t were woke with a start
to the recollection that Arthur had almost passed out of their sphere.
He was to be his father's curate for the present--the future was
doubtful; but in an age when there were more livings than clergy to fill
them, no difficulty need be expected in the way of obtaining promotion.

Just after Jack and Gertrude had returned to London (to the great relief
of every one, themselves not excepted), in his usual unannounced style,
Mr John Feversham made his appearance at Enville Court. Blanche
greeted him with a deep blush, for she felt ashamed of her former
unworthy estimate of his character. John brought one interesting piece
of news--that his uncle and aunt were well, and Lucrece was now the
mother of a little boy.

Lady Enville looked up quickly. Then John was no longer the heir of
Feversham Hall. It might therefore be necessary--if he yet had any
foolish hopes--to put an extinguisher upon him. She rapidly decided
that she must issue private instructions to Sir Thomas. That gentleman,
she said to herself, really was so foolish--particularly of late, since
he had fallen into the pit of Puritanism--that if she did not look
sharply after him, he might actually dream of resigning his last and
fairest daughter to a penniless and prospectless suitor. If any such
idea existed in the mind of Sir Thomas, of John Feversham, or of
Blanche,--and since John had saved Blanche's life, it was not at all
unlikely,--it must be nipped in the bud.

Accordingly, on the first opportunity, Lady Enville began.

"Of course you see now, Sir Thomas, how ill a match Master John
Feversham should have been for Blanche."

"Wherefore?" was the short answer.

"Sith he is no longer the heir." [Sith and since are both contractions
of sithence.]

"Oh!--ah!" said Sir Thomas, as unpromisingly as before.

"Why, surely you would ne'er dream of so monstrous a thing?"

Sir Thomas, who had been looking out of the window, came across to the
fire, and took up the master's position before it--standing just in the
middle of the hearth with his back to the fire.

"Better wait, Orige, and see whereof John and Blanche be dreaming," said
he calmly.

"What reckoneth he to do now, meet for livelihood?"

It would be difficult to estimate the number of degrees by which poor
John had fallen in her Ladyship's thermometer, since he had ceased to be
the expected heir of Feversham Hall.

"He looketh," said Sir Thomas absently, as if h