lip by telling him that he intended to

ittle of my neighbours before I go. I have not had much society of late years. I mean to do the thing well while I am abo

nd-forty, I s

to dinner when I came of age, but then we were a li

fifty people to dinne

men over to do up the old hall a bit; and, by the way, write to Gunter's and order a man-cook to be here on Tuesday, and to bring with him materials for the best dinner for fifty people that he can

re such rare entertainments had always been of a traditionally select and solemn nature? The expense, too, reflected Philip, would be large; a man of his father's age had, in his opinion, no right to make such du

great was the excitement in the neighbourhood of Bratham Abbey. Curiosi

in his dress of a past generation- resplendent in diamond buckles, frilled shirt-front, and silk s

was an observant man, that the gathered company was pervaded by a curious air of expectation. They were nearly all of them people who had been neighbours of the Caresfoot family for years -in many instances for generations-and as intimate with its members as the high-stomached stiffness of Engl

on raising her eyes she perceived the cause. For there, close upon her, and advancing with majestic step and outstretched arm, was old Mr. Caresfoot, possessed by the evident intention of taking her down in the full face of all the married ladies and people of title present. She prayed that the floor might open and swallow her; indeed, of the two, she would have preferred that way of going down to dinner. But it did not, so there was no alternative left to her but to accept the proffered arm, and to pass, with as much dignity as she could must

of the beautiful arched roof were thrown into strong relief by the light of many candles. The walls were panelled to the roof w

he whole of the Caresfoot plate, which, catching the light of the suspended candles, threw it bac

ul!" said Maria,

id more in that way than all of us put together, he spent ten thousand pounds on plate during his lifetime; that gold service on the sideboard belonged to him. I have only spent two. Mind, my love

shed and

e novelty of the sight, Maria would have been rather bored, the squire's stately compliments notwithstanding. As it was, she felt inclined to envy the party at the other end, amongst whom, looking down

s he is in!" she

ome face, that of late had been so gloomy, was lit up with laughter, and he

ppy, doesn't he," sai

who was sittin

he mind if you think that he is happy. I have been watchin

how he is

, see how he keeps glancing towards his father and Miss Lee. There, did you see him start? Believe me he is not happ

to act upon our information, eh! But, to ch

the compliment, but conscientiously I can't. Did y

at all out before. I wonder," he added, with a s

continue to be guided by me, you shall. I tell you so, and I nev

the cloth had been removed, leaving bare an ancient table of polished oak near

e the room, and then, having first whispered something in the ear of Miss Lee that c

George looked; it was ghastly pale, and the black ey

esfoot, and the occasion of his speech was to him a very important one, being the day on which he planted Caresfoot's Staff, the great oak by the water yonder, to mark the founding of a house of country gentry. Some centuries have elapsed since my forefather stood where I stand, most like with his hand upon this board as mine is now, and addressed a company not so fine or so well dressed, but perhaps-I mean no disrespect-on

a fact that must be faced, a hard, inevitable fact. And age, realizing this, looks round it for consolations, and finds only two: first, that as its interests and affections here fade and fall away, in just that same proportion do they grow and gather there upon the further shore; and secondly that, after Nature's eternal fashion, the youth and vigour of a new

ing fact of my approaching end, but rather for a joyful and a definite reason. One wish I have long had, it is-that before I go, I may see my son's child, the little Caresfoot that is to fill my place

her neighbour, during the murmur of applause

eatures as, once seen, could not easily be forgotten. But so quickly did it pass that perhaps Mrs. Bellamy, who was watching, was the only one i

stock, a girl after my own heart, a girl that I love, and that all who come under her influence will love, and this engagement is to

el that I shall never see very many of your faces again. I wish that I had been a better neighbour to you all, as there are many other things I wish, now that it is too late to fulfil them; but I still hope that some of you will now and again find a kind th

quire's speech, that there were eyes among those present that were not free from tears. Then the ladies retired, amongst

that she could not face a fresh edition from the male portion of the gathering, she or

is father had forced his hand completely, and that there was nothing to be done, and sank into the outward calmness of despair. But if his companions could have seen the wh

and his son were left alone together in the deserted drawing-room. Philip was seated by a table, his face buried in his hand, whilst his f

how did you l

fted his face from his han

n a harsh whisper, "did you ann

lips that you were engaged. I did not choose

I will not marry Miss Lee; understand o

ury that had earned his father his title; but, to his astonishment, none such came. The

cked up before you go to bed-are strictly entailed, and must, of course belong to you. The value of the entailed land is about 1000 pounds a year, or a little less in bad times; of the unentailed, a clear 4000 pounds; of my personal property about 900 pounds. Should you persist in your refusal to marry Miss Lee, or should the marriage in any way fall through, except from circumstances entirely beyond your control, I must, to use your own admirably emphatic language, ask you to 'understand, once and for all,' that, where your name appears in my will with reference to the unentailed and personal property, it will be erased, and that of your cousin George substituted. Please y

room, but when he was gone it was his fa

am as powerless to prevent their collapse as a child is to support a falling tree; that the only power left m