world of beauty in this bipinnate frond! One hardly knows where the
stalk ends and the leaf begins!"

The dog, a bright little terrier, came trotting into the library He
saluted the company briskly with his tail, not excepting Mr. Mool. No
growl, or approach to a growl, now escaped him. The manner in which
he laid himself down at Mrs. Gallilee's feet completely refuted her
aspersion on his temper. Ovid suggested that he might have been provoked
by a cat in the conservatory.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mool turned over a page of the Will, and arrived at the
clauses relating to Carmina and her guardian.

"It may not be amiss," he began, "to mention, in the first place, that
the fortune left to Miss Carmina amounts, in round numbers, to one
hundred and thirty thousand pounds. The Trustees--"

"Skip the Trustees," said Mrs. Gallilee.

Mr. Mool skipped.

"In the matter of the guardian," he said, "there is a preliminary
clause, in the event of your death or refusal to act, appointing Lady
Northlake--"

"Skip Lady Northlake," said Mrs. Gallilee.

Mr. Mool skipped.

"You are appointed Miss Carmina's guardian, until she comes of age," he
resumed. "If she marries in that interval--"

He paused to turn over a page. Not only Mrs. Gallilee, but Ovid also,
now listened with the deepest interest.

"If she marries in that interval, with her guardian's approval--"

"Suppose I don't approve of her choice?" Mrs. Gallilee interposed.

Ovid looked at his mother--and quickly looked away again. The restless
little terrier caught his eye, and jumped up to be patted. Ovid was
too pre-occupied to notice this modest advance. The dog's eyes and ears
expressed reproachful surprise. His friend Ovid had treated him rudely
for the first time in his life.

"If the young lady contracts a matrimonial engagement of which you
disapprove," Mr. Mool answered, "you are instructed by the testator to
assert your reasons in the presence of--well, I may describe it, as
a family council; composed of Mr. Gallilee, and of Lord and Lady
Northlake."

"Excessively foolish of Robert," Mrs. Gallilee remarked. "And what, Mr.
Mool, is this meddling council of three to do?"

"A majority of the council, Mrs. Gallilee, is to decide the question
absolutely. If the decision confirms your view, and if Miss Carmina
still persists in her resolution notwithstanding--"

"Am I to give way?" Mrs. Gallilee asked.

"Not until your niece comes of age, ma'am. Then, she decides