Here，again，thereappearedtobesomethinginanameunknowntocelebrity，whichneverthelessproduceditseffect——not，thistime，onMissSilvester，butonSirPatrick。HelookedatMr。
　　Brinkworthwithasuddeninterestandcuriosity。Iftheladyofthehousehadnotclaimedhisattentionatthemomenthewouldevidentlyhavespokentothedarkyoungman。
　　ButitwasLadyLundie’sturntochooseasecondplayeronherside。Herbrother-in-lawwasapersonofsomeimportance；andshehadherownmotivesforingratiatingherselfwiththeheadofthefamily。ShesurprisedthewholecompanybychoosingSirPatrick。
　　“Mamma!“criedBlanche。“Whatcanyoubethinkingof？SirPatrickwon’tplay。Croquetwasn’tdiscoveredinhistime。“
　　SirPatrickneverallowed“histime“tobemadethesubjectofdisparagingremarksbytheyoungergenerationwithoutpayingtheyoungergenerationbackinitsowncoin。
　　“In_my_time，mydear，“hesaidtohisniece，“peoplewereexpectedtobringsomeagreeablequalitywiththemtosocialmeetingsofthissort。Inyourtimeyouhavedispensedwithallthat。Here，“remarkedtheoldgentleman，takingupacroquetmalletfromthetablenearhim，“isoneofthequalificationsforsuccessinmodernsociety。Andhere，“headded，takingupaball，“isanother。Verygood。Liveandlearn。I’llplay!I’llplay!“
　　LadyLundiebornimpervioustoallsenseofironysmiledgraciously。
　　“IknewSirPatrickwouldplay，“shesaid，“topleaseme，“
　　SirPatrickbowedwithsatiricalpoliteness。
　　“LadyLundie，“heanswered，“youreadmelikeabook。“Totheastonishmentofallpersonspresentunderfortyheemphasizedthosewordsbylayinghishandonhisheart，andquotingpoetry。
　　“ImaysaywithDryden，“addedthegallantoldgentleman：
　　“’OldasIam，forladies’loveunfit，ThepowerofbeautyIrememberyet。’“
　　LadyLundielookedunaffectedlyshocked。Mr。Delamaynwentastepfarther。Heinterferedonthespot——withtheairofamanwhofeelshimselfimperativelycalledupontoperformapublicduty。
　　“Drydenneversaidthat，“heremarked，“I’llanswerforit。“
　　SirPatrickwheeledroundwiththehelpofhisivorycane，andlookedMr。Delamaynhardintheface。
　　“DoyouknowDryden，Sir，betterthanIdo？“heasked。
　　TheHonorableGeoffreyanswered，modestly，“IshouldsayIdid。I
　　haverowedthreeraceswithhim，andwetrainedtogether。“
　　SirPatricklookedroundhimwithasoursmileoftriumph。
　　“Thenletmetellyou，Sir，“hesaid，“thatyoutrainedwithamanwhodiednearlytwohundredyearsago。“
　　Mr。Delamaynappealed，ingenuinebewilderment，tothecompanygenerally：
　　“Whatdoesthisoldgentlemanmean？“heasked。“IamspeakingofTomDryden，ofCorpus。EverybodyintheUniversityknows_him。_“
　　“Iamspeaking，“echoedSirPatrick，“ofJohnDrydenthePoet。
　　Apparently，everybodyintheUniversitydoes_not_know_him!“_
　　Mr。Delamaynanswered，withacordialearnestnessverypleasanttosee：
　　“Giveyoumywordofhonor，Ineverheardofhimbeforeinmylife!Don’tbeangry，Sir。_I’m_notoffendedwith_you。_“Hesmiled，andtookouthisbrier-woodpipe。“Gotalight？“heasked，inthefriendliestpossiblemanner。
　　SirPatrickanswered，withatotalabsenceofcordiality：
　　“Idon’tsmoke，Sir。“
　　Mr。Delamaynlookedathim，withouttakingtheslightestoffense：
　　“Youdon’tsmoke!“herepeated。“Iwonderhowyougetthroughyoursparetime？“
　　SirPatrickclosedtheconversation：
　　“Sir，“hesaid，withalowbow，“you_may_wonder。“
　　WhilethislittleskirmishwasproceedingLadyLundieandherstep-daughterhadorganizedthegame；andthecompany，playersandspectators，werebeginningtomovetowardthelawn。SirPatrickstoppedhisnieceonherwayout，withthedarkyoungmanincloseattendanceonher。
　　“LeaveMr。Brinkworthwithme，“hesaid。“Iwanttospeaktohim。“
　　Blancheissuedherordersimmediately。Mr。BrinkworthwassentencedtostaywithSirPatrickuntilshewantedhimforthegame。Mr。Brinkworthwondered，andobeyed。
　　Duringtheexerciseofthisactofauthorityacircumstanceoccurredattheotherendofthesummer-house。Takingadvantageoftheconfusioncausedbythegeneralmovementtothelawn，MissSilvestersuddenlyplacedherselfclosetoMr。Delamayn。
　　“Intenminutes，“shewhispered，“thesummer-housewillbeempty。
　　Meetmehere。“
　　TheHonorableGeoffreystarted，andlookedfurtivelyatthevisitorsabouthim。
　　“Doyouthinkit’ssafe？“hewhisperedback。
　　Thegoverness’ssensitivelipstrembled，withfearorwithanger，itwashardtosaywhich。
　　“Iinsistonit!“sheanswered，andlefthim。
　　Mr。Delamaynknittedhishandsomeeyebrowsashelookedafterher，andthenleftthesummer-houseinhisturn。Therose-gardenatthebackofthebuildingwassolitaryforthemoment。Hetookouthispipeandhidhimselfamongtheroses。Thesmokecamefromhismouthinhotandhastypuffs。Hewasusuallythegentlestofmasters——tohispipe。Whenhehurriedthatconfidentialservant，itwasasuresignofdisturbanceintheinnerman。
　　BUTtwopersonswerenowleftinthesummer-house——ArnoldBrinkworthandSirPatrickLundie。
　　“Mr。Brinkworth，“saidtheoldgentleman，“Ihavehadnoopportunityofspeakingtoyoubeforethis；andasIhearthatyouaretoleaveus，to-dayImayfindnoopportunityatalatertime。Iwanttointroducemyself。Yourfatherwasoneofmydearestfriends——letmemakeafriendofyourfather’sson。“
　　Heheldouthishands，andmentionedhisname。
　　Arnoldrecognizeditdirectly。“Oh，SirPatrick!“hesaid，warmly，“ifmypoorfatherhadonlytakenyouradvice——“
　　“Hewouldhavethoughttwicebeforehegambledawayhisfortuneontheturf；andhemighthavebeenalivehereamongus，insteadofdyinganexileinaforeignland，“saidSirPatrick，finishingthesentencewhichtheotherhadbegun。“Nomoreofthat!Let’stalkofsomethingelse。LadyLundiewrotetomeaboutyoutheotherday。Shetoldmeyourauntwasdead，andhadleftyouheirtoherpropertyinScotland。Isthattrue？——Itis？——I
　　congratulateyouwithallmyheart。Whyareyouvisitinghere，insteadoflookingafteryourhouseandlands？Oh!it’sonlythree-and-twentymilesfromthis；andyou’regoingtolookafteritto-day，bythenexttrain？Quiteright。And——what？
　　what？——comingbackagainthedayafterto-morrow？Whyshouldyoucomeback？Somespecialattractionhere，Isuppose？Ihopeit’stherightsortofattraction。You’reveryyoung——you’reexposedtoallsortsoftemptations。Haveyougotasolidfoundationofgoodsenseatthebottomofyou？Itisnotinheritedfromyourpoorfather，ifyouhave。Youmusthavebeenamereboywhenheruinedhischildren’sprospects。Howhaveyoulivedfromthattimetothis？Whatwereyoudoingwhenyouraunt’swillmadeanidlemanofyouforlife？“
　　Thequestionwasasearchingone。Arnoldansweredit，withouttheslightesthesitation；speakingwithanunaffectedmodestyandsimplicitywhichatoncewonSirPatrick’sheart。
　　“IwasaboyatEton，Sir，“hesaid，“whenmyfather’slossesruinedhim。Ihadtoleaveschool，andgetmyownliving；andI
　　havegotit，inaroughishway，fromthattimetothis。InplainEnglish，Ihavefollowedthesea——inthemerchant-service。“
　　“InplainerEnglishstill，youmetadversitylikeabravelad，andyouhavefairlyearnedthegoodluckthathasfallentoyou，“
　　rejoinedSirPatrick。“Givemeyourhand——Ihavetakenalikingtoyou。You’renotliketheotheryoungfellowsofthepresenttime。Ishallcallyou’Arnold。’Youmus’n’treturnthecomplimentandcallme’Patrick，’mind——I’mtoooldtobetreatedinthatway。Well，andhowdoyougetonhere？Whatsortofawomanismysister-in-law？andwhatsortofahouseisthis？“
　　Arnoldburstoutlaughing。
　　“Thoseareextraordinaryquestionsforyoutoputtome，“hesaid。“Youtalk，Sir，asifyouwereastrangerhere!“
　　SirPatricktouchedaspringintheknobofhisivorycane。A
　　littlegoldlidflewup，anddisclosedthesnuff-boxhiddeninside。Hetookapinch，andchuckledsatiricallyoversomepassingthought，whichhedidnotthinkitnecessarytocommunicatetohisyoungfriend。