roline does nothing for the House,--nothing; has not even a
child,--most unfortunate affair."

SECOND LISTENER.--"Mrs. Lyndsay was very poor, was not she? Caroline, I
suppose, had no opportunity of forming those tastes and habits which are
necessary for--for--"

LADY SELINA (helping the listener).--"For such a position and such a
fortune. You are quite right, my dear. People brought up in one way
cannot accommodate themselves to another; and it is odd, but I have
observed that people brought up poor can accommodate themselves less to
being very rich than people brought up rich can accommodate themselves
to being very poor. As Carr says, in his pointed way, 'It is easier to
stoop than to climb.' Yes; Mrs. Lyndsay was, you know, a daughter of
Seymour Vipont, who was for so many years in the Administration, with a
fair income from his salary, and nothing out of it. She married one
of the Scotch Lyndsays,--good family, of course, with a very moderate
property. She was left a widow young, with an only child, Caroline. Came
to town with a small jointure. The late Lady Montfort was very kind
to her. So were we all; took her up; pretty woman; pretty manners;
worldly,--oh, very! I don't like worldly people. Well, but all of a
sudden a dreadful thing happened. The heir-at-law disputed the jointure,
denied that Lyndsay had any right to make settlements on the Scotch
property; very complicated business. But, luckily for her, Vipont
Crooke's daughter, her cousin and intimate friend, had married Darrell,
the famous Darrell, who was then at the bar. It is very useful to have
cousins married to clever people. He was interested in her case, took
it up. I believe it did not come on in the courts in which Darrell
practised. But he arranged all the evidence, inspected the briefs, spent
a great deal of his own money in getting up the case; and in fact he
gained her cause, though he could not be her counsel. People did say
that she was so grateful that after his wife's death she had set her
heart on becoming Mrs. Darrell the second. But Darrell was then quite
wrapped up in politics,--the last man to fall in love, and only
looked bored when women fell in love with him, which a good many did.
Grand-looking creature, my dear, and quite the rage for a year or two.
However, Mrs. Lyndsay all of a sudden went off to Paris, and there
Montfort saw Caroline, and was caught. Mrs. Lyndsay, no doubt,
calculated on living with her daughter, having the ru