red for a good burst of common-place eloquence; but his son looked
impatient, and as he could not take such liberty with him as he could
with Lord Ballindine, he came to the point at once, and ended abruptly
by saying, "and get married."

"For the purpose of allowing my wife to pay my debts?"

"Why, not exactly that; but as, of course, you could not marry any
woman but a woman with a large fortune, that would follow as a matter
of consequence."

"Your lordship proposes the fortune not as the first object of my
affection, but merely as a corollary. But, perhaps, it will be as well
that you should finish your proposition, before I make any remarks on
the subject." And Lord Kilcullen, sat down, with a well-feigned look of
listless indifference.

"Well, Kilcullen, I have latterly been thinking much about you, and so
has your poor mother. She is very uneasy that you should still--still
be unmarried; and Jervis has written to me very strongly. You see it
is quite necessary that something should be done--or we shall both be
ruined. Now, if I did raise this sum--and I really could not do it--I
don't think I could manage it, just at present; but, even if I did, it
would only be encouraging you to go on just in the same way again. Now,
if you were to marry, your whole course of life would be altered, and
you would become, at the same time, more respectable and more happy."

"That would depend a good deal upon circumstances, I should think."

"Oh! I am sure you would. You are just the same sort of fellow I was
when at your age, and I was much happier after I was married, so I know
it. Now, you see, your cousin has a hundred thousand pounds; in fact
something more than that."

"What?--Fanny! Poor Ballindine! So that's the way with him is it! When
I was contradicting the rumour of his marriage with Fanny, I little
thought that I was to be his rival! At any rate, I shall have to shoot
him first."

"You might, at any rate, confine yourself to sense, Lord Kilcullen,
when I am taking so much pains to talk sensibly to you, on a subject
which, I presume, cannot but interest you."

"Indeed, my lord, I'm all attention; and I do intend to talk sensibly
when I say that I think you are proposing to treat Ballindine very ill.
The world will think well of your turning him adrift on the score of
the match being an imprudent one; but it won't speak so leniently of
you if you expel him, as soon as your ward becomes an heiress, to make
wa