ouldn't have sent a message yesterday, mother," said Lady Amelia,
"if he hadn't meant to send him."

"You are all so very unkind to him," ejaculated the Marchioness.

But at half-past twelve the cortege appeared. The child was brought up
in a perambulator which had at first been pushed by the under-nurse, an
Italian, and accompanied by the upper-nurse, who was of course an
Italian also. With them had been sent one of the Englishmen to show the
way. Perhaps the two women had been somewhat ill-treated, as no true
idea of the distance had been conveyed to them; and though they had now
been some weeks at Manor Cross, they had never been half so far from
the house. Of course the labour of the perambulator had soon fallen to
the man; but the two nurses, who had been forced to walk a mile, had
thought that they would never come to the end of their journey. When
they did arrive they were full of plaints, which, however, no one could
understand. But Popenjoy was at last brought into the hall.

"My darling," said the Marchioness, putting out both her arms. But
Popenjoy, though a darling, screamed frightfully beneath his heap of
clothes.

"You had better let him come into the room, mamma," said Lady Susanna.
Then the nurse carried him in, and one or two of his outer garments
were taken from him.

"Dear me, how black he is!" said Lady Susanna.

The Marchioness turned upon her daughter in great anger. "The Germains
were always dark," she said. "You're dark yourself,--quite as black as
he is. My darling!"

She made another attempt to take the boy; but the nurse with voluble
eloquence explained something which of course none of them understood.
The purport of her speech was an assurance that "Tavo," as she most
unceremoniously called the child whom no Germain thought of naming
otherwise than as Popenjoy, never would go to any "foreigner." The
nurse therefore held him up to be looked at for two minutes while he
still screamed, and then put him back into his covering raiments. "He
is very black," said Lady Sarah severely.

"So are some people's hearts," said the Marchioness with a vigour for
which her daughters had hardly given her credit. This, however, was
borne without a murmur by the three sisters.

On the Friday the whole family, including all the Italian servants,
migrated to London, and it certainly was the case that the lady took
with her all her clothes and everything that she had brought with her.
Toff had been quit