of Lord Angleford's rank and position.
How old did it say he is, Eleanor?"

"It doesn't say, mamma," replied Nell.

"Ah, well, I know he is quite old; for I remember reading a paragraph
about him a few weeks ago. They were describing the ancestral home of
the Anglefords--Anglemere, it is called; one of the historic houses,
like Blenheim and Chatsworth, you know. And this poor Lord Selbie, the
nephew, will lose the title and everything. Dear me! how interesting! Is
there anything more about him?'

"Oh, yes; a great deal more," said Nell despairfully.

"Then pray continue--that is, if Mr. Vernon is not tired; though,
speaking from experience, there is nothing so soothing as being read
to."

Mr. Vernon did not look as if he found the impertinent paragraphs in the
_Society News_ particularly soothing, but he said:

"I'm not at all tired. It's very interesting, as you say. Please go on,
Miss Lorton."

Nell looked at him doubtfully, for there was a kind of sarcasm in his
voice. But she took up the parable.

"'Lord Selbie is, in consequence of this marriage of his uncle, the
object of profound and general sympathy; for, as the readers must be
aware, he is a persona grata in society----' What is a persona grata?"
Nell broke off to inquire.

"Lord knows!" replied Mr. Vernon grimly. "I don't suppose the bounder
who wrote these things does."

Mrs. Lorton simpered.

"It's Italian, and it means that he is very popular, a general
favorite."

"Then why don't they say so?" asked Nell, in a patiently disgusted
fashion. "'Is a persona grata in society. He is strikingly
handsome----'"

Mr. Vernon's lips curved with something between a grin and a sneer.

--"'And of the most charming manners.'"

"Who writes this kind of rot?" he muttered.

"'Since his first appearance in the circles of the London elite, Lord
Selbie has been the cynosure of all eyes. To quote Hamlet again, he may
truthfully be described as the "glass of fashion and the mould of form."
His lordship is also a good all-round sportsman. He spent two or three
years traveling in the Rockies and in Africa, and his exploits with the
big game in both countries are well known. Like most young men of his
class, Lord Selbie was rather wild at Oxford, and displayed a certain
amount of diablerie in London during his quite early manhood. He is a
splendid whip, and his four-in-hand was eclipsed by none other in the
club. Lord Selbie is also an admirable horseman, and h