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afc this moment the dignity of the University had been shamefully violated . Ifc happened in this way . Sullivan and two other Christ Church men , feeling the want of fresh air , had sauntered out from their rooms . The two friends were Leeson , a quick-witted old Etonian , and Moorson , who was that year the champion hundred yards

runner , who hail represented Oxford and beaten the best man Cambridge could produce . It is tie rigueur at Christ Church for the undergraduates not to wear their caps antl gowns in the evening , when the authorities insist upon ifc . On this occasion the three hail gone forth in pot hnts and shooting coats , just as they were , to have a look at the "tattoo "—otherwise the drums

and fifes of thc Oxford militia , who were going their rounds . As they passed that corner of tho High-street which will ever be connected with the revered name of Alderman Spiers , a small boy came up to them , and said , civilly enough , " Proctor , gentlemen . " " Go away , little boy , " was the reply , "don't 3 'ou

think you are going to humbug us . The little boy did go away , and the second after the group of three camo upon the proctor in all his glory of whito bands and velvet sleeves . Such a moment must be experienced to bo appreciated . Moorson took to his heels . A fat bulldog ( or proctor ' s servant ) pursued him , little thinking it was the champion hundred yards runner

who dashed away so speedily . Leeson " skedaddled " np an alley and was lost in the excitement of the moment ; and Sullivan remained passive , leaning quietly up against the shutters of the much-revercd Spiers ' s shop . "There ' s one on ' em , " said the third bulldog ; and in a trice , as the nursery books say , he had pinned

Sullivan by the collar and forced him roughly against the aforesaid shop shutters . Sullivan being accustomed to boxing and wrestling at Tom Evans ' s , and to all kinds of bear lighting after wines , did not understand being handled in this rough manner without some sort of retaliation . In a weak moment , oh , horror ! ho struck the bulldog in the wind ,

with such force as to make that worthy leave go his hold and retire gracefully from the contest . AH this was actually seen by the proctor , and hence the remark with which this chapter commenced , " Your name and college , sir ?" Well , tho three friends met at Sullivan ' s rooms shortly after , and over a drink anil some biscuits ( for

no suppers were obtainable in college ) they all agreed that Sullivan would undoubtedly bo " sent down " for tho rest of tho term , and most probably for tho whole of tho term afterwards . Sullivan scarcely slept 11 wink that night . Ho had been "let iu" by various girls for whom ho did not care a straw , for tickets for the

Masonic , tho Christ Church , and other bulls . All depended upon him as a host , and relied upon hia procuring a sufficient number of eligible partners for them at theso balls to make them depart from Oxford with the satisfaction of having conscientiously done their best to provide for their future in life . Moreover , Elaine Scowley was coming up to

Commemoration . Anil here , by way of explantion , wo must mention that Sullivan was in his fourth year , and about to put on the above mentioned B . A . gown . Hubert , Scowley hud just matriculated afc Christ Church , and , on the strength of this family success , old Scowley hud consented to their all coming up to "Coiumem , " feeling sure that some baronet wilh tho

requisite sum per annum would take a iancy to Elaine , who wan then eighteen . All these considerations perturbed the mind of Sullivan during the whole of that , unfortunate night . Next morning he presented himself at nine o ' clock to tho proctor . Outside his door were the two bulldogs , and ho at once recognized the one with whom ho had

had tho fracas ou the previous night . After the proctor had disposed of a " case" with which ho was engaged , Sullivan entered his room . Tho proctor ' s looks wero not reassuring . He was a inim of few words . He repeated , exactly in tho sumo tono of voice as ou the previous evening , the words" You struck my servant , sir . "

" 1 did , " was tho reply . " You will leave Oxford for the rest of lhe term , " said the proctor . I ' oor Sullivan felt as if he must melt in his shoos and leave nothing behind but a puddle of greaau . But , soon recovering himself , ho pleaded his own cause so skilfully before his judge , showing how rudely tho man

had treated him , and how he hail merely , in the impulse of the moment , struck him , as , indeed , anybody would have done who hatl been so roughly handled , that the proctor , being fortunately a gentleman , took another view of the case . Still the ugly fact remained that he had struck an official ofthe University .

" You will pay two pounds , " said the proctor , relenting . Sullivan dashed down the money , bolted from the room , and with a sarcastic remark about "Hollows to mend" to the bulldog ( for which he was nearly run in again ) , he fled to a festive breakfast in a friend ' s

rooms . On the same morning lit ! met , the proctor and his parasites at , " the Schools , " where he blossomed forth as a full-blown li . A . A fiuv words are now necessary iu parenthesis about

the Commemoration which was coming on . i'hose who wore there need not be reminded about , tho year in which it took place . Suffice it to suy that it commemorated purl , of thi ! honeymoon of royalty . Kvery sort of preparation had been made to give a fitting

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welcome to the graceful lady who had forsaken her own clear climate to shed the lustre of her presence upon our own beloved but , murky atmosphere . As might have been expected on such an occasion , those high in office had taken pains to secure tho most lovely bridesmaids for this unusually important event . Elaine Scowley had been picked out as one of these

fortunate and distinguished young ladies . And this leads us back to the fact that she had " come out , " that she had been presented afc Couit , and that the bronze boots and et ceteras were no longer visible . One day she and a brother were " bear-fighting " in the drawing-room at their " placo . " Their custom was to wrestle together , brother and sister always taking

care that the " lall should take place either near the the sofa or on the rug , so that no damage to life and limb might ensuo . On this occasion matters were pretty equally divided , and the fall took placo . in such a manner that Herr Stompfel himself could nofc have decidetl which was " under" at the finish . Both came together with a crash npon the sofa , tho uew chintz was

torn , one ot the springs went , and a leg of the ancient piece of furniture was dislocated . At this critical moment old Scowley came into tho room , and , after making somo cross remark about their unseemly behaviour , summoned Elaine to his presence in the library . There he imparted to her that her uncle Sir John had promised to " stand" her a dross for her

presentation at the next drawing-room , and that Lady Stayncs hail agreetl to present her . Old Scowley never for a moment questioned the possibility of her refusing to go , so , as she was perfectly indifferent about the matter , she politely thanked him , wrote to her uncle and aunt , and tho day was fixed for the lamb to bo led to the slaughter .

Fortunately Mr . Mirth was in London at the time , and to his experienced hands was entrusted the arduous task of adorning that which , iu any case , was sufficiently ornamental in itself . The great man arrived at the appointed hour . Lady Stayncs , Mrs . Scowley , and the -ictim were ready in the drawing-room to receive him . Taking an easy pose

on the sofa , ho calmly requested the young lady to walk about the room so that he might see her stylo . Lady Stayncs anil Co . then became aware for the first time that fchey were being interviewed by one who had empresses and duchesses at his feet , ami that they were creatures of no consequence in his estimation . Thou their manner slightly changed towards this gifted

being , und when he commanded that she should only wear white , and no colour of any sort ( by daylight ) , much us it went against their inclination , they wero forced to submit . A word about Elaine . If there wero as many pretty people in the world as there are heroines in novels , then wo should not have

to go lur to look for beauty . But we know that in real lifo beauty in not common , and Elaine was indeed iv rare specimen . It was not in feature that she speciall y shone , but in all those accessories which , when taken together , go to make up a pretty woman . Hor hair was brown , rather , perhaps , light than dark , and with that soupi ; on of red in it which always accompanies a

whito complexion . Her teeth were pearly and regular . Her eyes were not good , being small and of a greyish blue colour , but wore clear and rich in expression . Her chief beauty , perhaps , was to be found in the contour of the cheek as it joined the throat at the angle of tho chin . The throat itself was like ucolumn of marble , yet it had creases across it marked as

deeply as those m thc Gibson Venus . Her shoulders anil arms wero like whito satin , and if you looked close at hor you found that there was a delicate network of azuro spread beneath it . She was always considered a stout girl , und upon this point sho and her scraggy female cousins had had many points of dispute . Yet her waist was extremely small , hut without any

apparent effort on her part , to reduce it to an artificial tenuity . She was well set up , held her head aloft like a stag leading his herd , and wherever she went she was always recognized as tho most "distinguished" looking girl in the room . But , as before observed , rcvennns . To describe all the events of a Commemoration

woultl fill more than our allotted space . Suffice it to say that young Scowley made out a programme for his mother anil sister ( and father , by the way ) , which included breakfasts and luncheons in different colleges , sight-seeing iu thc morning , jrarileii parties in the afternoon , and a ball in the evening for four nights running . Less than a quarter of this arrangement was

gono through , aud even then our party found it a most fatiguing week . They agreed , however , to go to the Masonic ball , the Christ Church hall , and tho Now College ball , and left it an open question about tho hall on the fourth night . At the Masonic ball , Snllivuu , being 11 Mason , was fortunate enough to secure Elaine Scowley for the

Knight Templars' Ijuatlrille , the top and bottom of which was formed by royalty . Old Scowley thought better of him after that , but his admiration only lastetl for ono evening . On tho next night was tho Christ Church ball . Sullivan , eager to have a round dunce with Elaine , sought her for a long time in vain in the crowded room .

All the surrounding counties had come into Oxford at tho last moment to seo the royal guests afc Commemoration ; anil , iu consequence , those who had anticipated a good dance , found , to their disgust , that the balls wore converted into mobs , and that 110 dancing was to ho had afc any price . Sullivan at last found the Scowleys , anil , with all humility , bogged for a waltz .

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" I can't give you this one , " said Elaine ; " I'm engaged . " " Who is your partner ? " said tho impetuous admirer . ' •1 can't tell you , " said Elaine , quietly . At this moment a deep , soft voice was heard close by ,

saying to Elaine , " My dance , I . think . " Sullivan looked round , aud , oh , horror ! found he had been standing iu tho way of the most exalted personage in thc kingdom , who had come up to claim his dance in duo form and order .

Away they wont , and our hero felt considerabl y limp after this terrible event . Still he got his dance later , and on thc third night of Commemoration , at the New College ball , he aud Elaine somehow discovered there was a garden attached to the college , which was thrown open to the heated dancers . Thither they repaired , but thero was a something about tho fair Elaine that evening

which repulsed anything beyond more friendship , and our hero felt that it would have required a good deal more champagne than he was prepared to imbibe to havo tempted him to proceed to business with this marble , cold , yet inexpressibly beautiful creature . He loved her better than anything else iu tho world . Sho liked him better than anyone else in tho world .

But she had been brought up in tho school which considered a " good" marriage to bo the one object in life , and until better things hatl failed , she did not care to hurry matters . She was only eighteen , and had plenty of time before her . Therefore , sho loft him on tho

rack , to tear his own soul out , if ho willed , fcill the time should come that sho might call him to her to pour forth his little tale of love and woe at her feet . Was this heartless V Was this wise ? Was this very different from what is seen every day in this funny world ? We think not .

The end of this eventful week was as follows : The Scowleys went on the Thursday to a picnic nt Nuneham , got up by Lord Screwby , who was believed to bo desperately in love with Elaine . Sullivan , disgusted with the repented snubbings he got from old Scowley , arranged to row down on tho Friday from Oxford to London . He antl tho Scowley

ladies parted very good friends , but seeing he was not wanted , ho thought he hail host drown sorrow in tho bowl of claret cup , which his bosom friend carefully prepared for him at thoir first" easy , " at Abingdon . During the fag end of the London season , which is

allowed to Oxford undergraduates , ho called once at tho Scowley ' s house . They received him remarkably well and were very civil . P . S . —Beware of very civil people . P . P . S . —Tho course of true love never did . P . P . P . S . —It never will .

C II APTK It III . AUTUMN . When Autumn scatters his departing gleams . ALAS for a humdrum chapter ! How can wo make it interesting now ? Tho horo is thirty-two , and tho heroine twenty-six . Neither of them aro married .

Eight long years have passed away since the Commemoration at Oxford . During all this timo Sullivan has remained constant to Elaine—more or less . Rather moro , perhaps , than less . Elaine has remained constant to Sullivan , more or less . Rather less , perhaps , than more .

A short sketch of thoir two lives is here unavoidable , but wo will make it as short as we cau . Sullivan took his degree at Oxford . Young Scowley went up and unfortunately was plucked several times for 11 preliminary army examination . Ho has some thoughts of going ou tho stage . Sullivan , a most

important point at this tune of life , was considered rather a parti by some people , aud anything but eligible by others . He hud live hundred a year of his own , and another live hundred from a business where ho had to show up several times iu the week , and of which tho chief duty consisted in signing his name to cheques .

This did not prevent his being called to tho bar , and tit proper seasons Koing on circuit . Ho had OKi \ uisito chambers in St . James ' s Stroet , and rooms also in tho Templo , and , at present , no oilier establishment . Ho hatl certain " tastes " for athletics antl art , which in the eyes of old Scowley were beyond everything detrimental

to business habits . Ho occasionally got a brief marked " 5 guas , " " 10 guas , " or " 50 guas " ( very rare ) , as tho case might bo . Theso wero chiefly through influential friends , but ho soon fountl that the prizes in tho legal race were only to he obtained through channels which he did not care to penetrate .

Although fairly in the van for his ago , ho was not exactly what might bo termed 11 " rising barrister . " Old Scowley weighed and measured his position and prospects to a T , to an ounce , to a grain . The Old boy had himself been an attorney's clork to begin with , aud by his own real talents hud made his way and amassed 11 fairly large fortune .

Upon this he retired as a country gentleman , und by his marriage with his wife , whose sister had married Sir John Staynes , became a leading member of the aristocracy of the county , at least in his own opinion . And Kluiiio I Sho hud seeu Sullivan nearly every year . For hit part , he was disgusted with what ho considered hei