ere was nothing to be gained." He
had as yet received no explicit answer to the note which he had
written to the Countess when he sent her the copy of his father's
will. He had, indeed, received a notice from Mr. Goffe that the
matter would receive immediate attention, and that the Countess hoped
to be able to settle the claim in a very short time. But that he
thought was not such a letter as should have been sent to him on
an occasion so full of interest to him! But they were all hard and
unjust and bad. The Countess was bad because she was a Countess,--the
lawyers because they were lawyers,--the whole Lovel family because
they were Lovels. At this moment poor Daniel Thwaite was very bitter
against all mankind. He would, he thought, go at once to the Western
world of which he was always dreaming, if he could only get that sum
of L500 which was manifestly due to him.

But as he wandered away after the court was up, getting some wretched
solitary meal at a cheap eating-house on his road, he endeavoured to
fix his thoughts on the question of the girl's affection to himself.
Taking all that had been said in that courtly lawyer's speech this
morning as the groundwork of his present judgment, what should he
judge to be her condition at the moment? He had heard on all sides
that it was intended that she should marry the young Earl, and it
had been said in his hearing that such would be declared before the
judge. No such declaration had been made. Not a word had been uttered
to signify that such an "alliance" was contemplated. Efforts had
been made with him to induce him to withdraw his claim to the girl's
hand. The Countess had urged him, and the lawyers had urged him.
Most assuredly they would not have done so,--would have in no wise
troubled themselves with him at all,--had they been able to prevail
with Lady Anna. And why had they not so prevailed? The girl,
doubtless, had been subjected to every temptation. She was kept
secure from his interference. Hitherto he had not even made an effort
to see her since she had left the house in which he himself lived.
She had nothing to fear from him. She had been sojourning among those
Lovels, who would doubtless have made the way to deceit and luxury
easy for her. He could not doubt but that she had been solicited to
enter into this alliance. Could he be justified in flattering himself
that she had hitherto resisted temptation because in her heart of
hearts she was true to her first