e an end to one's suffering. And I was
wondering whether there had been many women in the world who had to
accuse themselves of taking a part in bringing about their own father's
death. Oh, I hope not--I hope not!"

A second afterward she added, with more than the bitterness of tears in
her trembling voice, "And--and I was thinking of General von Zoesch's
congratulations, mother."

CHAPTER LVI.

A COMMISSION.

Lord Evelyn obeyed his friend's summons in considerable anxiety, if not
even alarm; for he made no doubt that it had some connection with that
mysterious undertaking to which Brand was pledged; but when he reached
Lisle Street, and was shown into the larger room, no very serious
business seemed going forward. Two or three of the best-known to him
among the English members of the Society were present, grouped round a
certain Irish M.P., who, with twinkling eyes but otherwise grave face,
was describing the makeshifts of some provincial manager or other who
could not pay his company their weekly salary. To the further surprise
of the new-comer, also, Mr. Lind was absent; his chair was occupied by
Gathorne Edwards.

He was asked to go into an inner room; and there he found Brand, looking
much more like himself than he had done for some time back.

"It is awfully kind of you, Evelyn, to come at once. I heard you had
returned to town yesterday. Well, what of the old people down in
Wiltshire?"

Lord Evelyn was quite thrown off his guard by this frank cheerfulness.
He forgot the uneasy forebodings with which he had left his house.

"Oh, capital old people!" he said, putting his hat and umbrella on the
table--"excellent. But you see, Brand, it becomes a serious question if
I have to bury myself in the country, and drink port-wine after dinner,
and listen to full-blown, full-fed glorious old Tories, every time a
sister of mine gets engaged to be married. And now that Rosalys has
begun it, they'll all take to it, one after the other, like sheep
jumping a ditch."

"They say Milbanke is a very nice young fellow," said Brand.

"Petted, a little. But then, an only son, and heaps of money: perhaps
its natural. I know he is a ghastly hypocrite," added Lord Evelyn, who
seemed to have some little grudge against his brother-in-law in
prospect. "It was too bad of him to go egging on those old megatheria to
talk politics until they were red in the face, denouncing Free-trade,
and abusing the Ballot, and foretelling