-"you have taken me entirely by surprise. Now, don't be angry-but I will fairly admit to you, for honesty is the best policy-" (ah, Mr Beaton, had you firmly believed that it was so!)" that when you entered this room, I regarded you, being utterly ignorant of your antecedents, as a young man struggling with difficulties, to whom I might offer assistance. I am very glad, indeed, to be assured that no such offer is necessary."

I

"The kindness of your intention, Mr Beaton, remains the same. have never made pretence to fortune, which indeed would have been a gross falsehood on my part; and I have had difficulties to contend with, though these have in a great measure disappeared. It was from no ostentation that I named those who have honoured me with their friendship and countenance, but solely for the purpose of making you aware that, in one respect at least, the distance between us is not so great as you possibly may have been led to imagine."

I rejoice to hear it," replied Mr Beaton. "It is an agreeable surprise to find that, instead of a young man of imperfect education and unformed manners, I have to treat with a kinsman who possesses the rare faculty of making his talents known to and appreciated by men whose mere recognition is applause. For, to be quite frank with you, I was under some apprehension, before this interview, that my newly-discovered cousin might be one of those raw specimens of humanity imported from the north, for whom an ensign's commission in a marching regiment is the highest attainable prize."

my

There was something in this speech that jarred disagreeably on nerves. Possibly it was not meant to be sarcastic, but it sounded very like a sneer; and, remembering that my poor father, who died fighting for his country, was a Scottish cadet and soldier such as Beaton had contemptuously described, I felt somewhat exasperated.

"Mr Beaton," I said, "I am not a candidate for military honours, but I must nevertheless say that I hold the profession of arms in the highest respect, and consider it to be the most

honourable in which a gentleman can engage. It certainly is not so lucrative as the occupations of trade or commerce, but these, and even greater things than these-the liberty, the power, and the glory of the British nation-are guaranteed, protected, and maintained, by the army and the navy. God knows, the service is ill requited by a country which boasts of its enormous wealth

but this I will say, that if I had been the rawest lad from the Highlands, of gentle blood, who was an applicant for a pair of colours, I would deserve fully more consideration, and be entitled to more courteous treatment, than the youth whose ideas of promotion commence with a stool and a desk in a countinghouse."

"Surely you are unnecessarily warm, my friend," said Mr Beaton. "I had no intention of offending you; and, indeed, I do not exactly see why you should have put in such a strong plea for the military profession. I am not one of the Manchester men who believe that the millennium will follow on free trade and the unlimited importation of cotton. Persons who hold such views are either knaves or idiots; and the experience of a few years will show to which category they belong. But don't let us get into discussion upon abstract points, when we have real business before us; for, Mr Sinclair, you and I have an important settlement to make."

"Pray, then, proceed, Mr Beaton." 'Here, then, are the executory accounts, examined and taxed, by which it appears that I am indebted to you in the sum of £42,000 odds, being your share of the estate of our deceased Mexican cousin. Your title has been examined by Messrs Poins and Peto, and is fully substantiated. I only regret that your attention was not earlier drawn to the advertisement."

"I have not the slightest doubt," said I, "that the calculation is quite correct; and I am ready now, without giving any further trouble to you or your solicitors, to give an entire acquittance."

"Would it not be more satisfactory to submit the papers to your legal

adviser? I am a strong advocate for method in all matters of business."

"Your well-known character for precision and accuracy, Mr Beaton, renders any further examination superfluous."

Well, then, since you are content to rest satisfied with my statement, you have simply to execute the deed of discharge, which I have directed Mr Poins to prepare. But-pardon me for asking the question-have you made up your mind as to the disposal of this considerable sum of money? It does not amount to what we city men, who have rather enlarged notions about capital, consider to be a fortune; but it is sufficient, if judiciously laid out, to beget one, especially at a time like this, when money is circulating with almost miraculous rapidity. I should like to do something for you; the more especially as money is precisely the commodity which is most scarce with me just now, and were I to realise at present in order to meet your claim, the immediate sacrifice would be little compared with the prospective loss."

'Diavolo!' thought I to myself, 'I must be cautious how I deal with this old gentleman. Sorcerers work by fumigation; and already methinks I can discern a palpable odour of shares!"I understood, Mr Beaton," said I, "that the sum in question was of the nature of a trustfund."

"No doubt it is, Mr Sinclair; and had I been aware of your existence, not one penny of it should have been invested otherwise than in Government securities. But please remember that, failing your father's family, I, as executor, was entitled to the whole estate of our Mexican relative; and when, after minute investigation and repeated public advertisements, we could trace no representative of your father, I was legally entitled to assume that no such heir was in existence. Indeed, I was so particular on that point, that I scrupulously abstained from drawing the money until I received an opinion from eminent counsel to the effect that, under the circumstances, I was perfectly justified in doing so. If you desire it, that opinion, along with the case

submitted to Sir William Follett, shall be placed in your hands."

"That is quite unnecessary, Mr Beaton. I am thoroughly convinced that in everything that has been done you have acted as a man of honour."

"I am gratified by that assurance," replied Mr Beaton. "Honour, Sinclair, is a jewel of the highest value. It is even worth more than credit; and, believe me, it is prized by the merchant as dearly as by the noble."

Sentiments of this sort are very beautiful to listen to, and are often received by simple-souled people as equivalents for performance; just as promissory notes are taken in lieu of cash payments. But it so happened that, a day or two previously, I had been reading the School for Scandal, and the apothegms of Mr Joseph Surface were still fresh in my recollection. Moreover, in my capacity of journalist, I had occasion to observe, from several rather curious disclosures which had come under my notice, that the laws of honour were not always held in strict observance by members of the mercantile order, but that, on the contrary, a vast deal of villanous fraud and hypocritical imposture was practised under cover of the convenient cloak of respectability. So that Mr Beaton's asseveration as to the high principle of his class had the effect rather of putting me on my guard than of disarming my suspi

cions.

"Now," continued Mr Beaton, “I am quite aware that you must think it a strange thing that a man of my reputed means-and perhaps, in this instance, the public voice does not much exaggerate-cannot easily, at any moment, command large sums of money. That certainly would be strange, if it were so; but I wish you to understand that, although I can always command the money, I cannot always do so easily. That will happen occasionally to the greatest financiers of Europe. I remember one occasion when Baron R▬▬ had the utmost possible difficulty in whipping up a paltry sum of £90,000. He had just transacted a loan of millions to the Austrian Empire, and wanted that little advance for some domestic purchase-pictures

or furniture, I know not what it was. Would you believe it? There was a tightness then in the money market, and the Bank insisted on exorbitant terms, to which R- must have yielded if I and another, who happened then to have reserves, had not prevented the scandal. Well, in like manner, all my money is now engaged -invested in such a way as must bring a return of nearly fifty per cent, if time is allowed for the operation. Your money is also so embarked-as I have explained to you, through no fault of mine. I now make you the offer—and it is one upon which you will do well to pause and reflect that, instead of giving you a cheque for the sum to which you are unquestionably entitled, I shall transfer to you the railway shares which have been purchased by your own money, and which are now worth far more than the sum they originally represented, provided that you leave the disposal of them in my hands for six months from the present date."

"Mr Beaton," said I, "now that we have advanced so far, frankness is an absolute necessity. You propose to become my trustee. I am very much obliged; but I would rather that we should remain independent of each other. Without questioning the sufficiency of the securities which you indicate, or discussing the probability of the advantages which might accrue from such an arrangement, I must tell you at once that I have hitherto abstained, for weighty reasons, from all connection with railway enterprise, and that nothing shall tempt me now to swerve from that deliberate resolution."

"Oho!" said Mr Beaton; "so you are one of the prudent people who would rather have their money lying barren in a bag, than secure a handsome return by using it to stimulate labour! Why, even a South Sea islander has sounder and shrewder notions. Be advised, Sinclair! Do not throw away a chance which may never again present itself to your reach. Fortune, you know, is a female goddess, and, true to the instincts of the sex, will avenge herself if slighted -and do not deprive me of the power, which I am most willing and anxious

to exert, of making you a wealthy man!"

I had entered the room sheathed, as I believed, in the full panoply of resistance, but I now felt as if the buckles were giving way. Armida had no great difficulty in disencumbering Rinaldo of his cuirass; and, although old Beaton was not exactly an Armida, I could not forget that he was at least the father of my enchantress. I hesitated.

Mr Beaton saw his advantage, and pursued it.

"Come now, Sinclair," said he, "you see how the land lies. I have explained to you what your interest is-I now appeal to your generosity. The payment of this money at present would hamper me very seriously. Let it stand over for a little. You will be no loser by agreeing to thison the contrary, I can insure you a large addition to your capital—and, moreover, you will lay me under a great obligation."

Short-sighted Shearaway! Wherefore didst thou forbid my presence when thou wert negotiating with the agent, and yet leave me to grapple single-handed with the far more dangerous principal? Like one of the Roman mob under the spell of the rhetoric of Mark Antony, I was rapidly changing my mind. Here was an opportunity of making a favourable impression upon Mr Beaton, and

what was more-of gaining access to the bower which, otherwise, I never might enter!

I was about to yield, when, by one of those habitual tricks, to which people labouring under the influence of agitation often unconsciously resort, I put my hand into the pocket of my waistcoat, and found there a small scrap of paper which I had picked up from my desk in the morning, and stowed away without perusing its contents. I now opened it, not from any feeling of curiosity as to its purport, but simply from mechanical impulse, and there I saw, written in pencil, the following words :

"MR NORMAN, HAUD THE GRIP!-D. O."

Had my good genius sent me a telegraphic message, it could not have had a stronger effect than this

laconic note, the significance of which I thoroughly understood.

"Mr Beaton," I said, "I do not consider it advisable that this interview should be prolonged. I have listened to you with profound attention; but nothing that you have said has in the least moved me to alter my resolution as to hazarding any portion of my capital in railway speculation. But I should be extremely sorry to put you to any inconvenience by pressing my pecuniary claim. There is, however, a mode of settlement with which, as a mercantile man, you must be familiar, and which will obviate all difficulty. Give me your acceptance for the amount at any date you please, and I shall be perfectly satisfied."

Sudden as the explosion of a mine burst forth the wrath of Beaton.

"No!" cried he, with a deep oath, "I will submit to no such degradation! Has it come to this that Richard Beaton, who can command millions by a stroke of his pen, is to be bearded and insulted in his own house by a runagate boy, who, for anything I know to the contrary, may just have emerged from the kennel? Leave my house, sir, and never hope to enter it again. As for your paltry debt, go down to Mr Poins as speedily as you choose. He shall have orders to settle it this afternoon-ay, mark me, sir, this very day! and so I shall be rid for ever of an ungrateful whelp, who I believe from the bottom of my soul to be a braggart and an impostor!"

"Sir," said I, "I am at a loss to understand how, as a gentleman, you can justify to yourself the use of such outrageous language and abuse.

Your unworthy taunt I scorn and despise. Were I a braggart, I would tell you that the sanctity of your own roof alone protects you from my anger. But you are safe anywhere from me. The violence of age calls rather for pity than resentment; and I, at least, shall not forget our common blood, though in your veins it would seem to be mingled with that of a churl. I go, sir, without one bitter feeling save regret that a kinsman should have demeaned himself so unworthily!"

The expression of Beaton's countenance was absolutely fiendish. I knew him by report to be a man of uncontrollable will, but I never could have imagined that passion would so utterly overpower his reason.

"No kinsman of mine!" he cried. "I disown you, sir-I revoke the name. Hence-begone! And harkye

tell this where you go, and proclaim it on 'Change if you willthat Richard Beaton, the merchant, the member of Parliament, humbled himself so far as to crave that you would grant him time to make a paltry money payment, and that you ha, ha!-refused him! Tell that

tell that to all the world if you will, sir! It is a rare boast for a beggarly Scot, and for once you will be speaking the truth!"

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Silence, old man!" said I. "If you have no respect for others, at least respect yourself. The beggarly Scot is more of a gentleman than you are, and even richer, since he can afford to give you his pity. Farewell, sir! May God restore to you your reason, and forgive you for your gross injustice!"

So terminated my interview with the father of Mary Beaton.

IN making use of the trite phrase of "the horrors of war," none except soldiers are fully aware of what is comprised in that category; nor is it the object of the writer of this article to dwell upon this part of the question; but, on the contrary, to show by a few anecdotes how these horrors may be, in some degree, alleviated by practices of courtesy among the belligerents, which are adopted by the armies of civilised nations during continuous campaigns, partly from innate chivalrous feelings, and partly for their mutual advantage.

The true principle, which is one worthy of the fullest recognition on all sides, is to do as little harm to one another as possible, consistent with the real object of the contending armies.

In a battle, each party must knock over as many of the enemy as possible, individuals as well as masses, in order to subdue or drive him from the field; but even then, if the man is disabled, the object is gained as well as if he were killed, and therefore no liberal-minded soldier would wish to do more. In the ordinary course of the campaign, however, of what advantage is it to kill, wound, or make prisoner, an unfortunate individual or two, who may happen to be in your power? With armies of very many thousand men, what real injury is done by the loss of a few men in that desultory manner? Besides, the same system will be acted upon by both sides, so that its advantages, if any exist, will be counterbalanced by the reprisals of the opposite party.

as

Therefore, we would say, apply all such courtesies as can reasonably be used to the enemy; respect one another; let your proceedings be " sharp, but as polished as your sword." There is an extraordinary story, impossible as told, but probably based on some foundation, of the conduct of the French and English corps of Royal Guards, accidentally opposed to each other at the battle of Fontenoy-that the British politely called out, "Tirez, Messieurs

les Gardes Françaises." The others replied, "The French Guard never fire first;" upon which their opponents, having given them the option, put an end to the chivalrous contest by opening their fire and annihilating their adversaries.

There is certainly somewhat of the extreme and absurd in this story; but, at the same time, many true anecdotes may be told of the courteous behaviour of the soldiers of civilised nations towards one another in more recent days, and especially during the protracted campaigns in the Peninsula.

The French Emperor in 1807, taking advantage of the imbecility of the Courts and Governments of Spain and Portugal, took abrupt possession of those countries, and, by military exactions and overbearing conduct, drove the nations to a general and formidable outbreak against him. The British Government sent out expeditionary forces to support this resistance, which ended in a continued warfare in those countries until the peace in 1814. During that period, the ordinary circumstances of war were frequently relieved by acts of respect and courtesy, between the French and British troops, which came to the knowledge of the writer, who was present throughout the whole of those campaigns.

The first landing was by the small force under the Duke of Wellington (then Sir Arthur Wellesley), in Mondego Bay, which led to the battle of Vimiera, and Convention of Cintra. By that convention, the French garrison of Almeida was to be embarked at Oporto and conveyed to France. It was accompanied during the march by a small body of British troops. On arrival near the populous city of Oporto, the exasperated citizens made threatening dispositions for an attack on the French. The commanding officer appealed to the captain commanding the British detachment, who at once declared that against such a breach of faith they would be marshalled together as one force, and that he would stand by the French