the
indescribable stony look that tells of paralysis; and though she knew
Mr. Dutton, and was delighted to see him, his presence made her expect
to see Alice and Nuttie come in, though she soon recollected herself
and shed a few helpless tears. Then--in another mood--she began to
display with pride and pleasure the photographs of 'Alice's dear little
boy.' She had a whole series of them, from the long-clothed babe on
his sister's knee to the bright little fellow holding a drum--a very
beautiful child, with a striking resemblance to his mother, quite
startling to Mr. Dutton, especially in the last, which was coloured,
and showed the likeness of eyes and expression.

'Nuttie always sends me one whenever he is taken,' said the old lady.
'Dear Nuttie! It is very good for her. She is quite a little mother
to him.'

'I was sure it would be so,' said Mr. Dutton.

'Yes,' said Mary, 'he is the great interest and delight of her life.
Her letters are full of his little sayings and doings.'

'Is she at home now?'

'No; at Brighton. Her father seems to have taken a dislike to
Bridgefield since his brother's death, and only goes there for a short
time in the shooting season. He has taken a lease of a house in
London, and spends most of the year there.'

'Ah!' as she showed him the address, 'that is near the old house where
I used to stay with my grand-aunt. We thought it altogether in the
country then, but it is quite absorbed now, and I have dazzling offers
from building companies for the few acres of ground around it. Have you
seen her?'

'Oh no; I believe she is quite necessary to her father. I only hear of
her through Lady Kirkaldy, who has been very kind to her, but, I am
sorry to say, is now gone with her Lord to the East. She says she
thinks that responsibility has been very good for Nuttie; she is
gentler and less impetuous, and a good deal softened by her affection
for the child.'

'She was certain to develop. I only dreaded what society her father
might surround her with.'

'Lady Kirkaldy says that all has turned out better than could have been
expected. You see, as she says, Mr. Egremont has been used to good
women in his own family, and would not like to see her in a slangy fast
set. All her own gaieties have been under Lady Kirkaldy's wing, or
that of Mrs. William Egremont's relations, and only in a quiet moderate
way. Her father gets his own old set about him, and they have not been
very choice