After All;

him of the true state of affairs . Merrisslope gladly helped Mr . Phane , thinking thus to rise in his favour and secure his daughter , ancl then in time the firm would belong to him . Thus affairs were getting singularly entangled , and the culminating crash was near at hand . Of course Bulliker was at the bottom of all this . Truly , he told Merrisslope that he wished to leave Humberton no chance of winning Olivia , but he

also took care that he did not work for nothing even while succeeding in his plans . He was gradually drawing and tightening his net around both Merrisslope and Mr . Phane simultaneously . A little more time , and , unless some untoward event spoilt his elaborate plans , all would be his . As soon as Merrisslope was completely in his power , he would find a means of destroying the offices of Messrs . Phane and Co ., and with them all traces of his misdeeds , and then the game was his . But not yet .

Olivia s action at the church had somewhat alarmed the cashier at first , but afterwards circumstances seemed to dovetail with hio plans beautifully . Merrisslope wentnearly mad after the occurrence , andbori-OAved still more money from Bulliker , which he spent recklessly , getting further and further into the poAver of the unscrupulous designer . He still held to a kind of wild , despairing hope that Olivia might yet be his , ancl he would not on that account withdraw his substantial support from Mr . Phanethough he paid so dearly for it .

, Thus he still continued borrowing ; and noiv he sought all kinds of excitement , no matter ivhat it was , to divert his distracted mind from its miserable melancholia . Wildly he plunged into the betting ring , and speculated in horses . Success crowned some of his first ventures , but they gave him little happiness . Recklessly he carried on the deceptive and uncertain game , until a turn came in the tideancl he lost . Deeper and deeper he fell iuto difficulties ; further

, and further he plunged into debt . Then he took to that desperate solace of madmen—drink . Still , he never solicited Mr . Phane to return his loans , while he constantly raved of Olivia . He Avas gradually losing his reason , and he became a mere plaything in Bulliker ' s hands . But he was not quite ruined yet ; a little longer , and then

Meanwhile , Olivia heard of these things with strange feelings , sorrowing for him and blaming herself for much of his misery , i But she could never have been his wife . Mr . Phane , for his part , had become somewhat resigned to circumstances , ancl he could only wait and see what turn they would take next . He was too ashamed to blame his daughter ' s conduct , and he considered his best course to be comparative inaction . Mrs . Phane was completely prostrated by the untoward turn of eventsancl she was rendered so ill that she could

, hardly grasp the situation . Her troubles had been too much for her to bear , ancl she had succumbed to the severe strain upon her delicate constitution . Bulliker , of course , was rubbing his hands in devilish delight at the success of his diabolical plans . Meanwhile , Merrisslope was rapidly growing worse . His mansion ivas the scene of midni ght orgies , frequented by blase and disreputable characters and inebriated worshippers of the god Terpsichore . NOAV

had he lost all self-respect , and his wild vagaries ivere those of a lunatic . He flung himself headlong into the most outrageous follies , regardless of the disastrous consequences . He no longer calculated the cost of his expensive carousals , but alloAved himself to be robbed on all sides . His latest freaks ivere the talk of the neighbourhood . In the glaring glitter of the society he cultivated , he for awhile forgot his misery , ancl consoled his stultified faculties

with the insincere flatteries of his hollow acquaintances and the amatory embraces of his female companions—satanic syrens who lured him to certain ruin . Had he not gone mad for a woman ? and now he was the prey of women ! Poor , weak humanit y . ' Poor Merrisslope !