killed the fox. I heard a 'who-hoop!' then." And Jerry

drove on, listening intently.

Shortly after John Stirling rode up.

"We have killed our fox, and Sir Henry has given Fanny the brush," he said.

"Is Harild hurt? " asked Olava.

"Not the least. He is in a great state of excitement

and delight. He has just said that there is nothing he loves so much as- Here John Stirling made a pause,

and added, "fox-hunting."

"Then I shall not let him go fox-hunting," said Olava, with determination.

"What a mess you are in, John," said his wife. “You are covered with mud from head to foot."

"They always gets like that, Ma'am," said Jerry, putting his oar in. "The ground's mighty soft this weather. Mr. Tyssen's coat was black this morning; now it's mucks."

Harild Tyssen and Fanny Stirling now rode up to the wagonette, her handsome face looking the brighter for the sharp run.

"Are you hurt, Harild? asked his wife.

"No; I only fell off once, and then Stirling told me to let my horse go as he liked, and I never rode so clever a horse. I will give you a thousand dollars for him, Stirling."

"Nonsense!" said John Stirling. "It is an old horse,

and not worth the expense of taking to the States; but if you wish to have it, I will give it to you."

"You are not to go hunting any more," said Mrs. Harild Tyssen, emphatically; "and you are not to get too fond of anything. It is not right of you, Mr. Stirling, to encourage him to be so."

"What do you say, wifey mine?" asked John Stirling.

"That fox-hunting is not a subject for jealousy."

275

CHAPTER XXIV.

Jeg er saa ung, og Livet rækker
Mig hver en Blomst, jeg peger paa.
Og ydmygt for min Fod sig lægger,
Hvad nys jeg stolt og opreist saa.

I am so young, and every flower
Beyond my grasp life reaches me.
What late I thought too high, too far,
Low at my feet beseeches me.

H. P. HOLST.

HARILD TYSSEN was to leave for New York in February.

"Well, Stirling," he said one day, when they had adjourned to John Stirling's own room for a smoke, "there is one thing I must confess, and that is, I like your English country life. I have heard much about it from Englishmen in New York, but its reality exceeds what I had imagined. The men we meet at cover-side or at a shooting party are reserved at first; but they thaw after a while, and I like some of them very much." "It is not absolutely necessary, then, to be born in the United States?" asked Stirling.

"You mean that I think those who are born under

monarchies are down-trodden slaves, bound hand and foot, and can develop nothing," replied Tyssen. "Yes; but practically you are republican, only with a good deal of what is useless connected with your schemes of government, both in England and Norway. There is a want of directness, which I cannot deny has its good side; but, as far as I can see, your real tyrant is taxation; it is too heavy. But then it is your own doing. In New York the heavy cost of living is a burden. There is great expenditure possibly the right word to use is extravagance. In England many of your systems are worn out, and you pay heavily in taxation, because, somehow, you cannot manage to upset them. The worst thing I see is, that your burdens do not lessen, they increase, while minute legislation oppresses every class; and, strange to say, you vote for the very men who make a mess of governing you. There is much said in your representative assembly, and it is clear that, as a rule, the intention is good; but what does it result in but more taxation and meddling laws?"

"It is difficult to deny," said Stirling.

"With regard to trade and commerce-what have the men who govern you done?

Nothing but throttle it.

How have they treated the silver question? There is said to be 750 millions of silver money in the world—a guess, I should say; but, whatever the sum may be, it is large, and necessary for carrying on the world's com

merce.

Your wise men refuse to recognise its value or use. To many of us Americans the wisdom of this is not apparent. Your trade is declining from this cause, because the result is an enormous loss. It is said that Bismarck's financial policy of demonetising silver in Germany cost that country 80 odd millions. Your loss is

greater and conspicuous. Possibly your financial theorists are too clever, and there is no room for commonsense."

"It requires a special education to deal with such a subject," said John Stirling. "The idea is that Mr. Gladstone's views on the subject are sound, and politicians on both sides of the House are content to leave this matter to his judgment."

"I cannot see that any man's judgment is sound, if it leads to national loss," replied Tyssen. "What is a rupee worth in England now? The exchange is quoted at 1s. 6d. and a fraction, instead of at 2s., and, theorise as you will, you are suffering the loss. It is beyond argument because it 's fact."

"You are a bimetallist," said Stirling.

"Possibly; but if silver is money, and wanted as such, is the idea a delusion? Your own silver coinage is a set of tokens, yet it circulates as money, and twenty shillings is the change for a sovereign, but your silver tokens are worth much less. In simple words, your wise men make you take a silver money standard at home, but a low one