this sister Angela married at the age of
twenty, a certain Irishman by name O'Connell, and was cut off by her
family--"

"The man was an agitator--a Fenian agitator. He hadn't a penny. It was
a disgrace--"

Alaric checked his mother again.

Hawkes resumed: "--was cut off by her family--went to the United States
of America with her husband, where a daughter was born. After going
through many, conditions of misery with her husband, who never seemed
to prosper, she died shortly after giving birth to the child." He
looked up: "Mr. Kingsnorth elsewhere expresses his lasting regret that
in one of his sister's acute stages of distress she wrote to him asking
him, for the first time, to assist her. He replied: 'You have made your
bed; lie in it.'"

"She had disgraced the family. He was justified," broke in Mrs.
Chichester.

"With death approaching," resumed Hawkes, "Mr. Kingsnorth's conscience
began to trouble him and the remembrance of his treatment of his
unfortunate sister distressed him. If the child were alive he wanted to
see her. I made inquiries and found that the girl was living with her
father in very poor circumstances in the City of New York. We sent
sufficient funds for the journey, together with a request to the father
to allow her to visit Mr. Kingsnorth in England. The father consented.
However, before the young girl sailed Mr. Kingsnorth died."

"Oh!" cried Alaric, who had been listening intently. "Died, eh? That
was too bad. Died before seeing her. Did you let her sail, Mr. Hawkes?"

"Yes. We thought it best to bring her over here and acquaint her with
the sad news after her arrival. Had she known before sailing she might
not have taken the journey."

"But what was the use of bringing her over when Mr. Kingsnorth was
dead?" asked Alaric.

"For this reason," replied Hawkes: "Realising that he might never see
her, Mr. Kingsnorth made the most remarkable provision for her in his
will."

"Provided for HER and not for--?" began Mrs. Chichester.

"Here is the provision," continued Mr. Hawkes, again reading from the
will: "'I hereby direct that the sum of one thousand pounds a year be
paid to any respectable well-connected woman of breeding and family,
who will undertake the education and up-bringing of my niece, Margaret
O'Connell, in accordance with the dignity and tradition of the
Kingsnorths'--"

"He remembers a niece he never saw and his own sister--" and Mrs.
Chichester once more burst into tea