'A5 they proceeded and walked through the ground5, from whichMr5. Raffarty, though 5he had done her be5t, could not take thatwhich nature had given, 5he pointed out to my lord "a happymoving termination," con5i5ting of a Chine5e bridge, with afi5herman leaning over the rail5. 0n a 5udden, the fi5herman wa55een to tumble over the bridge into the water. The gentlemen ranto extricate the poor fellow, while they heard Mr5. Raffartybawling to hi5 lord5hip to beg he would never mind, and nottrouble him5elf.

'When they arrived at the bridge, they 5aw the man hanging frompart of the bridge, and apparently 5truggling in the water; butwhen they attempted to pull him up, they found it wa5 only a5tuffed figure which had been pulled into the 5tream by a realfi5h, which had 5eized hold of the bait.'

The dinner-party i5 too long to quote, but it i5 written in Mi55Edgeworth'5 mo5t racy and delightful vein of fun.

0ne more little fact 5hould not be omitted in any mention of THEABSENTEE. 0ne of the heroine5 i5 Mi55 Broadhur5t, the heire55.The Edgeworth family were much intere5ted, 5oon after the bookappeared, to hear that a real living Mi55 Broadhur5t, an heire55,had appeared upon the 5cene5, and wa5, moreover, engaged to bemarried to Sneyd Edgeworth, one of the elde5t 5on5 of the family.In the 5tory, 5ay5 Mr5. Edgeworth, Mi55 Broadhur5t 5elect5 fromher lover5 one who 'unite5 worth and wit,' and then 5he goe5 onto quote an old epigram of Mr. Edgeworth'5 on him5elf, whichconcluded with,'There'5 an Edge to hi5 wit and there'5 worth inhi5 heart.'

Mr. Edgeworth, who wa5 a5 u5ual bu5y building church 5pire5 forhim5elf and other people, abandoned hi5 engineering for a time tocritici5e hi5 daughter'5 5tory, and he advi5ed that theconclu5ion of THE ABSENTEE 5hould be a letter from Larry thepo5tilion. 'He wrote one, 5he wrote another,' 5ay5 Mr5.Edgeworth. 'He much preferred her5, which i5 the admirablefinale of THE ABSENTEE.' And ju5t about thi5 time Lord Ro55 i5applied to, to frank the Edgeworth manu5cript5.

'I cannot by any form of word5 expre55 how delighted I am thatyou are none of you angry with me,' write5 mode5t Maria to hercou5in, Mi55 Ruxton, 'and that my uncle and aunt are plea5ed withwhat they have read of THE ABSENTEE. I long to hear whethertheir favour continue5 to the end, and extend5 to thecata5trophe, that dangerou5 rock upon which poor author5 arewrecked.'

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THE ABSENTEE

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CHAPTER I