be
forgiven all his rascality. There has been, too, no punishment for him,
and no probability of punishment. He has done nothing for which the law
can touch him. He has proposed to cheat people, but before he would have
cheated them he might be dead. The money-lenders will have been swindled
awfully, but they have never had any ground of tangible complaint
against him. 'Who are you?' he has said. 'I don't know you.' They
alleged that they had lent their money to his eldest son. 'That's as you
thought,' he replied. 'I ain't bound to come and tell you all the family
arrangements about my marriage.' If you look at it all round it was
uncommonly well done."

When Mr. Barry got back he found that it was generally admitted at the
Chambers that the business had been well done. Everybody was prepared
to allow that Mr. Scarborough had not left a screw loose in the
arrangement,--though he was this moment on his death-bed, and had been
under surgical tortures and operations, and, in fact, slowly dying,
during the whole period that he had been thus busy. Every one concerned
in the matter seemed to admire Mr. Scarborough except Mr. Grey, whose
anger, either with himself or his client, became the stronger the louder
grew the admiration of the world.

A couple of barristers very learned in the law were consulted, and they
gave it as their opinion that from the evidence as shown to them there
could be no doubt but that Mountjoy was legitimate. There was no reason
in the least for doubting it, but for that strange episode which had
occurred when, in order to get the better of the law, Mr. Scarborough
had declared that at the time of Mountjoy's birth he had not been
married. They went on to declare that on the squire's death the
Rummelsburg marriage must of course have been discovered, and had given
it as their opinion that the squire had never dreamed of doing so great
an injustice either to his elder or his younger son. He had simply
desired, as they thought, to cheat the money-lenders, and had cheated
them beautifully. That Mr. Tyrrwhit should have been so very soft was a
marvel to them; but it only showed how very foolish a sharp man of the
world might be when he encountered one sharper.

And Augustus, through an attorney acting on his own behalf, consulted
two other barristers, whose joint opinion was not forthcoming quite at
once, but may have to be stated. Augustus was declared by them to have
received at his father's hands a m