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The nose was large and soft,

of them struck him upon the nose. and responded as such organs are accustomed to do upon these painful occasions. It streamed over a white neckcloth all down a long white waistcoat. The Lecturer stood as if paralysed, presenting the appearance of a penguin who has received a shot in the head, and stands up forlorn and motionless upon a point of rock for a moment, before he falls into the sea.

With a simultaneous motion, Archer and Harding sprang forward to the assistance of the poor Lecturer, followed immediately by Carl Kohl. Two or three men were rolled over in their passage, and a lamp was broken; while a friend and disciple of the Lecturer's, having possessed himself of two of the glazed hats, called loudly for the police, in order to identify the owners. A general tumult and scramble ensued. Harding and Archer, with their coat-sleeves torn in shreds, leaving Carl Kohl struggling underneath the lecture-desk, which had been upset, hurried off the Lecturer, whose coattails were torn off close "to the quick," and his nether habiliments indescribably rent behind, after the fashion originated by a certain disorderly and light-headed individual celebrated by schoolboys under the cognomen of Gideon Gout. They bore him safely to the side of Mr. Walton, and they then endeavoured to make a passage out for the whole of their party. In their efforts Archer was thrown down between two oak forms; Harding instantly left the poor Lecturer, and rushed to Archer's assistance. Then Mary, together with two other ladies who had screamed to them for protection, were pressed close against the wall, and Archer and Harding struggled to their rescue. Then Mr. Walton had one arm jammed between two men's shoulders, and Carl Kohl arrived just in time to help him; then Harding floundered down, dragging two or three opponents with him; and this brought Sandy Morrison to his side-who, having lost one shoe, fought like a fury; and finally, as they all emerged panting and wild with heat into the cool November air outside the doors, the discomfited Lecturer was carried safely out after them in the relenting arms of John Downs.

APPREHENSIONS OF THE

CHAPTER XIV.

NEW BUILDING-FIRM.-MR. WALTON'S CHANGE OF RESIDENCE.-HE ENGAGES HARDING ΤΟ BUILD A BOAT FOR HIM.ARRIVAL OF MISS LLOYD.-PRATT'S BUN-SHOP.-MR. WALTON ADVISES HARDING ON SELF-EDUCATION.-MR. SHORT'S SOLILOQUY ON THE IRISH FISHERIES.

MR. SHORT and Mr. Bainton called on Mr. Walton the morning after the lecture, to inquire, as they said, if he and Miss Walton had been hurt in the disgraceful scene which had occurred. They themselves were not present; but it was the talk of the whole town. In every account they had heard, the name of Mr. Carl Kohl was conspicuous, not so much on account of his extraordinary "English" as for his advocacy of the faculty of "second sight," and his enthusiasm for the reintroduction of the black art. They all agreed that it was truly an alarming sort of thing to be associated in any way with a man who was the avowed friend and champion of witches that had been burned at the stake, and who publicly professed to believe and to have seen impossibilities. As for the address made by Archer to the audience, it was not much better; but then he was known to be a dreamer and enthusiast, and what else could be expected of a man who wrote poetry? Moreover, he was not one of the new building-firm. But what could be said of an architect, and one about to engage in a totally new sort of project, in which they would need all the friends they could possibly have, and ought to give no handle for enemies or scoffers-what would be said of an architect of the buildings for Associated Homes, who could assert that there were organs of vision in the spinal marrow? It was a thing not to be risked; and they all agreed that Mr. Carl Kohl should be no architect of theirs, and that this determination should be communicated to him in a delicate way by Mr. Walton, at the earliest opportunity. At the same time, they were anxious to offer him their assistance in any other course to which he might apply his talents.

Mr. Carl Kohl drily received the intelligence of the " suspended operations of the new firm, "in consequence of certain errors in calculation they had made," and offered no further observation than by a philosophic lift of the shoulders. As for any assistance in other lines, he expressed himself much

obliged and grateful, but said that he believed he could manage pretty well without help, as he was rapidly improving in his knowledge of the English language-a fact which no one but himself had yet discovered. He treated the whole matter with perfect ease and good temper, and even accompanied Mr. Walton in a walk to Southsea to look at a furnished cottage which Mr. Walton had resolved to take for the winter.

It

This cottage Mr. Walton moved into a few days after. was near the sea, and the thought suddenly struck him that an occasional sail in his own boat would be an agreeable pastime for an hour when the weather was uncommonly fine; and that, if he engaged Harding to build the boat, it would be a nice opportunity for making him some small return for the great services he had rendered them during the shipwreck in Wales. Mr. Walton accordingly sent a friendly message to Harding, requesting to see him at lunch next morning during the Dock-yard dinner-time.

Mr. Walton liked his new residence very much. It was a handsome and commodious cottage, well furnished, and with a good look-out towards the sea. He passed a very pleasant hour with Harding, who arrived at the time specified; and after a little preliminary conversation on Canada, the shipwreck, and their visit, their whole talk was of boat-building, rowing, and sailing, concerning which things Mr. Walton said he spoke with great diffidence, as his studies had never led him much in those directions. He also consulted Harding upon the best method of fixing a large brass telescope to the window-sash, or sill-or inside the window, and to turn upon a pedestal screwed to the floor. He was aware that the telescope was very large-nearly twice as large as Mr. Carl Kohl had advised; and Archer had asked him only this morning if he intended to shoot the moon; but these very clever gentlemen, who knew everything, were often very odd in their fancies, and were not fit to decide upon the tastes of other people. A large brass telescope gave an air of style to a small cottage fronting the sea; and, besides enabling any one who took an interest in mercantile transactions to observe the coming and going of ships at a distance, a gentleman could also watch his own boat dancing upon the waves, or riding at anchor. Harding was excessively amused with all this, and did not attempt to suppress his smiles. In the end, Harding agreed to build the boat, and Mr. Walton clapped him upon the shoulder, and called him a fine fellow.

That same evening the elder Miss Lloyd arrived, and was received with great pleasure by them all. She brought no fresh news from Wales, except that her sister Ellen had been very much out of health lately; Ellen had, however, sent Mary and Archer several little presents-sketches of scenery a prayer from Goethe, which she had set to music-and some little articles of dress, which she requested Mary to wear on her wedding-day.

Mary was but too glad to have a companion like Miss Lloyd, to whom she at once communicated the postponement of her marriage, laying it chiefly to the account of the difficult position they were placed in, from the adverse feeling of their relatives on both sides; but touching only slightly upon such discrepancies as existed between Archer and herself, in matters of private feeling and differences of opinions and tastes in certain things.

Miss Lloyd having inquired very kindly after Harding, a party was fixed for the next day to go to the Dock-yard. This party was increased by the proposal of several of their friends to accompany them, including Mr. Carl Kohl, who had contrived to obtain the permission requisite for foreigners. It was composed of Mary and Miss Lloyd, Archer, Mr. Walton, Mr. and Mrs. Bainton, Mr. Carl Kohl, Mr. Short, and Mr. John Downs. They went accordingly; visited the "Royal Frederick," where Harding was at work, and were taken by him all over the main deck—the only deck laid down upon the beams at this time.

"Fine, stout, famous, matchless, wooden walls of Young England!" exclaimed Mr. Walton. "Who says our maritime glory is upon the decline, unless he means that such glories as these are upon an inclined plane-eh, Bainton !-ready to slide down into the water. Here's a ship! How many guns do you

say, Harding?"

"A hundred and ten."

"And tonnage?"

"Three thousand and ninety-nine tons."

"Sir William Symons the builder, did you say-the inventor of the top-heavy-what do you call it?"

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"Peg-top keel."

"Here 's beams and bulwarks of the nation!

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proceeded Mr. Walton; here's a deck! (stamping about upon it); here's a floor, where elephants might dance to the roar of lions! What weight of metal-what guns will she carry upon this deck-fortyeight pound carronades, as of old, I suppose?"

"We have not heard," said Harding, "but carronades have been disapproved by naval officers for years past. As for the guns on this deck, they will be long sixty-eights, I have not the least doubt."

"I very much doubt it!" remarked Mr. Downs. "Why do you say she will have long sixty-eight pounders, if you don't know the fact?"

"Because," replied Harding, pointing downwards, "the deck of such a ship as this is usually four inches thick, and of fir ; whereas this deck is four inches and a half, and of Dantzic oak. Therefore it is intended for very heavy metal."

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Did you measure it? How the devil do you know all this to half an inch ?"

"I laid the greater part of the deck down myself."

"Did you ? I didn't see you. Ahem! You 're a capital fellow, Harding. You gave me a black eye with your elbow at the lecture-room the other night."

The party left Harding in considerable glee at this encounter with Mr. Downs, and then went to visit some of the machinery works. When the dockyard dinner-bell rang, the party adjourned to" Pratt's," in order to get a little refreshment.

Pratt's shop in Portsea is famous for hot plum-buns at lunchtide, the largest of the class ever made for a penny. Independent of these buns, the visitor can regale himself with any kind of groceries, "cakes and ale," or stronger cordials if he feels disposed. Here the party, we have previously named, now assembled ; and presently there were placed in a row three tumblers of water, with three hot plum-buns; one tumbler of sherry-and-water, with a slice of plum-cake; two captains' biscuits, with nothing "to moisten them;" a raspberry tart and a glass of usquebaugh; a pint of port wine with plum-cake; and a tumbler of hot rum-andwater, with a square of gingerbread-all of which the reader will probably find no difficulty in distributing to the respective parties.

Archer and Carl Kohl listened to Mr. Bainton's elucidation of the last improvement in one of the most complicated of the engines they had been examining; Mr. Downs took Mrs. Bainton aside, and endeavoured to show her that her husband was totally mistaken in his ideas-most of them; while Mr. Short engaged the ear of all the rest of the party with a long tirade against the Irish fisheries, as they were at present mismanaged, or neglected,-the whole of which discourse he particularly addressed to Mary, as if

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