The Duke's Children

edias

hion, without any prelude, without description of the garret or of the pavement, or of the lady thrown, or of the speaker, a great amount of trouble seems to have been saved. The mind of the reader fills up the blanks,-if erroneously, still satisfactorily. He knows, at least, that the heroine has encountered a terrible danger, and has escaped from it with almost incredible good fortune; that the demon of the piece is a bold demon, not ashamed to speak of his own iniquity, and that the heroine and the demon are so far united that they have been in a garret together. But there is the drawback on the system,-that it is almost impossible to avoid the necessity of doing, sooner or later, that which would naturally be done at first. It answers, perhaps, for half

d out of heaven?" said Lady Mabel

I have said nothing

haps, also, in the word young, a little bit of the horse is appearing; and I am already sure that I

g, Lady Mab, an

vernor won't let him stay an

I know

why

Grex was Lady Mabel's father, Lord Percival was the Earl's son;-and the

In the first p

a difference

ference. They would be wa

. I shoul

living here himself. And then the permission never has been given. I

hat I had me

is mother's family, was second cousin to Lady Mabel; as was also Lord Silverbridge, one of t

to have his own house to himself-like other people. Wh

l us that he was changing his residence. He says that he is

ry nice rooms

u seen h

urse I

ice. And now, Lord Silverbridge, do you mean to say th

d not talk about it,"

y innocent you

very interest

self very much about you. Was the Duke very

as ve

appened to be so before him! I don't understand how he should expect that you should remain with a party s

not le

ppose he could;

onged to the

but there lived with the Earl a certain elderly lady, reported to be in some distant way a cousin of the family, named Miss Cassewary, who, in the matter of looking after Lady

s you ought to have done, my

s I di

e text alone will

ably you

ar. How do you do,

nservative,

a young nobleman of so much taste and

saying is against my father a

y long since, at the head of a government which contained many Conservatives. I don't look upon y

tainly not

iss Cassewary was a great politician, and was one of those who are always foreseeing the ruin of the

Mabel, when Silverbridge g

do when

e going to

econd place, I am engaged. Thirdly, I don't care about having to talk

. Thirdly, I want you to talk to me, and not to Miss Cass. And fourthly, you are an uncivil young-young

I mean is, that I don't l

can talk to me when papa goes down to his club, and you can arrange your politics with Miss Cass." So

spent a large part of his life in playing whist,-than in the House of Lords. He was a grey-haired, handsome, worn-out old man, who through a long life of pleasure had greatly impaired a fortune which, for an earl, had never been magnificent, and who now strove hard, but not always successfully, to remedy that evil by gambling. As he could no longer eat and drink as

id; "but I don't see why that young Tregea

time since he has be

re last we

wouldn't com

he was shocked, for she could not be much shocked, having heard the same word from the same lips ve

y of the folly of changing old habits. Silverbridge, being Silverbridge to all his own people, hardly seemed to have a Christian name;-his godfathers and godmothers had indeed called him Plantagenet;-but having only become acquainted with the family since his Oxf

r, and Frank Tregear gave his arm to Miss Cassewary. "If that woman can't clear her soup better than that, she might as well go to the d––––," said the Earl;-upon which remark no one in the company made any observation. As there were two men-se

m "My Lord"-"Lord Silverbridge is going to stand fo

Duke had a boroug

proper to give it up," said the

nst him. It's just the sort of thing for a son to do in these days. If

tive in England than Percival,

y his hand on to oppose me." During the past week there had been some little di

ke it in bad part at a

he Earl. "When a man lends himself to

en I say that he doesn't take this badly, I don't mean that it doesn't vex him. I know it vexes him. But he doesn

ry bad politics

to be very gra

good or what is bad in politics," sa

Of course Silverbridge is right to be a Conservative. Nobody has a stronger opinion about th

o," said Si

oung men to themselves. He sat leaning with his head on his hand, looking the picture of woe. It was now only nine o'clock, and there would be no whist at the Beaufort till

e' mean?" as

whom I take the liber

ou were a very influent

o be one of the part

ium and Lady Mabel Grex? Lady Mabel looked indeed to be the elder,-but they were in truth the same age. All the world acknowledged that Lady Mabel was very clever and very beautiful and fit to be a Duchess. Even the Earl, when Miss Cassewary hinted at the matter to him, grunted an assent. Lady Mabel had already refused one or two not ineligible offers, and it wa

ill I know how it is to be at Si

of you to feel

erest. Are not you one o

lections will be ove

o you care f

to pull off the

hould think the other eve

l stand to win o

his way,-he said you were going to drop a lot of money

may be m

t betting m

But I have a li

into a way

ference does i

nd, Lord Si

did make a mess of it yo

h. I dare say you could lose a great d

I coul

ut you would want to get it back again. And i

why

e better thin

preach against t

uld have a horse or two myself. A man in your position should do a little of everything.

say all that

a business of his pleasures. When I hear that this man is the best whist-player in London, and that

e I do nothing well," said he,

ll get the seat,-a

words to him as she