Well, I didn't know what your ideas He constantly asserted that the only way on the subject might be," replied Ander- to get on in the world was to do every son, laughing good-humoredly; "even body, and take care that nobody did that might be a comparative recovery, you; and he put his principle into pracyou know." tice with a degree of consistency worthy of a better cause. He had come a stranger to Castletown eight years before the time of which I am writing, and set up as a provision dealer; and it is only fair to say that he conducted his business in an energetic, go-ahead way that soon brought him a good share of custom. When he had fairly settled down in the town he devoted himself to local politics, and having first distinguished himself in municipal affairs, he succeeded in establishing himself as the leading resident election agent of one of the great political parties. At the first Parliamentary

"Oh, but Mr. Slater's recovery after he had secured the compensation wasn't comparative," said my wife, falling in with Anderson's slightly bantering tone; "and it was very brilliant, being alike rapid, complete and unexpected."

"Of course I sit convinced," said Anderson, in the same light tone; and then turning to me, asked, "What sort of a fellow is he in a general way?"

"Well, as I can't say any good of him," I answered, with a shrug, "I had perhaps better not speak about him at all."

"Keep your tongue from evil-speak-election that took place after he had ating, by all means," said Anderson, tained this position, he was strongly laughing; "but you see it pays me to study character, and it is merely as a student in that line, and from your having spoken of him as a remarkable man, that I asked what manner of man this Mr. Slater is; and, looking at the matter in this light, I do not think there can be any harm in discussing him."

As I had no objection to offer to this view, we accordingly did discuss my neighbor at considerable length, though the substance of the discourse may here Le more briefly put in narrative form.

Mr. Slater was a man of whom it might be said, with literal truth, that he was much better known than respected, the general opinion regarding him being that, though he might not in a legal seuse be a criminal, he was, in point of fact, something very like a scoundrel. Even his friends were fain to confess that he was a sharp blade and not given to stick at trifles; and it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that

suspected of having acted upon his principle of doing everybody by sticking to the lion's share of a large sum that had been intrusted to him for the purpose of bribery. But on the Castletown Chronicle publishing a "scathing" leader upon his conduct in this matter, he had "lawed" the proprietor for libel, and those who could have proved the case of the paper not daring to come into the witness-box, the imprudent proprietor was cast in £100 damages and the costs of the action. Stung by the ingratitude of his party, in attributing their defeat upon this occasion to his having pocketed the money that was to have convinced the free and independent electors of the superior fitness of their (the party's) candidate, Mr. Slater, at the succeeding election, turned round, and though he failed to place the party on whose side he then fought at the head of the poil, he gave them such information as subsequently enabled them to unseat the candidate who did head it. By this time Mr. Slater's character was too well

known for it to be supposed that he already been incidentally mentioned as "ratted," and gave service and informa- overlooking the garden-grounds of Comtion to his former political foes, without pensation Hall, the boundary wall of receiving some substantial consideration; which was on this side only separated but people were now very cautious what from our house by a narrow lane-and they said on this subject, and the Chron- following the direction of Anderson's icle, when alluding to it, was discreetly glance, I beheld a most astonishing sight. vague and general. But though, owing Close under the wall stood Slater's into these circumstances, no lawsuit arose valid carriage, while pacing up and down out of this second election, Slater shortly beside it, with quick, impatient strides, afterward achieved a notable triumph in was the supposed helpless cripple, acthe way of "lawing," as he actually companied by his medical adviser, a Dr. gained a verdict against a local solicitor Mason, who had been brought from Lonwho had made some uncomplimentary, don to attend him. I was about to give and, as it proved, legally libelous, re- vent to an exclamation expressive of my marks anent a purchase of house prop- surprise, when Anderson pulled me to erty in which, though Slater acknowl the side of the window, softly saying: edged, or rather boasted, he had "best- "Keep in the shade, and don't make a ed" a poor widow, he had not been noise; we shall hear something presentguilty of absolute fraud. Later had ly."

come the successful compensation action The doctor and his remarkable patient of which my wife had spoken, and now were earnestly engaged in conversation, he had a similar action pending in which and as the evident excitement and impahe had laid his damages at £5,000. So tience of the latter increased, his voice that, all things considered, I think I was grew louder. At first an indistinct murjustified in regarding Mr. Slater's threat mur was all we heard, but as we stood to "law" me as no meaningless one; listening, intelligible scraps of their talk while Castletown in general was equally reached us. First came a number of imjustified in regarding him as one of its patient exclamations of the "O, bother!" most remarkable, if not most creditable, and "Don't tell me!" kind from Slater. Then the doctor, losing patience at something his companion had said, hotly exclaimed:

men.

After this semi-confidential conversation, Anderson and I got upon more familiar terms, and on the following Sunday evening he asked me to join him for an hour in his own room. He was in his best conversational vein, and sometimes while talking he would pace up and down the room, occasionally pausing for a moment to take a look out through the open window. During one of these pauses he suddenly turned to me, softly exclaiming:

"By Jove, you were right in saying your neighbor was a remarkable man! Just look here."

"O, that's all very dashing, but is it safe?"

"Safe?" echoed Slater, with a good deal of contempt in his tone. "Well, it's as safe as I can afford to make it; you're all for safety, but in a game like this you must play boldly as well as safely if you mean to pull it off."

The doctor made some brief reply to this in a lower tone; and then Slater, pausing in his walk, broke out again.

"Pull it off! why of course I'll pull it off, if you'll only pitch it in strong

Approaching the window-which has enough! I shan't get all I ask, I dare

Vol. III.-15.

ready over this, I'll sell up hereabout and get up to London once more, and go in for some big thing."

“Well, well, let us hope it'll be all right," said the doctor; "and now you had better get into your machine again; your man will be here directly."

say; but if I only get half, it'll be all other topics were driven into the pretty well; and when I've collared the background by my receiving a subpoena to appear as a witness for the defendants in the case of Slater vs. the London and Home Counties Railway. I supposed that the company had got some inkling of Slater's general character, and was summoning me by way of trying to show that he was a litigious, overreaching and not over scrupulous character; and, so far, I would not have cared. What weighed unpleasantly upon me was the garden scene. Should I be justified in withholding my knowledge of it? And, on the other hand, should I be believed if I told it, not being able to

Acting upon this advice, Slater got into the carriage, and wrapping himself in the rugs, was again to all appearance, in a helpless state when, a few minutes later, the man who had been hired to draw him about came and took him away.

"Well, that beats everything," I said, bring forward Anderson to corroborate as we withdrew from the window.

"It's not at all bad," said Anderson, laughing; "he ought decidedly to have been an actor; he does the invalid with a naturalness and attention to detail worthy of a true artist."

"There's no disputing his being a clever rogue," I said, indignantly; "but the railway company ought to be made aware of this."

my evidence, and the fact that I was at enmity with Slater well known? On carefully considering these matters, I came to the conclusion that I would just let things take their course, answering whatever questions were put to me, but volunteering nothing.

Three weeks later the Castletown Assizes commenced, and Slater's was one of the first cases that came on. The "Well, they ought," said Anderson, counsel opened the plaintiff's case in a with a cynical smile; "but I would very able speech, the gist of which was strongly advise you not to say anything that his client had lost the use of his about what you've seen: you would be limbs-his medical attendant feared perno match for a fellow of Slater's stamp, manently, as he had reason to believe and if you interfered you would prob- the spine was injured; and that when ably only give him an opportunity of this calamity, his agony of mind, medisubsequently lawing' you, without in cal expenses, losses in trade, and the the least damaging his present case." necessity of having to dispose of his

Upon reflection I was brought to ac- business at a sacrifice, in consequence of quiesce in this view of the matter, and not being able to attend to it—when all so concluded to be silent respecting the, this was considered, the counsel put it, scene I had witnessed. the fact that Slater had laid his damages On the following Wednesday Ander- at only £5,000, proved him to be one of son took a friendly leave of us, saying the most considerate of men. Evidence that he had finished his work so far as he could do so at present. For a week after his departure he was a constant theme of conversation with my wife and me; but at the end of that time he and

in support of this statement was given by Slater's servants, shopmen and the doctor; the latter only being cross-ex amined, when it was elicited that he was not in general practice, and had never

been in much practice. He could not swear that the plaintiff would never regain the use of his limbs; but, after some clever fencing, he did swear that he had for the present quite lost the use of them.

"hush" which this excited, he gave me a glance of recognition which dissipated any lingering idea that I still entertained of this being a case of mistaken identity.

All was now as clear to my mind as The counsel for the defendants com- it has probably before now been to the menced his speech by saying that, in reader's. Gordon had been intrusted cases of this class, there was often great with the case; and recognizing in Slater exaggeration as to the nature and extent a gentleman who, under his real name of of the injuries sustained; but that in Watson, had some years before been the present case he should be able to through his hands for robbing his then show that there had been something employer, a large provision merchant, much worse than mere exaggeration. he determined to watch him closely. The defendants, he stated, having dis- He had selected my house as his post of covered that the present plaintiff had observation, and, as he put it, "taken also been the plaintiff in another case of my measure" from what Mr. Harrison this kind, in which the subsequent physi- had told him. He had discovered that cal results were altogether at variance the seeming cripple was in the habit of with the personal evidence as to the character of the injuries received, had considered it right to set a watch upon his movements. That they were amply justified in such a proceeding the results -as they would be brought out in evidence-would fully demonstrate. "The first witness I will call," said the counsel, as he sat down, "will be Inspector Gordon, of the London Detective Force."

taking strong exercise when his family and servants were at church; and his (Gordon's) Sunday visitors had been the solicitor, doctor and other officials of the company to whom he showed the curious "garden scene," one performance of which has been described. The evidence that Slater had been shamming was conclusive, and it need scarcely be said that he lost the case. It was generally thought that the railway company When the celebrated detective was would have prosecuted him and his doc named, a murmur of mingled surprise tor-whom Gordon also recognized as a and expectation arose in all parts of the person who had been in "trouble"-but court, and even the barristers seemed to they took no further proceedings in the share in the general excitement. The matter, and as soon as possible after the word was passed for the Inspector, who trial my remarkable neighbor sold Compresently entered the witness-box, dis-pensation Hall, disposed of his business, closing to the view of the general body and left Castletown to return to it no of the spectators a quiet-looking, mid- more. During the joint-stock mania, dle-aged man, with nothing particularly which set in about this time, rumors striking in his appearance; and to me the astonishing fact that Inspector Gordon and my late lodger were one and the same person.

reached us of his being actively and profitably connected with some of the largest of the bubble schemes concocted during that time.

"It's Anderson!" I involuntarily "Well, I only equivocated after all," gasped, as he stepped into the box; and said Gordon, laughingly replying to on the subsidence of the indignant some remarks made by my wife when

Compared with which the sun's whole lamp were Who sets their law for season and for tide; night!