id his father, as they were taking their leave, "I have
had an unpleasant letter from my brother, in which he states that he
wrote to you, but got no answer."

"I never received a letter from him," replied his lordship; "none ever
reached me; if it had, the very novelty of a communication from such a
quarter would have prevented me from forgetting it."

"I should think so. His letter to me, indeed, is a strange one. He
utters enigmatical threats--"

"Come, I like that--I am enigmatical myself--you see it is in the
family."

"Enigmatical threats which I cannot understand, and desires me to hold
myself prepared for certain steps which he is about to take, in justice
to what he is pleased to term his own claims. However, it is not worth
notice. But this Norton, I am anxious to see him, Dunroe--will you
request him to call upon me to-morrow at twelve o'clock?--of course, I
feel desirous to make the acquaintance of a man who has proved himself
such a warm and sterling friend to my son."

"Undoubtedly, my lord, he shall attend on you--I shall take care of
that. Good-by, my lord--good by, Emily--good--good--my dear girl, never
mind the embrace--it is quite undignified--anything but a patrician
usage, I assure you."

Now it is necessary that we should give our readers a clearer conception
of Lord Dunroe's character than is to be found in the preceding
dialogue. This young gentleman was one of those who wish to put every
person who enters into conversation with them completely at fault. It
was one of his whims to affect ignorance on many subjects with which he
was very well acquainted. His ambition was to be considered a character;
and in order to carry this idea out, he very frequently spoke on the
most commonplace topics as a man might be supposed to do who had just
dropped from the moon. He thought, also, that there was something
aristocratic in this fictitious ignorance, and that it raised him above
the common herd of those who could talk reasonably on the ordinary
topics of conversation or life. His ambition, the reader sees, was to
be considered original. It had besides, this advantage, that in matters
where his ignorance is anything but feigned, it brought him out safely
under the protection of his accustomed habit, without suffering from the
imputation of the ignorance he affected. It was, indeed, the ambition of
a vain and silly mind; but provided he could work out this paltry joke
upon a grave and sensible thoug