have a charming garden, Dr. Shrapnel,' said Lord Palmet, very
affably and loudly, with a steady observation of the cottage windows.

Dr. Shrapnel flung the gate open.

Lord Palmet raised his hat and entered, crying loudly, 'A very charming
garden, upon my word!'

Captain Baskelett followed him, bowing stiffly.

'I am,' he said, 'Captain Beauchamp's cousin. I am Captain Baskelett,
one of the Members for the borough.'

The doctor said, 'Ah.'

'I wish to see Captain Beauchamp, sir. He is absent?'

'I shall have him here shortly, sir.'

'Oh, you will have him!' Cecil paused.

'Admirable roses!' exclaimed Lord Palmet.

'You have him, I think,' said Cecil, 'if what we hear is correct. I wish
to know, sir, whether the case you are conducting against his uncle is
one you have communicated to Captain Beauchamp. I repeat, I am here to
inquire if he is privy to it. You may hold family ties in contempt--Now,
sir! I request you abstain from provocations with me.'

Dr. Shrapnel had raised his head, with something of the rush of
a rocket, from the stooping posture to listen, and his frown of
non-intelligence might be interpreted as the coming on of the fury
Radicals are prone to, by a gentleman who believed in their constant
disposition to explode.

Cecil made play with a pacifying hand. 'We shall arrive at no
understanding unless you are good enough to be perfectly calm. I repeat,
my cousin Captain Beauchamp is more or less at variance with his
family, owing to these doctrines of yours, and your extraordinary
Michael-Scott-the-wizard kind of spell you seem to have cast upon his
common sense as a man of the world. You have him, as you say. I do
not dispute it. I have no, doubt you have him fast. But here is a case
demanding a certain respect for decency. Pray, if I may ask you, be
still, be quiet, and hear me out if you can. I am accustomed to explain
myself to the comprehension of most men who are at large, and I tell you
candidly I am not to be deceived or diverted from my path by a show of
ignorance.'

'What is your immediate object, sir?' said Dr. Shrapnel, chagrined by
the mystification within him, and a fear that his patience was going.

'Exactly,' Cecil nodded. He was acute enough to see that he had
established the happy commencement of fretfulness in the victim, which
is equivalent to a hook well struck in the mouth of your fish, and with
an angler's joy he prepared to play his man. 'Exactly. I have stated it.