ethought him that it was time to return to
London and see about getting the settlements drawn and ordering the
wedding bouquet. To speak the truth, he thought more about the bouquet
than the settlements.

He arrived in London on the first of June, and went to see his family
lawyer, a certain Mr. Borley, who had been solicitor to the trust
during his minority.

"Bless me, Heigham, how like your father you have grown!" said that
legal gentleman, as soon as Arthur was ensconced in the client's chair
--a chair that, had it been endowed with the gift of speech, could
have told some surprising stories. "It seems only the other day that
he was sitting there dictating the terms of his will, and yet that was
before the Crimean war, more than twenty years ago. Well, my boy, what
is it?"

Arthur, thus encouraged, entered into a rather blundering recital of
the circumstances of his engagement.

Mr. Borley did not say much, but, from his manner and occasional
comments, it was evident that he considered the whole story very odd--
regarding it, indeed, with some suspicion.

"I must tell you frankly, Mr. Heigham," he said, at last, "I don't
quite understand this business. The young lady, no doubt, is charming
--young ladies, looking at them from my clients' point of view, always
are--but I can't say I like your story about her father. Why did you
not tell me all this before? I might then have been able to give you
some advice worth having, or, at any rate, to make a few confidential"
--he laid great emphasis on the word "confidential"--"inquiries."

Arthur replied that it had not occurred to him to do so.

"Umph, pity--great pity; but there is no time for that sort of thing
now, if you think you are going to get married on the tenth; so I
suppose the only thing to do is to go through with it and await the
upshot. What do you wish done?"

Arthur explained his views, which apparently included settling all his
property on his bride in the most absolute fashion possible. To this
Mr. Borley forcibly objected, and in the end Arthur had to give way
and make such arrangements as the old gentleman thought proper--
arrangements differing considerably from those proposed by himself.

This interview over, he had other and pleasanter duties to perform,
such as ordering his wedding clothes, making arrangements with a
florist for the bridal bouquet, and last, but not least, having his
mother's diamonds re-set as a present for his bride.