ivorce cases are _not_ perused, and that is my brother Timothy's
breakfast-table," said Lady Belstone, very distinctly.

John hastened to fill up the awkward pause which ensued, by a
reference to the beauty of the hall.

"I'm afraid we don't live up to our beautiful old house," said Lady
Mary, shaking her head. "There are some lovely things stored away
in the gallery upstairs, and some beautiful pictures hanging there,
including the Vandyck, you know, which Charles II. gave to old
Sir Peter, your cavalier ancestor. But the gallery is almost a
lumber-room, for the floor is too unsafe to walk upon. And down here,
as you see, we are terribly Philistine."

"This hall was furnished by my grandmother for her son's marriage,"
said Miss Crewys.

"And she sent all your great-grandmother's treasures to the attics,"
said Lady Mary, with rather a wilful intonation. "I always long to
bring them to light again, and to make this place livable; but my
husband does not like change."

"Dear Timothy is faithful to the past," said Miss Crewys,
majestically.

"I wish old Lady Crewys had been as faithful," said Lady Mary,
shrugging her shoulders.

"Young people always like changes," said Lady Belstone, more
leniently.

"Young people!" said Lady Mary, with a rather pathetic smile.
"John will think you are laughing at me. Am I to be young still at
five-and-thirty?"

"To be sure," said John, "unless you are going to be so unkind as to
make a man only ten years your senior feel elderly."

Miss Crewys interposed with a simple statement. "In my day, the age of
a lady was never referred to in polite conversation. Least of all by
herself. I never allude to mine."

"You are unmarried, Georgina," said Lady Belstone, unexpectedly
turning upon her ally. "Unmarried ladies are always sensitive on the
subject of age. I am sure I do not care who knows that my poor admiral
was twenty years my senior. And _his_ age can be looked up in any book
of reference. It would have been useless to try and conceal it,--a man
so well known."

"A woman is as old as she looks," said the canon, soothingly, for the
annoyance of Miss Crewys was visible. "I am bound to say that Miss
Crewys looks exactly the same as when I first knew her."

"Of course, a spinster escapes the wear and tear of matrimony," said
Miss Crewys, glaring at her widowed relative.

"H'm, h'm!" said Dr. Blundell. "By-the-by, have you inspected the old
picture gallery, Mr. Crewys?"

"No