blage, when the door opened, and who
should sail in, like a full-rigged man-o'-war, but the Countess
herself, and Lady Mary, like an elegant yacht floating in tow of her.
I swept my bonnet to the boards of the floor with a gesture that would
have done honour to the Court of France; but her Ladyship tossed her
nose higher in the air, as if the man-o'-war had encountered a huge
wave. She seated herself with emphasis on a chair, and says I to
myself, "It's lucky for you, you haven't Paddy's trap-door under you,
or we'd see your heels disappear, coming down like that."

Lady Mary very modestly took up her position standing behind her
mother's chair, and, after one timid glance at me, dropped her eyes on
the floor, and then there were some moments of silence, as if every
one was afraid to begin. I saw I was going to have trouble with the
Countess, and although I think it will be admitted by my enemies that
I'm as brave a man as ever faced a foe, I was reluctant to throw down
the gage of battle to the old lady.

It was young Lord Strepp that began, and he spoke most politely, as
was his custom.

"I took the liberty of sending for you, Mr. O'Ruddy, and I thank you
for responding so quickly to my invitation. The occurrences of the
past day or two, it would be wiser perhaps to ignore--"

At this there was an indignant sniff from the Countess, and I feared
she was going to open her batteries, but to my amazement she kept
silent, although the effort made her red in the face.

"I have told my father and mother," went on Lord Strepp, "that I had
some conversation with you this morning, and that conditions might be
arrived at satisfactory to all parties concerned. I have said nothing
to my parents regarding the nature of these conditions, but I gained
their consent to give consideration to anything you might say, and to
any proposal you are good enough to make."

The old gentleman mumbled something incomprehensible in his chair, but
the old lady could keep silence no longer.

"This is an outrage," she cried, "the man's action has been scandalous
and unlawful. If, instead of bringing those filthy scoundrels against
our own house, those cowards that ran away as soon as they heard the
sound of a blunderbuss, we had all stayed in London, and you had had
the law of him, he would have been in gaol by this time and not
standing brazenly there in the Manor House of Brede."

And after saying this she sniffed again, having no apprecia