d and
divided among them all. They met at an early day to arrange affairs.
Mr. John Kensett, the eldest son, and Mrs. Maria Sinclair, the eldest
daughter, were the self-appointed managers. They were both wealthy,
but were just as eager to secure the small sum that would fall to
them as was Hannah, another daughter, who married a poor man and had
many mouths to feed. Whatever of sentiment or tender feeling these
two might originally have possessed had been well rubbed out by the
world. In their catechism, the answer to "What is the chief end of
man?" read: To make money, to be fashionable, to please ourselves,
now and here, always and everywhere.

In Benjamin, the youngest of the family, were condensed all the
noble qualities and tender, poetical nature of both father and
mother, while the other children brought out the unlovely characters
of some distant ancestors.

"Why not give it all up to mother?" said Benjamin. "It will only be
enough to keep her in comfort."

"No doubt you think that would be a most excellent arrangement," John
answered, "inasmuch as you being the youngest would naturally live
with her, and share the benefits, and in the end hope to fall heir to
the whole, by skilful management. Pretty sharp, Benny! I see you have
an eye to business."

"I am willing to go to the end of the earth and never set foot in the
house again, nor get a cent," Ben exclaimed indignantly, "if mother
can have a place of her own to live in comfort while she does live."

"Hold on, my dear boy! Who said she was not going to live in comfort?
I believe we all have comfortable homes, and it will be much more
sensible for her to live amongst us than try to keep house, and take
care of this place. Women always let property run down; it will only
be a trouble."

After much talk and some bickerings, it was arranged that mother had
better not try to keep house, but would spend a year or two at a time
around among them all.

"A year or two in a place," burst out Benjamin again. "The idea of
mother running about like that, begging to be taken in, no place that
she can call home; it's too bad! This place is hers, she helped to
earn it, and father meant she should have it all; I heard him say
so."

"Really, Benjie!" Mrs. Sinclair said, "you are getting excited.
Mother does not care for the property; it would only be a trouble to
her; she will live much more easily with us. You ought to see that we
propose to be quite generous wit