ld not have been more
expressive. Lady Winterbourne's sense of humour had no voice, but
inwardly it was busy with Lord Alresford as the "friend of the poor."
_Alresford_!--the narrowest and niggardliest tyrant alive, so far as his
own servants and estate were concerned. And as to Lady Selina, it was
well known to the Winterbourne cousinship that she could never get a
maid to stay with her six months.

"What did _you_ think of Mr. Wharton's speech the other night?" said
Lady Selina, bending suavely across the tea-table to Marcella.

"It was very interesting," said Marcella, stiffly--perfectly conscious
that the name had pricked the attention of everybody in the room, and
angry with her cheeks for reddening.

"Wasn't it?" said Lady Selina, heartily. "You can't _do_ those things,
of course! But you should show every sympathy to the clever enthusiastic
young men--the men like that--shouldn't you? That's what my father says.
He says we've got to win them. We've got somehow to make them feel us
their friends--or we shall _all_ go to ruin! They have the voting
power--and we are the party of education, of refinement. If we can only
lead that kind of man to see the essential justice of our cause--and at
the same time give them our help--in reason--show them we want to be
their friends--wouldn't it be best? I don't know whether I put it
rightly--you know so much about these things! But we can't undo '67--can
we? We must get round it somehow--mustn't we? And my father thinks
Ministers so unwise! But perhaps"--and Lady Selina drew herself back
with a more gracious smile than ever--"I ought not to be saying these
things to you--of course I know you _used_ to think us Conservatives
very bad people--but Mr. Wharton tells me, perhaps you don't think
_quite_ so hardly of us as you used?"

Lady Selina's head in its Paris bonnet fell to one side in a gentle
interrogative sort of way.

Something roused in Marcella.

"Our cause?" she repeated, while the dark eye dilated--"I wonder what
you mean?"

"Well, I mean--" said Lady Selina, seeking for the harmless word, in
the face of this unknown explosive-looking girl--"I mean, of course, the
cause of the educated--of the people who have made the country."

"I think," said Marcella, quietly, "you mean the cause of the rich,
don't you?"

"Marcella!" cried Lady Winterbourne, catching at the tone rather than
words--"I thought you didn't feel like that any more--not about the
distance bet