tence of this book, or had never seen it; and when he
offered to take his Bible oath of what he had heard from his father, had
simply volunteered a perjury.

I was shaking hands with his companion, a nobleman with whom I had had
the honour to serve in America. "I came," I said, "to convince myself of
a fact, about which you were mistaken yesterday; and I find the proof
in your lordship's own house. Your lordship was pleased to take your
lordship's Bible oath, that there was no agreement between your father
and his mother, relative to some property which I hold. When Mr. Sampson
was your lordship's secretary, he perfectly remembered having seen a
copy of such an assignment, and here it is."

"And do you mean, Sir George Warrington, that unknown to me you have
been visiting my papers?" cries my lord.

"I doubted the correctness of your statement, though backed by your
lordship's Bible oath," I said with a bow.

"This, sir, is robbery! Give the papers back!" bawled my lord.

"Robbery is a rough word, my lord. Shall I tell the whole story to Lord
Rawdon?"

"What, is it about the Marquisate? Connu, connu, my dear Sir George! We
always called you the Marquis in New York. I don't know who brought the
story from Virginia."

I never had heard this absurd nickname before, and did not care
to notice it. "My Lord Castlewood," I said, "not only doubted, but
yesterday laid a claim to my property, taking his Bible oath that----"

Castlewood gave a kind of gasp, and then said, "Great heaven! Do you
mean, Sir George, that there actually is an agreement extant? Yes. Here
it is--my father's handwriting, sure enough! Then the question is clear.
Upon my o----well, upon my honour as a gentleman! I never knew of such
an agreement, and must have been mistaken in what my father said. This
paper clearly shows the property is yours: and not being mine--why, I
wish you joy of it!" and he held out his hand with the blandest smile.

"And how thankful you will be to me, my lord, for having enabled him to
establish the right," says Sampson, with a leer on his face.

"Thankful? No, confound you. Not in the least!" says my lord. "I am a
plain man; I don't disguise from my cousin that I would rather have
had the property than he. Sir George, you will stay and dine with us.
A large party is coming down here shooting; we ought to have you one of
us!"

"My lord," said I, buttoning the book under my coat, "I will go and get
this document copied,