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So in abstracted idleness in his private compartment of the office of Letterblair, Lamson and Low, attorneys at laas summoned by the head of the firal adviser of three generations of New York gentility, throned behind his any desk in evident perplexity As he stroked his closeclipped white whiskers and ran his hand through the ru brows, his disrespectful junior partner thought how much he looked like the Family Physician annoyed with a patient whose symptoms refuse to be classified

"My dear sir--" he always addressed Archer as "sir"--"I have sent for you to go into a little matter; a matter which, for the moment, I prefer not to entlemen he spoke of were the other senior partners of the firal associations of old standing in New York, all the partners na since dead; and Mr Letterblair, for exarandson

He leaned back in his chair with a furrowed brow "For faott family," said Mr Letterblair with an explanatory sott sent for hter the Countess Olenska wishes to sue her husband for divorce Certain papers have been placed in my hands" He paused and drummed on his desk "In view of your prospective alliance with the family I should like to consult you--to consider the case with you--before taking any farther steps"

Archer felt the blood in his temples He had seen the Countess Olenska only once since his visit to her, and then at the Opera, in the Mingott box During this interval she had becoround as May Welland resuhtful place in it He had not heard her divorce spoken of since Janey's first randoossip Theoretically, the idea of divorce was almost as distasteful to him as to his mother; and he was annoyed that Mr Letterblair (no doubt proott) should be so evidently planning to draw hiott ott by e

He waited for the senior partner to continue Mr Letterblair unlocked a drawer and drew out a packet "If you will run your eye over these papers--"