buttered toast. Kenneth laughed lightly, glanced askance at his father,
and requested another cup of tea. Mr Stuart glanced at his son,
frowned at his finished egg, and stuck the spoon through the bottom of
the shell as he would have struck a dagger into the hopes of Kenneth,
had he possessed the power.

"Peppy," he said, pushing his cup from him, "before our young friend
arrived, you were speaking of the little boy who was left mysteriously
here last night--"

"It's a girl," interrupted Miss Peppy, "not but that it might have been
a boy, brother, if it had been born so, but one cannot ignore facts, and
to the best of my belief it was a girl last night. To be sure I was
very sleepy when I saw it, but it may be a boy this morning for all I
know to the contrary. I'm sure the perplexities that _do_ surround us
in this world!" (Here Miss Peppy sighed.) "But if there is any doubt on
the question we had better ring for Mrs Niven, and send her up-stairs
to ascertain."

At that moment Mrs Niven entered, and handed a letter to Mr Stuart.

"Niven," said Miss Peppy, who spoke so fast, all in one tone, that no
one had a chance of interrupting her,--"Niven, will you be so good as to
go up-stairs and inquire whether the girl--no, the boy--I--I mean the
young human being, that--"

"La! ma'am," exclaimed the housekeeper in surprise, "why do you call her
a boy? She's as sweet and lovely a girl as ever my two heyes looked on.
I never saw nothink like 'er golden 'air--it's quite 'eavenly, ma'am,
if I may use the hexpression."

"Oh! she _is_ a girl then? ah! I thought so," said Miss Peppy, with a
sigh of resignation, as if the fact were a perplexity too deep for
investigation, at least at that time.

"It matters nothing to me," said Mr Stuart sternly, "whether she be a
boy or a girl, I mean to send her to the workhouse."

"Workhouse, brother!" exclaimed Miss Peppy in surprise.

"Workhouse, sir!" echoed Mrs Niven in horror.

"Father!" said Kenneth, remonstratively.

"Mrs Niven," said Mr Stuart, breaking the seal of the letter very
slowly, "you may leave the room. Sister, I do not choose to have my
intentions commented on in such a manner, especially before the
domestics. This child I have nothing whatever to do with; it has no
claim on me, and I shall certainly hand it over to the parochial
authorities to be dealt with--"

"According to law," suggested the middy.

"Yes, according to law," assented Mr Stuart with muc