ient. It must have been such a terrible check upon affection.'

'And upon twaddle,' said Lady Maulevrier. 'Well you told Mr. Hammond
about Steadman's old uncle. What did he say?'

'He thoroughly approved Steadman's conduct in forbidding me to go and
see him,' answered Mary. 'I couldn't help thinking it rather unkind of
him; but, of course, I feel that he must be right,' concluded Mary, as
much as to say that her lover was necessarily infallible.

'I always thought Mr. Hammond a sensible young man, and I am glad to
find that his conduct does not belie my good opinion,' said Lady
Maulevrier. 'And now, my dear, you had better go and make yourself
decent before dinner. I am very weary this afternoon, and even our
little talk has exhausted me.'

'Yes, dear grandmother, I am going this instant. But let me ask one
question: What is the poor old man's name?'

'His name!' said her ladyship, looking at Mary with a puzzled air, like
a person whose thoughts are far away. 'His name--oh, Steadman, I
suppose, like his nephew's; but if I ever heard the name I have
forgotten it, and I don't know whether the kinship is on the father's or
the mother's side. Steadman asked my permission to give shelter to a
helpless old relative, and I gave it. That is really all I remember.'

'Only one other question,' pleaded Mary, who was brimful of curiosity
upon this particular subject. 'Has he been at Fellside very long?'

'Oh, I really don't know; a year, or two, or three, perhaps. Life in
this house is all of a piece. I hardly keep count of time.'

'There is one thing that puzzles me very much,' said Mary, still
lingering near her grandmother's couch, the balmy evening air caressing
her as she leaned against the embrasure of the wide Tudor window, the
sun drawing nearer to the edge of the hills, an orb of yellow flame,
soon to change to a gigantic disk of lurid fire. 'I thought from the old
man's talk that he, too, must be an old servant in our family. He talked
of Maulevrier Castle, and said that I reminded him of a picture by Lely,
a portrait of a Lady Maulevrier.

'It is quite possible that he may have been in service there, though I
do not remember to have heard anything about it,' answered her ladyship,
carelessly. 'The Steadmans come from that part of the country, and
theirs is a hereditary service. Good-night, Mary, I am utterly weary.
Look at that glorious light yonder, that mighty world of fire and flame,
without which our little