er your lordship's preference that Mr. Bally should--ahem--should
leave the country?"

My lord looked at Mr. Carlyle. "Why do you ask that?" said he.

"I gather, my lord, that Mr. Bally is not a comfort to his family," says
the lawyer, with a smile.

My lord's face became suddenly knotted. "I wish he was in hell!" cried
he, and filled himself a glass of wine, but with a hand so tottering
that he spilled the half into his bosom. This was the second time that,
in the midst of the most regular and wise behaviour, his animosity had
spurted out. It startled Mr. Carlyle, who observed my lord thenceforth
with covert curiosity; and to me it restored the certainty that we were
acting for the best in view of my lord's health and reason.

Except for this explosion the interview was very successfully conducted.
No doubt Mr. Carlyle would talk, as lawyers do, little by little. We
could thus feel we had laid the foundations of a better feeling in the
country, and the man's own misconduct would certainly complete what we
had begun. Indeed, before his departure, the lawyer showed us there had
already gone abroad some glimmerings of the truth.

"I should perhaps explain to you, my lord," said he, pausing, with his
hat in his hand, "that I have not been altogether surprised with your
lordship's dispositions in the case of Mr. Bally. Something of this
nature oozed out when he was last in Durrisdeer. There was some talk of
a woman at St. Bride's, to whom you had behaved extremely handsome, and
Mr. Bally with no small degree of cruelty. There was the entail, again,
which was much controverted. In short, there was no want of talk, back
and forward; and some of our wiseacres took up a strong opinion. I
remained in suspense, as became one of my cloth; but Mr. Mackellar's
docket here has finally opened my eyes--I do not think, Mr. Mackellar,
that you and I will give him that much rope."

* * * * *

The rest of that important day passed prosperously through. It was our
policy to keep the enemy in view, and I took my turn to be his watchman
with the rest. I think his spirits rose as he perceived us to be so
attentive, and I know that mine insensibly declined. What chiefly
daunted me was the man's singular dexterity to worm himself into our
troubles. You may have felt (after a horse accident) the hand of a
bone-setter artfully divide and interrogate the muscles, and settle
strongly on the injured place? It was