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'It would put everything so straight,' said Lady Po else will put theovernor I heard his voice Now for a row' Then Mr Longestaffe entered the room

'My dear,' said Lady Pomona, 'here's Adolphus come to see us' The father nodded his head at his son but said nothing 'We want hih he doesn't knohere,' said Sophia

'My fellos;--he keeps a book I've got a letter, sir, ever so long, from those fellows in Lincoln's Inn They want ; so I've co about it Perhaps there isn't anything to be sold If so I can go away again, you know'

'You'd better come with me into the study,' said the father 'We needn't disturb your mother and sisters about business' Then the squire led the way out of the roorimace at his sisters The three ladies sat over their tea for about half-an-hour, waiting,--not the result of the conference, for with that they did not suppose that they would be ht be collected from the manner and appearance of the squire when he should return to theain,--probably for a ether without quarrelling, and careless as was the young man in every other respect, he had hitherto been obdurate as to his own rights in any dealings which he had with his father At the end of the half-hour Mr Longestaffe returned to the drawing-room, and at once pronounced the doom of the family 'My dear,' he said, 'we shall not return froled hard to nified tranquillity as he spoke, but his voice quivered with emotion

'Papa!' screamed Sophia

'My dear, you don't mean it,' said Lady Poiana, rising to her feet

'I o to Caversham in about ten days, and we shall not return from Caversham to London this year'

'Our ball is fixed,' said Lady Po, the -room and descended to his study

The three ladies, when left to deplore their fate, expressed their opinions as to the sentence which had been pronounced very strongly But the daughters were louder in their anger than was their mother