjoyed by any of the others. "sandilands, sir," tommy would say, when he had dined well at somebody else's expense,--"sandilands is the man to give a stamp to a thing of that sort! don't know what there is in him, but there's something that when he says a musical thing's all right, it's safe to go. why, when that old gray horse and green brougham of his are seen at the door of canzonet's shop, as they are day after day in the season, it's worth a fortune to sam canzonet--he told me so himself. money? not a sixpence, not a sous. when he was john borlase he was a regular screw, and he's not improved with age; but it is not money munns wants out of him. jeffcock? nonsense! jack clayton? bah! the real capitalist there, sir, is-;" and here mr. toshington whispered in your ear the name of a well-known evangelical m.p., whom you would have as soon accredited with mormonism as with connection with theatrical affairs; and having made his point, hobbles off chuckling.

there was truth in this, although it was said by tommy toshington. there was no doubt that lord sandilands had powerful interest in all the ramifications of the musical world; and though this fact must for a long time have been patent to him, he never thought of it, never, at least, felt it so strongly as when he was turning over in his mind the curious chance which had brought him face to face with his daughter, and had been casting about as to how he best could serve her. that the girl had musical talent he was certain. he had served too long an apprenticeship, all amateur though it was, to his favourite science not to be thoroughly convinced of that; and he knew perfectly well that grace lambert's voice and style were both far beyond those possessed by most of the gifted pupils of the academy of music: for the most part delightful young persons, who came out with a gush, and went in with a run; who gave immense delight to their personal friends at the few concerts at which they sung gratuitously; and who may, according to the orthodox ending of the children's tales, "have lived happy ever after," but who, at all events, passed the remainder of their lives in obscurity, and were never heard of again.

no; grace lambert--what the deuce had made her assume so unromantic a name? gertrude keith was fifty times as pretty--grace lambert was not to be measured by the usual bushel. her voice, as lord sandilands recollected it at carabas house, was one of the sweetest, the most trainante and bewitching which, in all his great experience, he had ever listened to; and there was something about her personal appearance, her hair and tournure, which completely lifted her out of the common. "psht!" said the old gentleman to himself, as he lay back in his easy-chair, revolving all these things in his mind--"how many of 'em have i seen? there was miss lavrock--charmin' voice she had, bright and shrill, like a bird's pipe--a little fat, dumpy body, that made the plank in the sonnambula creak beneath the weight of her ten stone, and looked more like a cook than lucia; and there was miss greenwood--miss bellenden greenwood, i beg her pardon--with her saucy black eyes, and her red-and-white complexion, and her corkscrew ringlets--gad, how horrible! but this child is marvellously distinguée and bred-looking; the way her head is set on her shoulders, the shape of her head, the curve of her nostrils, and the delicacy of her hands--i'm always telling myself that blood's all bosh, as they say in their modern slang; but 'pon my word, one finds there's something in it after all!"

lord sandilands was a constant visitor now at the pretty bayswater villa, and had conducted himself with such courtesy and kindness as to render his presence anything but disagreeable to grace. the time during which she had lived with her husband, short though it had been, had been quite long enough to give her an unconquerable aversion for slanginess, and bad taste, and enable her to appreciate the spirit of the gentleman, which showed itself in every action, in every word of the old nobleman. nor did lord sandilands, after a little time, care to conceal the great interest which he took in miss lambert's career. while carefully veiling everything which might show the relationship in which he stood to the young girl, and while never ceasing to impress on mrs. bloxam--much to that worthy woman's secret annoyance, for was she not the possessor of a secret even more mysterious and more compromising in connection with gertrude--the necessity of reticence, lord sandilands confessed to miss lambert that, actuated by the purest and most honourable motives, he wished to place himself at her service in advancing her interests in the profession which she had chosen, and in which she was evidently destined to take a high position, and in being of use to her in society. and in both these ways the old nobleman was of the greatest assistance to the débutante. as has been before said, his verdict in musical matters was immensely thought of; while, though it must be acknowledged that the open and avowed support of many elderly noblemen would be anything but fortunate in securing the interests of a young musical lady with the members of her own sex, that of such a known galahad as lord sandilands had due weight, and his protégée, duly escorted by mrs. bloxam, "went everywhere." "everywhere" included lady lowndes'; and the marchioness of carabas knew of this, as how could she do otherwise? being a diligent student of the morning post, in addition to having it told her by seven of her dearest and most intimate friends, who called for the express purpose of startling her with the information during the next afternoon. but the marchioness knew of miss lambert's appearance at lady lowndes' house, and yet received her the next day with a welcome which had in it even more than the usual empressement. why? impossible to say, save that people were beginning to talk more and more of miss grace lambert's voice and appearance, and specially of her manners. "something odd about her, don't you know--frigid, unimpressionable, something-which-one-can't-make-out sort of thing, you know!" the ladies said; while the delightful creature in the blues, to whom she had been specially introduced with the view of eliciting the speaking of her heart, declared she was "doosid hard nut to crack," and something which had beaten him, the delightful creature in the blues, "by chalks." so that lady carabas, carefully noting all the phases of society, felt more bound than ever to "keep in" with the protégée whom she had introduced; and the ambrosial footmen with the powdered locks went more frequently than ever between the halls of carabas and the bayswater villa, and the much-monogramed notes which they conveyed were warmer than ever in their expressions of admiration and attachment, and hopes of speedily seeing their most charming &c.; and more than ever was lady carabas miss grace lambert's dearest friend. but lady carabas was a very woman after all, and as such her friendship for her dearest friend stopped at a certain point; she brooked no interference in matters where her soul (with the big s) was concerned. other women, not possessing so much worldly knowledge, might have given their dearest friends opportunity for intimacy with the temporary possessor of the soul, and then quarrelled with them for causing the soul to be depressed with the pangs of jealousy and distrust. lady carabas knew better than that. he whose image the soul, however temporarily, enshrined must be kept sacred and apart, so far as it was possible to keep him, and must be troubled with no temptation. hence it happened that gilbert lloyd, then regnant over lady carabas' soul, was never permitted to meet, or scarcely even to hear of, the young lady in whom he would have recognised his wife.

of miles challoner, however, miss grace lambert saw a great deal; not, indeed, at carabas house. ever since the eventful evening of his introduction to mr. gilbert lloyd, miles had crossed the threshold of lady carabas' mansion as seldom as social decency, in deference to the marchioness's constantly renewed invitations, would permit him. the invitations were constantly renewed; for lady carabas had taken a liking to the young man, and, indeed, the idea had crossed her ladyship's mind that when gilbert lloyd's time of office had expired--and his tenure had been already more than the average--she could scarcely do better than intrust miles challoner with the secret of the existence of her soul, and permit him to share in its aspiration. there was a freshness, she thought, about him which would suit her admirably; a something so different from those fades and jaded worldlings among whom her life was passed. but though the invitations were constant, the response to them was very limited indeed, and only on one or two occasions subsequent to his introduction did miles avail himself of the hospitality of carabas house. on none of these occasions did he meet mr. gilbert lloyd. the same reason which induced lady carabas to manoeuvre in keeping her friend for the time being from meeting her handsome protégée suggested to her the expediency of preventing any possible collision between the actual and the intended sharers of her soul; collision, as lady carabas thought, by no means unlikely to occur, as she was a shrewd observant woman of the world, and had noticed the odd behaviour of both gentlemen at the time of their introduction.

but lord sandilands, loving miles challoner for his own and for his father's sake, and noticing the strong impression which miss lambert's voice and beauty had made upon the young man, had taken him to the bayswater villa, and formally introduced him; and both mrs. bloxam and grace had "hoped they should see more of him." he was a gentleman. you could not say much more of him than that; but what an immense amount is implied in that word! he was not very bright; he never said clever or smart things--consequently he kept himself from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering; he had no facility for gossip--consequently he never intruded on the ladies the latest news of the demi-monde heroines, nor the back-stairs' sweepings of the court; he was earnest and manly, and full of youthful fervour on various subjects, which he discussed in a bright, modest way which won mrs. bloxam's by no means impulsive heart, and at the same time made that impulsive heart beat quickly with its knowledge of gertrude's secret: a secret with which the unexpressed but impossible-to-be-mistaken admiration of this young man might interfere.

impossible-to-be-mistaken admiration? quite impossible. lord sandilands--though years had gone by since he had been a proficient in that peculiar vocabulary, whose expressions are undefined and untranslatable--recognised it in an instant, and scarcely knew whether to be pleased or vexed as the idea flashed upon him. he loved miles like his own son, believed in all his good qualities, recognised and admitted that the young man had all in him requisite to make a good, loving husband; his social status, too, was such as would be most desirable for a girl in gertrude's position. but lord sandilands knew that any question of his natural daughter's marriage would entail the disclosure of the relation in which he stood to her; and he dreaded the ridicule of the world, dreaded the banter of the club, dreaded more than all the elucidation of the fact that the répandu notion of his wearing the willow for lady lucy beecher had been all nonsense, and that he had consoled himself for her ladyship's defalcation by an intrigue of a very different calibre.

"i should be laughed at all over town," the old gentleman said to himself; "and though it must come, by george, it's best to put off the evil day as long as possible. i don't know. i'm an old fellow now, and have not as keen an eye for these things as i had; but i don't perceive any sign of a tendresse on gertrude's part; and, all things considered, i'm glad of it."

and lord sandilands was right. there was not the smallest sign of any feeling for miles challoner in grace lambert. had she had the least spark of such a feeling kindling in her heart, it is very doubtful--whether she would have permitted it to be remarked in her outward manner; but her heart was thoroughly free from any such sentiment. she liked miles challoner--liked his frank bearing, and was touched, after her fashion, by the respect which he showed her. it was something quite new to her, this old-fashioned courtesy from this young man. of course, during her schooldays she had seen nothing of mankind, save as exemplified in the foreign professors of languages and music, whose courtesy was for the most part of the organ-monkey order--full of bows and grins. after her marriage, the set in which she was thrown--though to a certain extent kept in order by the feeling that gilbert lloyd was "a swell," and had peculiar notions as to how his wife should be treated--never had scrupled to talk to her without removing their hats, or to smoke in her presence. and though the gentlemen she had met at carabas house had been guilty of neither of these solecisms, there had been a certain laissez-aller air about them, which grace lambert had ascribed to a tant soit peu disdain of her artistic position; the real fact being that to assume a vice if he have it not, and to heap as much mud as possible on that state of life into which it has pleased providence to call him, is the chosen and favourite occupation of a high-born and wealthy young man of the present day. so grace lambert recognised miles challoner as a gentleman pur sang, and appreciated him accordingly; had a bright glance and a kindly word of welcome for him when he appeared at the bayswater villa, made him at home by continuing her singing-practice while he remained, made him happy by asking him when he was coming again as he said his adieux; but as to having what lord sandilands called a tendresse for the man, as to being in love with him--love came into gertrude keith's heart three months before she walked out of the laundry-window over the roof of the school-room, and stepped down on to the driving-seat of the hansom cab, in which gilbert lloyd was waiting to take her off to the church and make her his wife. love died out of gertrude lloyd's heart within three months of that marriage-day; and as for grace lambert, she never had known and never intended to know what the sentiment meant. so, so far, lord sandilands was right; and the more he watched the conduct of the two young people when alone towards each other--and he watched it narrowly enough--the more he took occasion to congratulate himself on his own perspicacity and knowledge of the world. but at the same time he reflected that the life which miss grace lambert was leading was but a dull one, that she took but little interest in these society successes; and he took occasion to glean from her what he knew before--that her heart and soul were bound up in her profession, and that she was by no means satisfied by the hitherto limited opportunities afforded her of showing what she really could do therein. this ambition of the girl's to make for herself name and fame in the musical world by no means jarred against the ideas of the old nobleman. he should have to acknowledge her as his daughter some day or other, that he saw clearly enough; and it would be infinitely preferable to him, and would render him infinitely less ridiculous in the eyes of that infernal bantering club-world of which he stood so much in awe, if he could point to a distinguished artist of whom all the world was talking in praise, and say, "this is my child," than if he had to bear the brunt of the parentage of a commonplace and unknown person. there were half-a-dozen other ladies occupying a somewhat similar position to miss lambert's in society, as queens of amateur singing sets; and though she was acknowledged by all disinterested people to be far and away the best of them, it was necessary that she should have some public ratification of her merits, or, at all events, that some professional opinion, independent of that of da capo or her other singing-master, who would naturally be biassed, should be given. the other ladies were daughters and wives of rich men, who sang a little for their friends' and a great deal for their own amusement; but miss lambert's career was to be strictly professional, and a touchstone of a very different kind was to be applied to her merits.

that was a happy time for miles challoner, perhaps really the happiest in his life. his first love, at least the first passion really deserving that name, was nascent within him, and all the environing circumstances of his life were tinged with the roseate hue which is the necessary "local colour" of the situation. moreover, his feelings towards gertrude were at present in that early stage of love in which they could be borne and indulged in without worrying and making him miserable. she was the nicest woman he had ever seen, and there was something marvellously attractive about her, something which he could not explain, but the magnetic influence of which he knew it impossible to resist. so he abandoned himself to the enjoyment of this pleasant feeling, enjoying it doubly perhaps, because up to this point it had been, and seemed to promise to continue to be, a mild and equable flame; not scorching and withering everything round it, but burning with a pleasant, steady heat. you see, at present mr. challoner had not seen much, if anything, of miss lambert alone; his admiration sprung from observation of her under the most commonplace circumstances, and his passion had never been quickened and stung into fiercer action by the thought of rivalry. true, that whenever miss lambert went into society she was always surrounded by a bragging crowd of representatives of the gilded youth of the period, who did their best to flatter and amuse her; attempts in which, if her grave face and formal manner might be accepted in evidence, they invariably and signally failed. and at the bayswater villa he might be said to have her entirely to himself, he being the only young man admitted there, with the exception occasionally of some musical professor, native or foreign; the delightful creature in the blues, and other delightful creatures who had made miss lambert's acquaintance in society, having tried to obtain the entrée in vain.

so miles went on pleasantly in a happy dream, which was very shortly to come to an end; for lord sandilands, thinking it full time that some definite steps should be taken in regard to gertrude's professional future, arrived one morning at the bayswater villa, and was closeted with the young lady for more than two hours. during this interview, the old gentleman, without betraying his relationship with her, told gertrude that, far beyond anything else, he had her interests at heart; that he had perceived her desire for professional distinction; and that, as he saw it was impossible to combat it, he was ready then and there to advance it to the best of his ability. only, as the training was somewhat different, it was necessary that she should make up her mind whether she would prosecute her career in the concert-room or on the operatic stage.

it was a pity miles challoner was not present to mark the brilliant flush which lit up gertrude's usually pale cheeks, the fire which flashed in her eyes, and the proud curl of her small lips, as this proposition was made to her. for a few moments she hesitated, a thousand thoughts rushed through her mind--thoughts of her real position, retrospect of her past life--a wild, feverish vision of future triumph, where she, the put-aside and rejected of gilbert lloyd, the pupil-teacher of the suburban boarding-school, should be queen regnant, and have some of the greatest and highest in the kingdom for her slaves. as prima donna of the opera, what position might she not assume, or where should her sway stop, if ambition were to be gratified? and then the old cynical spirit arose within her, and she thought of the tinsel and the sham, the gas and the gewgaws; and the light died out of her eyes, and her cheeks resumed their usual pallor, and it was a perfectly cold hand which she placed in lord sandilands', as she said to him, without the smallest tremor in her voice, "you have indeed proved yourself a perfectly disinterested friend, my lord; how could i do better than leave the decision on my future career in your hands?"

lord sandilands was rather unprepared for this speech, and a little put out by it. he had an objection to accepting responsibility in general; and in this instance, where he really felt deeply, he thought naturally that gertrude would scarcely think of him with much gratitude if his choice did not eventuate so happily for her as he intended. however, there was nothing else to be done; so he raised the cold hand to his lips with old-fashioned gallantry, and promised to "think the matter over," and see her again on the following day. with many people, to think a matter over means to discuss it with someone else. lord sandilands was of this class; and though he accepted the commission so glibly from gertrude, he never had the smallest intention of deciding upon it without taking excellent advice. that advice he sought at the hands of mr. déloge, the "librarian" of jasmin-street.

an odd man, mr. déloge--a character worth a passing study. his father, who had been a "librarian" before him, had amassed a large sum of money in those good old days when speculations in opera-boxes and stall-tickets were highly remunerative to those who knew how to work them, had given his son an excellent education abroad, and had hoped to see him take a superior position in life. but, to his parent's disappointment, young déloge, returning from the continent with a knowledge of several languages, and an acquaintance with life and the world which serves anyone possessing it better than any other knowledge whatsoever, determined to follow the family business, adding to it and grafting on to it such other operations as seemed to be analogous. these operations were so admirably selected and so well conducted, that before the old man died he had quite acquiesced in his son's decision, and at the time of our story there was no more thriving man in london. the old-fashioned shop in jasmin-street bore the name over the door still; but that name was now widely known throughout england and europe. no secretary of state was harder worked than mr. déloge, who yet found time to hunt once or twice a week, to live at maidenhead during the summer, and at brighton during the autumn, and generally to enjoy life. in person he was a tall thin man, with an excellently-made wig and iron-gray whiskers, always calm and staid in demeanour, and always irreproachably dressed after the quietest style. he looked like a middle-aged nobleman whose life had been passed in diplomacy; and people who asked who he was--and most people did, so striking was his appearance--were surprised to hear that he was only "the man who sells the stalls, don't you know?" in jasmin-street. nothing pleased him more than to observe this astonishment, and he used to delight in telling a story against himself in illustration of it. one day, in the course of business, he had occasion to wait on a very great lady, one of his customers. he drove to the house in his perfectly-appointed brougham, and the door was opened by a strange footman, to whom he gave his card for transmission to her grace. the footman led the way into the library, poked the fire, wheeled the largest arm-chair in front of it, and placed the morning post in the visitor's hands. mr. déloge had scarcely finished smiling at the extreme empressement of the man's manner, when the door was opened, and the same servant pushed his head in. "her grace don't want no hop'ra-box to-night," were his charming words, delivered in his most offensive manner. the scales had fallen from his eyes, and the great creature found he had deceived himself into being civil to a "person in business."

mr. déloge had gone through what to many men would have been an entire day's business in the morning before lord sandilands called upon him. he had read through an enormous mass of letters, and glanced over several newspapers--had pencilled hints for answers on some, and dictated replies to others at full length. his business seemed to have ramifications everywhere: in australia, where he had an agent travelling with the celebrated italian opera troupe, the soprano, basso, tenor, and baritone, who were a little used up and bygone in england, but who were the greatest creatures that had ever visited australia--so at least said the wong-wong kangaroo, a copy of which the agent forwarded with his letter; in america, where schlick's opera, in which mr. déloge possessed as much copyright as the large-souled american music-sellers could not pillage him of, was a great success; in india, whence he had that morning received a large order for pianos--for mr. déloge is not above the manufacture and exportation of musical instruments, and, indeed realises a handsome yearly revenue from that source alone. before eleven o'clock he had come to terms, and signed and sealed an agreement with mr. mcmanus, the eminent tragedian, for a series of readings and recitations throughout the provinces, thus giving the "serious" people who objected to costume and gas a quasi-theatrical entertainment which they swallowed eagerly; he had sent a cheque for ten pounds to tom lillibullero, who was solacing his imprisonment in whitecross-street by translating a french libretto for the house of déloge; he had given one of his clerks a list of a few friends to be asked down to maidenhead the next sunday--all art people, writers, painters, singers, who would have a remarkably jolly day, and enjoy themselves, as they always do, more than any other set of people in the world 5 and he had written half-a-dozen private notes--one among the rest addressed to the marchioness of carabas, telling her that as her ladyship particularly wished it he should be happy to purchase and publish mr. ferdinand wisk's operetta, which had been performed with such success at carabas house, but that he must stipulate that the operetta must be dedicated to her ladyship, and that each morceau must have a vignette from her ladyship's portrait on the cover. mr. déloge had not half completed his business for the day when he was informed, through the snake-like elastic pipe that lay at the right-hand of his writing-table, that lord sandilands was in the shop and asking to see him, but he gave orders that his visitor should at once be admitted. he was far too recognisant of the old nobleman's position in the musical world to have kept him waiting or allowed him to feel the smallest slight, if indeed there had not been, as there was, a feeling of respect between the two men, which, had they been on the same social footing, would have been strong friendship.

"how d'ye do, déloge?" said lord sandilands, walking up and heartily shaking hands; "this is very kind of you, my good fellow, to allow me to come and bother you when you're over head and ears in business, as you always are--very kind indeed."

"i don't want to say a pretty thing, my dear lord," said mr. déloge, "but when i can't find leisure from my business to attend to you when you want to see me, i'd better give that business up."

"thanks, very much. well, what's the news? been to tenterden-street lately? any very promising talent making itself heard up there, eh?"

"no, my lord, none indeed--i'm glad to say," replied déloge with a laugh.

"glad to say! eh, déloge? that's not very patriotic, is it?"

"o, i did not mean to confine my gladness to the dearth of native talent. if you only knew, my dear lord, how i'm hunted cut of life by promising talent, or by talent which considers itself promising and wants to perform, you would know fully how to appreciate, as i do, good steady-going mediocrity."

"by jove, déloge! this is not very encouraging for me! i came to ask your advice on the question of bringing out a young lady of unquestionable genius."

"unless her genius is quite unquestionable i should advise you to let the young lady remain in. why, think for yourself, my dear lord; you know these things as well as i do, and have every singer for the past quarter of a century in your mind. run over the list and tell me which of them--always excepting miss lavrock--has made anything like a success."

"ha!" said lord sandilands, "yes, the lavrock--what a voice, what a charming trill! not but that i think miss lambert--"

"is it a question of miss lambert--miss grace lambert?"

"it is. miss lambert has decided upon adopting the musical profession, and my object in coming here was to consult you as to the best means to give effect to her wishes."

"that's quite another affair. i have only heard miss lambert once. i was engaged by lady lowndes to pilot miramella and jacowski to one of her ladyship's wonderful gatherings, and after they had finished their duet we went to the dining-room to get some of that curious refreshment which is always provided there for the artists. they had scarcely begun to eat when the whole house rang with a trill of melody so clear and bird-like that the miramella only drank half her glass of sherry, and jacowski put down his sandwich--i don't wonder at it--untasted. we all rushed upstairs, and found that the singer was miss grace lambert. she sang so exquisitely, and produced such an immense effect, that madame miramella was seized with one of her violent headaches, and was obliged to be taken home."

lord sandilands was delighted. "poor miramella!" said he, chuckling quietly, "and ger-- and miss lambert was successful?"

"successful! i have not heard such a combination of voice and style for years! but i thought she was merely an amateur, and had no idea she intended to take to the profession."

"yes, she is determined to do so; and as i take the greatest interest in her, i have come to ask your advice. now, should she select the concert-room or the stage as her arena?"

"the stage! the stage!" cried déloge excitedly; "there can be no question about it, my dear lord! with that personal appearance and that voice, she must have the whole world at her feet, and make her fortune in a very few years. any dumpy little woman who can sing tolerably in tune, and face an audience without the music in her hand visibly trembling, will do for a concert-room; but this young lady has qualities which--good heavens! fancy the effect she'd make in opera, with that head and that charming figure!"

"my good friend!" said the delighted old nobleman, "you are becoming positively enthusiastic. in these days of total suppression of feelings, it does one good to hear you. i am charmed to see you think so highly of my protégée. now tell met what's the first step to be taken towards bringing her out?"

"i should let munns hear her," said mr. déloge.

and lord sandilands' face fell, and he looked very grave. why? well, the mention of mr. munns' name was the first thing that had jarred disagreeably on lord sandilands' ears and feelings in connection with gertrude's intended adoption of the musical profession; and it did jar. why, lord sandilands knew perfectly, but could scarcely express.

who was mr. boulderson munns? you might have asked the question in a dozen different sets of society, and received a different answer in each. what was his birth or parentage no one, even the veriest club scandal-monger, ever assumed to know; and as to his education, he had none. he had been so long "before the public" that people ad forgotten whence he came, or in what capacity his début was made. only a very few men remembered, or cared to remember, that when peponelli's management of the grand scandinavian opera came to smash disastrously, by reason of miramella, jacowski, courtasson, and herzogenbusch, the celebrated singers, revolting and going over in a body to the regent theatre, the opposition house, messrs. mossop and isaacson, of thavies' inn, put themselves in communication with the agents of the earl of haremarch, the ground landlord, and proposed their client, mr. boulderson munns, as tenant. lord haremarch's agent, old mr. finchingfield, of new-square, lincoln's inn, looked askance through his double eyeglass at messrs. mossop and isaacson's letter. he had heard of those gentlemen, truly, and knew them to be in a very large way of business, connected generally with people "in trouble"--criminals and bankrupts. of mr. boulderson munns, the gentleman proposed as tenant, mr. finchingfield had never heard; but on consulting with mr. leader, his articled clerk, a young gentleman who saw a good deal of "life," he learned that mr. munns had been for some time lessee of the tivoli gardens over the water, and was supposed to be a shrewd, clever, not too scrupulous man, who knew his business and attended to it. mr. finchingfield was a man of the world. "i don't know anything about such kind of speculations, and indeed it is strongly against my advice that my lord haremarch permits himself to be mixed up in such matters," he said. "but i should imagine that from a person tendering for a theatre you do not require a certificate of character from the clergyman of his parish; and if mr. munns is prepared to deposit a year's rent in advance, and to enter into the requisite sureties for the due performance of the various covenants of the lease, i see no reason why i should not recommend my lord to accept him as his tenant." and mr. leader, remembering this conversation, made a point of letting mr. munns know as soon as possible that if he, mr. munns, should get the theatre it would be owing entirely to his, mr. leader's, representations,--a statement made by mr. leader with a view to the future acquisition of gratuitous private boxes, and that much coveted entrée known as "going behind."

so mr. boulderson munns became the tenant of the grand scandinavian opera house, and took up his position in society, which at once began to pick holes in his garments, and to say all the unpleasant things it could against him. some people said his name was not boulderson at all, nor munns much; that his real appellation was muntz, and that he was the son of a german jew sugar-baker in st. george's-in-the-east. people who professed to know said that mr. munns commenced his career in the useful though not-much-thought-of profession of a chiropodist, which they called a corn-cutter, in which capacity he took in hand the feet of polesco il diavolo, the gentleman who made a rushing descent down a rope with fireworks in his heels at the tivoli gardens; and that by these means the youthful muntz was brought into relations with waddle, who then owned the gardens, and to whom muntz lent some of the money he had inherited from the parental sugar-baker, at enormous interest. when waddle collapsed, muntz first appeared as munns, and undertook the management of the gardens, which he carried on for several years with great success to himself and gratification to the public--more especially to the members of the press, who were always free of the grounds, and many of whom were entertained at suppers, at which champagne--known to mr. munns by the name of "sham"--flowed freely. he was a genial, hospitable, vulgar dog, given, as are the members of his nation, to the wearing of rich-coloured velvet coats and waistcoats, and jewelry of a large and florid pattern, to the smoking of very big cigars, the driving of horses in highly-plated harness in mail-phaetons with wheels vividly picked out with red, to the swearing of loud and full-flavoured oaths, and to richmond dinners on the sunday. when he entered on the lesseeship of the grand scandinavian opera house, he continued all these eccentricities of pleasure, but mixed with them some excellent business habits. on the secession of miramella, jacowski, and all the rest, the public pronounced the scandinavian opera to be utterly dead and done for; but after the first few weeks of his season mr. munns produced fr?ulein br?dchen, from the stockholm theatre, who fairly routed everyone else off their legs, and took london by storm. never had been known such a triumph as that achieved by the br?dchen; boxes and stalls fetched a fabulous price, and were taken weeks in advance. it began to be perceived that the right thing was that norma should have bright red hair; and people wondered how they had for so long endured any representative of lucrezia without a turn-up nose. miramella of the classic profile and the raven locks was nowhere. jacowski the organ-voiced bellowed in vain. the swells of the young-england party--guardsmen and impecunious youths, who were on the free list at the regent--tried to get up an opposition; but munns ran over to barcelona, and came back with the se?orita ciaja, whose celebrated back-movement in the cachuca finished the business. the people who really understood and cared for music were delighted with the br?dchen; the occupants of the stalls and the omnibus-box--crabbed age and youth, who, despite the old song, manage to live together sometimes, and on each other a good deal--revelled in the ciaja, and the trick was done. mr. munns realised an enormous sum of money, and was spoken of everywhere as "a marvellous fellow! a cad, sir, but a genius!"

he was a cad, there was no doubt of that. the earl of haremarch, who, with all his eccentricities, was a highly-polished gentleman, suffered for days after an interview with his tenant, who would receive him in his managerial room with open bottles of "sham," and "my lord" him until the wine had done its work, when he would call him "haremarch, old fellar!" with amiable frankness. he always addressed the foreign artistes in english; told them he didn't understand their d--d palaver, and poked them in the ribs, and slapped them on the back, until they ground their teeth and stamped their feet in inarticulate fury; but his money was always ready when due, and his salaries were liberal, as well as promptly paid. the corps de ballet adored him, admired his velvet waistcoats, and screamed at his full-flavoured jokes. in person, mr. munns was a short stout man, with an enormous chest, a handsome hebraic face, with dyed beard and whiskers, and small keen eyes.

to such a man as this, lord sandilands, the polished old nobleman, had naturally a strong antipathy; and yet lord sandilands was almost the only man of his clientèle to whom mr. munns showed anything like real respect. "there's something about that old buffer," he would say, "which licks me;" and he could not have paid a greater compliment. the br?dchen had retired into private life before this, and the ciaja had gone to america on a starring tour; but mr. munns had replaced them with other attractions, had well maintained his ground: and when mr. déloge told lord sandilands that from mr. munns it would be best to obtain the information and the opinion he sought, the old nobleman knew that the librarian was right; though he hated mr. munns from the bottom of his heart, yet he made up his mind to get the great impresario to hear miss grace lambert, and determined to abide by his advice.

so, one fine afternoon, the little road in which the pretty bayswater villa was situated was thrown into a state of the greatest excitement by the arrival of the dashing phaeton with the prancing horses in their plated harness; and mr. boulderson munns alighting therefrom, was received by lord sandilands, and duly presented to miss lambert. after partaking somewhat freely--for he was a convivial soul--of luncheon and dry sherry--which wine he was pleased to compliment highly, asking the "figure" which it cost, and the name of the vendor--the great impresario was ushered into the drawing-room, where signor da capo seated himself at the piano, and gertrude, without the smallest affectation or hesitation, proceeded to sing. mr. munns, who had--been present at many such inaugural attempts, seated himself near lord sandilands with a resigned countenance; but after a very few notes the aspect of his face entirely changed; he listened with the greatest attention; he beat time with his little podgy diamond-ringed fingers, and with his varnished boots; and at the conclusion of the song, after a strident cry of "brava! brava!" he winked calmly at the radiant nobleman, laid his finger alongside his nose, and whispered, "damme, that'll do!"

after a further hearing the great impresario expressed himself more fully, after his own symbolic fashion.

"that's the right thing," said he; "the right thing, and no flies! or rather it will be the right thing a few months hence.--my dear," he continued, laying his hand on gertrude's arm, and keeping it there, though she shrank from his touch, "no offence, my dear; you've got the right stuff in you! no doubt of that! now what we've got to do is to bring it out of you. don't you make any mistake about it; it's there, but it wants forcing. what's to force it? why, a mellower air a and few lessons reg'larly given by someone who knows all about it. no offence again to da capo here, who's a very good fellow--him and me understand each other; but this young lady wants someone bigger than him, and quiet and rest and freedom from london ways and manners. let her go to italy and stop there for nine months; meanwhile you and me, my lord, the marsh'ness carabas, and the rest of us, will work the oracle, and then she shall came back and come out at the grand scandinavian opera house; and if she ain't a success, i'll swallow my lincoln and bennett!"

there was a pause for a minute, and then lord sandilands said: "do you mean that miss lambert should make her début on the italian stage?"

"not a bit of it," shrieked mr. munns; "keep her début for here! a gal like that, who can walk up to the piano and sing away before me, won't have any stage-fright, i'll pound it! let her go to florence, to old papadaggi--which you know him well, my lord, and can make it all square there; let her take lessons of him, and make her début with me. i'm a man of my word, as you know, and i see my way."

within a fortnight from that time miles challoner, who had been out of town, called at the bayswater villa, found it in charge of a policeman and his wife, learned that miss lambert and mrs. bloxam had gone to hit'ly for some months, and--went away lamenting.