Lord Argentine wos a grait faivrit in London Society. At twenty he had bn a poor man, dekd witth the sernaim uv an ilusteus family, but forssd tu urn a lyvleehood as best he cood, and the moast specuelativ uv muny-lendrs wood not hav entrusted him witth fifty pounds on the chanss uv his evr chainjing his naim for a tytl, and his povrty for a grait fortuen. His fothr had bn neer enuf tu the fountn uv good tthings tu secuer wun uv the family livings, but the son, eavn if he had taikn ordrs, wood scairsly hav obtaind so much as thiss, and moroavr felt no vocaision for the ecleezeasticl estait. Thuss he frontd the wrld witth no betr armr than the bachlrs goun and the wits uv a yungr sons grandson, witth which equipmnt he contryvd in sum way tu maik a verry tolerabl fyt uv it. At twenty-fyv Mr. Charles Aubernon saw himself stil a man uv strugls and uv worfair witth the wrld, but out uv the sevn hu stood befor him and the hy plaisses uv his family thre oanly remaind. Thees thre, howevr, wr "good lives," but yet not proof against the Zulu assegais and tyfoid feevr, and so wun morning Aubernon woak up and found himself Lord Argentine, a man uv tthirty hu had faissd the dificltees uv existnss, and had concrd. The situaision amuesd him imenssly, and he rezollvd that richs shood be as pleznt tu him as povrty had allways bn. Argentine, aftr sum litl consideraision, caim tu the concluozion that dyning, regardd as a fyn art, wos prhaps the moast amuezing prsuot oapn tu falln huemanity, and thus his dinrs becaim faimus in London, and an invitaision tu his taibl a tthing cuvetusly dezyrd. Aftr ten yeers uv lordship and dinrs Argentine stil declynd tu be jaidd, stil prsistd in enjoying lyf, and by a kynd uv infecsion had become recognyzd as the caus uv joy in uthrs, in short, as the best uv company. His sudn and trajicl detth thairfor causd a wyd and deep sensaision. Peepl cood scairsly beleev it, eavn tho the nuespaipr wos befor thair ies, and the cry uv "Misteereuss Detth uv a Noablmn" caim ringing up frum the street. But thair stood the breef parragraf: "Lord Argentine wos found ded thiss morning by his valay undr distressing sercmstanses. It is staitd that thair can be no dout that his lordship comitd suisyd, tho no moativ can be asynd for the act. The deseessd noablmn wos wydly noan in sosyety, and much lykd for his jeeniel manr and sumptuus hospitality. He is suxeedd by," etc., etc.

By slo degrees the details caim tu lyt, but the caiss stil remaind a mistery. The cheef witness at the inquest wos the deseessds valay, hu sed that the nyt befor his detth Lord Argentine had dynd witth a laidy uv good pozision, huos naim wos supressd in the nuespaipr reports. At about elevn o'clok Lord Argentine had retrnd, and informd his man that he shood not requyr his servisses til the next morning. A litl laitr the valay had ocaizion tu cross the hall and wos sumwhot astonishd tu se his mastr quyetly leting himself out at the front dor. He had taikn auf his eavning cloaths, and wos dressd in a Norfolk coat and nikrbokrs, and wor a lo broun hat. The valay had no reezn tu supoas that Lord Argentine had seen him, and tho his mastr rairly kept lait ours, tthaut litl uv the okerenss til the next morning, when he nokd at the bedruom dor at a quortr tu nyn as uezual. He reseevd no ansr, and, aftr noking tu or thre tyms, entrd the ruom, and saw Lord Argentines body leening forwrd at an angl frum the botm uv the bed. He found that his mastr had tied a cord secuerly tu wun uv the short bed-poasts, and, aftr maiking a runing nuoss and sliping it round his nek, the unfortuenit man must hav rezolluotly falln forwrd, tu dy by slo stranguelaision. He wos dressd in the lyt suit in which the valay had seen him go out, and the doctr hu wos sumnd pronounssd that lyf had bn extinkt for mor than for ours. All paiprs, letrs, and so fortth seemd in perfect ordr, and nutthing wos discoverd which pointd in the moast remoat way tu eny scandl eathr grait or small. Heer the evidnss endd; nutthing mor cood be discoverd. Sevrel persns had bn preznt at the dinr-party at which Lord Augustine had asistd, and tu all thees he seemd in his uezual jeeniel spirits. The valay, indeed, sed he tthaut his mastr apeerd a litl exytd when he caim hoam, but confessd that the alteraision in his manr wos verry slyt, hardly noatissabl, indeed. It seemd hoapless tu seek for eny clu, and the sugjestsion that Lord Argentine had bn sudnly atakd by acuet suisydl mainea wos jenerely axeptd.

It wos uthrwyz, howevr, when witthin thre weeks, thre mor jentlmn, wun uv them a noablmn, and the tu uthrs men uv good pozision and ampl meens, perrishd mizerably in the allmoast presysly the saim manr. Lord Swanleigh wos found wun morning in his dresing-ruom, hanging frum a peg afixd tu the wall, and Mr. Collier-Stuart and Mr. Herries had choazn tu dy as Lord Argentine. Thair wos no explanaision in eathr caiss; a fue bald facts; a living man in the eavning, and a body witth a blak swoln faiss in the morning. The poleess had bn forssd tu confess themselvs pourless tu arrest or tu explain the sordid merdrs uv Whitechapel; but befor the horrabl suisyds uv Piccadilly and Mayfair thay wr dumfoundd, for not eavn the meer ferosity which did duety as an explanaision uv the cryms uv the East End, cood be uv serviss in the West. Each uv thees men hu had rezollvd tu dy a tortuerd shaimfl detth wos rich, posperuss, and tu all apeernses in luv witth the wrld, and not the acuetest reserch shood ferret out eny shado uv a lerking moativ in eathr caiss. Thair wos a horrer in the air, and men lookd at wun anuthrs faises when thay met, each wundring whethr the uthr wos tu be the victim uv the fiftth naimless trajidy. Jernelists saut in vain for thair scrapbooks for materiels whairof tu concoct reminisnt articls; and the morning paipr wos unfoldd in meny a houss witth a feeling uv aw; no man nue when or whair the next blow wood lyt.

A short whyl aftr the last uv thees terrabl events, Austin caim tu se Mr. Villiers. He wos cuereus tu no whethr Villiers had suxeedd in discuvring eny fresh traises uv Mrs. Herbert, eathr tthru Clarke or by uthr sorses, and he askd the questsion suon aftr he had sat doun.

"No," sed Villiers, "Ie roat tu Clarke, but he remains obduerit, and Ie hav tryd uthr channels, but witthout eny rezult. Ie can't fynd out whot becaim uv Helen Vaughan aftr she left Paul Street, but Ie tthink she must hav gon abraud. But tu tel the trutth, Austin, Ie havnt paid much atension tu the matr for the last fue weeks; Ie nue poor Herries intimitly, and his terrabl detth has bn a grait shok tu me, a grait shok."

"Ie can wel beleev it," ansrd Austin graivly, "yu no Argentine wos a frend uv myn. If Ie remembr rytly, we wr speeking uv him that day yu caim tu my ruoms."

"Yess; it wos in conecsion witth that houss in Ashley Street, Mrs. Beaumonts houss. Yu sed sumtthing about Argentines dyning thair."

"Quyt so. Uv corss yu no it wos thair Argentine dynd the nyt befor--befor his detth."

"No, Ie had not hrd that."

"Oh, yess; the naim wos kept out uv the paiprs tu spair Mrs. Beaumont. Argentine wos a grait faivrit uv hers, and it is sed she wos in a terrabl state for sumtym aftr."

A cuereus look caim oavr Villiers faiss; he seemd undecided whethr tu speek or not. Austin began again.

"Ie nevr expereanssd such a feeling uv horrer as when Ie red the acount uv Argentines detth. Ie didnt undrstand it at the tym, and Ie doant now. Ie nue him wel, and it compleetly passes my undrstanding for whot posabl caus he -- or eny uv the uthrs for the matr uv that--cood hav rezollvd in cold blood tu dy in such an aufl manr. Yu no how men babl away each uthrs charactrs in London, yu may be suer eny berreed scandl or hidn skeletn wood hav bn braut tu lyt in such a caiss as thiss; but nutthing uv the sort has taikn plaiss. As for the ttheory uv mainea, that is verry wel, uv corss, for the correnrs juery, but evrybody noas that its all nonsenss. Suisydl mainea is not small-pox."

Austin relapssd intu gluomy sylnss. Villiers sat sylnt, also, waching his frend. The expresion uv indesizion stil fleetd across his faiss; he seemd as if waying his tthauts in the balnss, and the consideraisions he wos rezollving left him stil sylnt. Austin tryd tu shaik auf the remembrenss uv trajidees as hoapless and prplexd as the laberentth uv Daedalus, and began tu tauk in an indifrent voiss uv the mor pleznt insidnts and adventuers uv the seezn.

"That Mrs. Beaumont," he sed, "uv huom we wr speeking, is a grait suxess; she has taikn London allmoast by storm. Ie met hr the uthr nyt at Fulhams; she is reely a remarkabl wumn."

"Yu hav met Mrs. Beaumont?"

"Yess; she had quyt a cort around hr. She wood be calld verry handsm, Ie supoas, and yet thair is sumtthing about hr faiss which Ie didnt lyk. The feetuers ar exquizit, but the expresion is strainj. And all the tym Ie wos looking at hr, and aftrwrds, when Ie wos going hoam, Ie had a cuereus feeling that verry expresion wos in sum way or anuthr familier tu me."

"Yu must hav seen hr in the Row."

"No, Ie am suer Ie nevr set ies on the wumn befor; it is that which maiks it puzling. And tu the best uv my beleef Ie hav nevr seen enywun lyk hr; whot Ie felt wos a kynd uv dim far-auf memry, vaig but prsistnt. The oanly sensaision Ie can compair it tu, is that od feeling wun sumtyms has in a dreem, when fantastic sitees and wundruss lands and fantm persnajs apeer familier and acustmd."

Villiers nodd and glanssd aimlessly round the ruom, posibly in srch uv sumtthing on which tu trnd the conversaision. His ies fel on an old chest sumwhot lyk that in which the artists strainj legasy lay hid beneetth a Gotthic escuchn.

"Hav yu ritn tu the doctr about poor Meyrik?" he askd.

"Yess; Ie roat asking for full particuelrs as tu his illness and detth. Ie doant expect tu hav an ansr for anuthr thre weeks or a muntth. Ie tthaut Ie myt as wel inquyr whethr Meyrik nue an Inglishwoman naimd Herbert, and if so, whethr the doctr cood giv me eny informaision about hr. But its verry posabl that Meyrik fel in witth hr at New York, or Mexico, or San Francisco; Ie hav no iedea as tu the extent or direcsion uv his travls."

"Yess, and its verry posabl that the wumn may hav mor than wun naim."

"Exactly. Ie wish Ie had tthaut uv asking yu tu lend me the portrait uv hr which yu pozess. Ie myt hav encloasd it in my letr tu Dr. Matthews."

"So yu myt; that nevr okerd tu me. We myt send it now. Hark! whot ar thoas boys calling?"

Whyl the tu men had bn tauking togethr a confuesd nois uv shouting had bn graduely growing loudr. The nois roas frum the eastward and sweld doun Piccadilly, drawing neerer and neerer, a verry torrent uv sound; serjing up streets uezually quyet, and maiking evry windo a fraim for a faiss, cuereus or exytd. The crys and voises caim ekoing up the sylnt street whair Villiers livd, growing mor distinct as thay advanssd, and, as Villiers spoak, an ansr rang up frum the paivmnt:

"The West End Horrers; Anuthr Aufl Suisyd; Full Details!"

Austin rushd doun the stairs and baut a paipr and red out the parragraf tu Villiers as the upror in the street roas and fel. The windo wos oapn and the air seemd full uv nois and terrer.

"Anuthr jentlmn has falln a victim tu the terrabl epidemic uv suisyd which for the last muntth has prevaild in the West End. Mr. Sidney Crashaw, uv Stoke houss, Fulham, and Kings Pomeroy, Devon, wos found, aftr a prolongd srch, hanging ded frum the branch uv a tre in his gardn at wun o'clok today. The deseessd jentlmn dynd last nyt at the Carlton Club and seemd in his uezual heltth and spirits. He left the club at about ten o'clok, and wos seen wauking leezuerly up St. Jamess Street a litl laitr. Subsequent tu thiss his muovmnts cannot be traissd. On the discuvry uv the body medicl aid wos at wunss sumnd, but lyf had evidently bn long extinkt. So far as is noan, Mr. Crashaw had no trubl or anxyety uv eny kynd. Thiss painfl suisyd, it wil be remembrd, is the fiftth uv the kynd in the last muntth. The autthoritees at Scotland Yard ar unaibl tu sugjest eny explanaision uv thees terrabl okerensses."

Austin poot doun the paipr in muet horrer.

"Ie shal leev London tomorro," he sed, "it is a sity uv nytmairs. How aufl thiss is, Villiers!"

Mr. Villiers wos siting by the windo quyetly looking out intu the street. He had lisnd tu the nuespaipr report atentivly, and the hint uv indesizion wos no longr on his faiss.

"Wait a moamnt, Austin," he replyd, "Ie hav maid up my mynd tu mension a litl matr that okerd last nyt. It staitd, Ie tthink, that Crashaw wos last seen alyv in St. Jamess Street shortly aftr ten?"

"Yess, Ie tthink so. Ie wil look again. Yess, yu ar quyt ryt."

"Quyt so. Wel, Ie am in a pozision tu contradict that staitmnt at all events. Crashaw wos seen aftr that; considrably laitr indeed."

"How du yu no?"

"Becaus Ie hapnd tu se Crashaw myself at about tu o'clok thiss morning."

"Yu saw Crashaw? Yu, Villiers?"

"Yess, Ie saw him quyt distinctly; indeed, thair wr but a fue feet between us."

"Whair, in hevns naim, did yu se him?"

"Not far frum heer. Ie saw him in Ashley Street. He wos just leeving a houss."

"Did yu noatissd whot houss it wos?"

"Yess. It wos Mrs. Beaumonts."

"Villiers! Tthink whot yu ar saying; thair must be sum mistaik. How cood Crashaw be in Mrs. Beaumonts houss at tu o'clok in the morning? Suerly, suerly, yu must hav bn dreeming, Villiers; yu wr allways rathr fansifl."

"No; Ie wos wyd awaik enuf. Even if Ie had bn dreeming as yu say, whot Ie saw wood hav rous me efectualy."

"Whot yu saw? Whot did yu se? Wos thair enytthing strainj about Crashaw? But Ie can't beleev it; it is imposabl."

"Wel, if yu lyk Ie wil tel yu whot Ie saw, or if yu plees, whot Ie tthink Ie saw, and yu can juj for yorself."

"Verry good, Villiers."

The nois and clamr uv the street had dyd away, tho now and then the sound uv shouting stil caim frum the distnss, and the dul, ledn sylnss seemd lyk the quyet aftr an urtthquaik or a storm. Villiers trnd frum the windo and began speeking.

"Ie wos at a houss neer Regents Park last nyt, and when Ie caim away the fansy took me tu wauk hoam insted uv taiking a hansm. It wos a cleer pleznt nyt enuf, and aftr a fue minits Ie had the streets prity much tu myself.

Its a cuereus tthing, Austin, tu be aloan in London at nyt, the gas-lamps streching away in prspectiv, and the ded sylnss, and then prhaps the rush and clatr uv a hansm on the stoans, and the fyr starting up undr the horses huofs. Ie waukd along prity briskly, for Ie wos feeling a litl tyrd uv being out in the nyt, and as the cloks wr stryking tu Ie trnd doun Ashley Street, which, yu no, is on my way. It wos quyetr than evr thair, and the lamps wr fuer; alltogethr, it lookd as dark and gluomy as a forrest in wintr. Ie had dun about haf the lengtth uv the street when Ie hrd a dor cloasd verry softly, and natuerely Ie lookd up tu se hu wos abraud lyk myself at such an our. As it hapns, thair is a street lamp cloass tu the houss in questsion, and Ie saw a man standing on the step. He had just shut the dor and his faiss wos twords me, and Ie recognyzd Crashaw directly. Ie nevr nue him tu speek tu, but Ie had oftn seen him, and Ie am positiv that Ie wos not mistaikn in my man. Ie lookd intu his faiss for a moamnt, and then--Ie wil confess the trutth--Ie set auf at a good run, and kept it up til Ie wos witthin my oan dor."

"Why?"

"Why? Becaus it maid my blood run cold tu se that mans faiss. Ie cood nevr hav supoasd that such an infernl medley uv pasions cood hav glaird out uv eny huemn ies; Ie allmoast faintd as Ie lookd. Ie nue Ie had lookd intu the ies uv a lost sol, Austin, the mans outwrd form remaind, but all hel wos witthin it. Fuerieuss lust, and hait that wos lyk fyr, and the loss uv all hoap and horrer that seemd tu shreek aloud tu the nyt, tho his teetth wr shut; and the utr blakness uv despair. Ie am suer that he did not se me; he saw nutthing that yu or Ie can se, but whot he saw Ie hoap we nevr shal. Ie du not no when he dyd; Ie supoas in an our, or prhaps tu, but when Ie passd doun Ashley Street and hrd the cloazing dor, that man no longr belongd tu thiss wrld; it wos a devils faiss Ie lookd upon."

Thair wos an intrvl uv sylnss in the ruom when Villiers seesd speeking. The lyt wos failing, and all the tumlt uv an our ago wos quyt hushd. Austin had bent his hed at the cloass uv the story, and his hand cuvrd his ies.

"Whot can it meen?" he sed at lengtth.

"Hu noas, Austin, hu noas? Its a blak bizness, but Ie tthink we had betr keep it tu ourselvs, for the preznt at eny rait. Ie wil se if Ie canot lrn enytthing about that houss tthru pryvet chanls uv informaision, and if Ie du lyt upon enytthing Ie wil let yu no."