sant or useful. He looked upon his
sister-in-law as an old fool, and had no idea of quarrelling with
Hampstead for her sake. If the girl persisted in making a bad match
she must take the consequences. No great harm would come,--except to
her. As to the evil done to his "order," that did not affect Lord
Persiflage at all. He did not expect his order to endure for ever.
All orders become worn out in time, and effete. He had no abhorrence
for anybody; but he liked pleasant people; he liked to treat
everything as a joke; and he liked the labours of his not unlaborious
life to be minimised. Having given his orders about the old
Traffords, as he called them in reference to the "darlings," he said
nothing more on the subject. Lady Persiflage wrote a note to "Dear
Fanny," conveying the invitation in three words, and received a reply
to the effect that she and her brother would be at Castle Hautboy
before the end of November. Hampstead would perhaps bring a couple of
horses, but he would put them up at the livery stables at Penrith.

"How do you do, Hampstead," said Persiflage when he first met his
guest before dinner on the day of the arrival. "You haven't got rid
of everything yet?"

This question was supposed to refer to Lord Hampstead's revolutionary
tendencies. "Not quite so thoroughly as we hope to do soon."

"I always think it a great comfort that in our country the
blackguards are so considerate. I must own that we do very little for
them, and yet they never knock us over the head or shoot at us, as
they do in Russia and Germany and France." Then he passed on, having
said quite enough for one conversation.

"So you've gone off to Hendon to live with your brother?" said Lady
Persiflage to her niece.

"Yes; indeed," said Lady Fanny, blushing at the implied allusion to
her low-born lover which was contained in this question.

But Lady Persiflage had no idea of saying a word about the lover, or
of making herself in any way unpleasant. "I dare say it will be very
comfortable for you both," she said; "but we thought you might be a
little lonely till you got used to it, and therefore asked you to
come down for a week or two. The house is full of people, and you
will be sure to find some one that you know." Not a word was said at
Castle Hautboy as to those terrible things which had occurred in the
Trafford family.

Young Vivian was there, half, as he said, for ornament, but partly
for pleasure and partly for business. "