NEXT morning, I bethought me, I, too, had business at L-----;
so I mounted my horse, and set forth on the expedition soon
after breakfast. It was a dull, drizzly day; but that was
no matter: it was all the more suitable to my frame of mind.
It was likely to be a lonely journey; for it was no market-
day, and the road I traversed was little frequented at any
other time; but that suited me all the better too.

As I trotted along, however, chewing the cud of--bitter
fancies, I heard another horse at no great distance behind
me; but I never conjectured who the rider might be, or
troubled my head about him, till, on slackening my pace to
ascend a gentle acclivity, or rather, suffering my horse to
slacken his pace into a lazy walk--for, rapt in my own
reflections, I was letting it jog on as leisurely as it thought
proper--I lost ground, and my fellow-traveller overtook me
He accosted me by name, for it was no stranger--it was
Mr. Lawrence! Instinctively the fingers of my whip-hand
tingled, and grasped their charge with convulsive energy;
but I restrained the impulse, and answering his salutation
with a nod, attempted to push on; but he pushed on beside
me, and began to talk about the weather and the crops. I
gave the briefest possible answers to his queries and observa-
tions, and fell back. He fell back too, and asked if my horse
was lame. I replied with a look, at which he placidly smiled.

I was as much astonished as exasperated at this singular
pertinacity and imperturbable assurance on his part. I had
thought the circumstances of our last meeting would have
left such an impression on his mind as to render him cold

-112-