ill give her something in
addition, out of gratitude to me for relieving you of all responsibility
concerning her, upon my word I think I should not do badly!"

But Sir Edward was not in a mood to joke. He looked gloomily around upon
his friends as they gathered around the smoking-room fire after a hard
day's shooting, and remarked--

"I know what is before me. I have seen it in my sister's family, and
have heard something of all her toils and troubles. How thankful I was
when she and hers were translated to Australia, and the sea came between
us! It is first the nurses, who run off with one's butler, make love to
the keepers, and bring all kinds of followers about the house, who
sometimes make off with one's plate. Then it's the governesses, who come
and have a try at the guests, or most likely in my case they would set
their affections on me, and get the reins of government entirely into
their hands. If it is school, then there is a mass of correspondence
about the child's health and training; and, in addition, I shall have
all the ladies in the neighborhood coming to mother the child and tell
me how to train it. It is a bad look-out for me, I can tell you, and not
one of you would care to be in my shoes."

"What is the trouble, Ned?" asked a new-comer, opening the door and
glancing at the amused faces of those surrounding Sir Edward, all of
whom seemed to be keenly enjoying their host's perplexity.

"He has received a legacy to-day, that is all," was the response; "he
has had an orphan niece and nurse sent to him from some remote place in
the Highlands. Come, give us your case again, old fellow, for the
benefit of your cousin."

Sir Edward, a grave, abstracted-looking man, with an iron-grey
moustache and dark, piercing eyes, looked up with a desponding shake of
the head, and repeated slowly and emphatically--

"A widowed sister of mine died last year, and left her little girl in
the charge of an old school friend, who has now taken a husband to
herself and discarded the child, calmly sending me the following
letter:--

'DEAR SIR: Doubtless you will remember that
your sister's great desire on her death-bed was that
you should receive her little one and bring her up
under your own eye, being her natural guardian
and nearest relative. Hearing, however, from you
that you did not at that time feel equal to the
responsibility, I came forward and volunteered to
take her for a short while till you h