GHOSTS, 53

you,” shouted the Draught. “ Frolic with:me now
round the room ; you have the right, if you have
the power. But to stick in that narrow grate—
you, who might rule the world ; to stick in that
narrow grate—merely to do good to others——”

“Do good to others,” echoed the ghosts from
above. “There is no other security for yourself.”
They were such conservative ghosts, you see, and
had such peculiar ideas about freedom! But, as
before, no one listened, for the Draught was still
talking.

“Tt’s a disgrace to your nature,” was the con-
cluding remark ; and it lashed the poor Fire into
a frenzy.

The heat of the room, too, was becoming in-
sufferable, and everything seemed bursting. The
woodwork had much ado not to warp ; the metals
felt ready to melt, and the Glass mirrors to crack ;
when, lo! there came a crash and a dull blow on
the ground. A charred log had given way, and
fallen against a lump of coal which was but lightly
balanced on the upper bar of the grate. A gust
from the window had helped them as they came in