scape has lacked a fitting figure in the foreground to set off its beauties. It now possesses

one.'

For the moment Ella felt inclined to be indignant, but the air of the man was so exaggerated, and the manner in which his right. hand sought his heart so dramatically droll, that it was almost impossible to be seriously offended with him. Her view of the case was that His Highness's secretary, having no belief in the genuineness of his master's pretensions, found it necessary to make believe very much,' and to practise courtly airs and graces on every opportunity, in order to keep up his rôle.

6

6

'I should have thought,' said Ella gravely, that the best figures in the foreground of a park were herds of deer, such as the pretty creatures I see yonder.'

'You may call them pretty creatures,' said Mr. Heyton, with irritation, but handsome is as handsome does, and some of them are not nearly so nice as they look. There are half a dozen as savage beasts among them as you may find in the Zoological Gardens, and more

than once, but for my personal agility, my life would have been sacrificed to their fury.'

Indeed!' said Ella. The word was not a very sympathetic one, but the fact was, the idea of Mr. Heyton-a gentleman certainly stout and pudgy, and presumably short-winded -pursued by stags, and escaping from them by reason of his superior speed, was so exceedingly striking and incongruous, that she 'could hardly keep her countenance.

'Yes,' he resumed; most persons would have had enough of it, and not ventured in the park again; and indeed it would be no great punishment if at Barton one's home walks were restricted to the private gardens. By-the-by, you have not seen the gardens? It is His Highness's wish that you should make use of them. Permit me to be your cicerone. It won't take you ten minutes,' he added, as Ella hesitated.

The offer was by no means attractive to her, and she would have much preferred that her aunt should have introduced her to the beauties of her new home rather than Mr.

Heyton; but his intention was evidently to be civil to her, and it was just as well not to behave in any way that could be construed as churlish by her new acquaintance. She therefore expressed her thanks and agreed to his proposition.

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'The gardens are in this direction,' he said, pursuing the path by which he had already come; they were placed at some little distance from the Castle for the accommodation of its previous tenant, who' (here a cynical smile came over his face) 'was afflicted with hallucinations.'

"But I thought I saw the gardens on the right as we drove up this morning,' remarked Ella, not a little surprised

The public gardens, yes; they of course can be seen by anybody. It is only, however, His Highness and the members of his suite who have access to these I shall have the honour to show you. They are unique in their way. There is the wall that surrounds them; pretty tallish, you will observe, so that De Lunatico, as I will call him.

VOL. II.

X

Call who?' inquired Ella, surprised out of her grammar, for the secretary's tone had been so significantly sly that she could hardly resist the conviction that he was referring to his employer.

'Well, let us say, the last tenant of the Castle,' was the cool reply; he was put in an asylum at last, you know, but in the meanwhile they tried rest and seclusion, which only made him worse; it does in some cases.'

And Mr. Heyton turned his twinkling eyes as though they had flashed from a dark lantern, full upon Ella's face. She had no doubt in her own mind that he was experimentalising upon her; trying to see how far her faith extended with regard to the pretensions of her host, or perhaps seeking to entrap her into an expression of incredulity.

6

I never heard that they had that effect,' she answered with an indifferent air.

Mr. Heyton gave a short little laugh, which said as plainly as laugh could speak, 'Dear me, how cautious we are!' and opened the garden door.

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CHAPTER XXXVI.

THRUST AND PARRY.

THE High Garden (as it was called) at Barton, though on an elevated spot as its name implied, was considerably lower than the ground about it; it was like a large circular pond, which, instead of water, contained beds of beautiful flowers. These were arranged in the modern style, in masses of red, white, and blue, and had a charming effect. effect. A terrace ran round the whole, from which walks descended at right angles, and crossed the garden in prim and formal fashion, so that it almost resembled a figure in Euclid. The air, shut in and warmed by the high walls, was heavy with scent, and very still; except for the murmurous hum of bees there was not a sound to be heard; and the flag on the Castle tower was the only object from the outside world that