ith her attorneys, Messrs. Hodge and
Smithers, who strongly recommended that she should invest the sum as I
advised. She had the sum invested, too, in my name, paying me many
compliments upon my honesty and talent; of which, she said, Mr. Brough
had given her the most flattering account. And at the same time my aunt
informed me that at her death the shares should be my own. This gave me
a great weight in the Company, as you may imagine. At our next annual
meeting, I attended in my capacity as a shareholder, and had great
pleasure in hearing Mr. Brough, in a magnificent speech, declare a
dividend of six per cent., that we all received over the counter.

"You lucky young scoundrel!" said Brough to me; "do you know what made me
give you your place?"

"Why, my aunt's money, to be sure, sir," said I.

"No such thing. Do you fancy I cared for those paltry three thousand
pounds? I was told you were nephew of Lady Drum; and Lady Drum is
grandmother of Lady Jane Preston; and Mr. Preston is a man who can do us
a world of good. I knew that they had sent you venison, and the deuce
knows what; and when I saw Lady Jane at my party shake you by the hand,
and speak to you so kindly, I took all Abednego's tales for gospel.
_That_ was the reason you got the place, mark you, and not on account of
your miserable three thousand pounds. Well, sir, a fortnight after you
were with us at Fulham, I met Preston in the House, and made a merit of
having given the place to his cousin. 'Confound the insolent scoundrel!'
said he; '_he_ my cousin! I suppose you take all old Drum's stories for
true? Why, man, it's her mania: she never is introduced to a man but she
finds out a cousinship, and would not fail of course with that cur of a
Titmarsh!' 'Well,' said I, laughing, 'that cur has got a good place in
consequence, and the matter can't be mended.' So you see," continued our
Director, "that you were indebted for your place, not to your aunt's
money, but--"

"But to MY AUNT'S DIAMOND PIN!"

"Lucky rascal!" said Brough, poking me in the side and going out of the
way. And lucky, in faith, I thought I was.

CHAPTER VIII

RELATES THE HAPPIEST DAY OF SAMUEL TITMARSH'S LIFE

I don't know how it was that in the course of the next six months Mr.
Roundhand, the actuary, who had been such a profound admirer of Mr.
Brough and the West Diddlesex Association, suddenly quarrelled with both,
and taking his money out of the concern, he d