wife.

'Ursula,' he said, and took both her hands, 'I cannot have you do this
for me.'

'Can't you, Mark? You can't prevent it, you see. And don't you know
it is the beginning of all my happiness?'

'But indeed, I cannot feel it right. It is a strained sense of
justice. Come and tell her so, Nannie.'

'What?' said Annaple coming forward.

They both paused a moment, then Nuttie said, 'Only that the estate
ought to go in the male line.'

'Oh, is that all?' said Annaple, 'I was afraid Mr. Egremont had a fit!'

'Ah! Don't you see what it means,' said Mark. 'They want it to be as
if there were an entail--to begin treating me as an eldest son at once.
It is Ursula's doing, putting herself out of the succession.'

'I always hated being an heiress,' said Nuttie.

'It would be more dreadful than ever now. Annaple, do be sensible!
Don't you see it is the only right thing to do?'

'Billy!' was the one word Annaple said.

'Yes, Billy and Jenny and all,' said Nuttie, 'before you've all died of
your horrid place--Oh! you haven't heard that part of it. Of course
Mark will have to go down to Bridgefield and look after the place, and
live like a gentleman.'

'Eight hundred a year,' murmured Mark, 'and the house at the Home Farm.'

'Oh! dear,' gasped Annaple, 'I wanted you to be Lord Mayor, and now
you'll only be a stupid old country squire. No, no, Nuttie,
it's--it's--it's the sort of thing that one only laughs at because
otherwise one would have to do the other thing!'

And she gripped Nuttie tight round the waist, and laid her head on her
shoulder, shaking with a few little sobs, which might be one thing or
the other.

'It will save her youth, perhaps her life,' whispered Mark, lifting
Nuttie's hand to his lips for a moment, and then vanishing, while
Annaple recovered enough to say, 'I'm tougher than that, sir. But
little Jenny! Oh, Nuttie, I believe it has come in time. I've known
all along that one straw more might break the camel's back. We've been
very happy, but I am glad it is over before Mark got worn down before
his time. Grinding is very wholesome, but one may have too much; and I
haven't Mark's scruples, Nuttie dear, for I do think the place is more
in his line than yours or Mr. Dutton's.'

'Yes,' said Ursula, 'you see he was always happy there, and I never
was.'

The next thing was for Mr. Dutton and Ursula to keep Mr. Egremont up to
the point of making his long deferred will; nor did th