litting, as he
also liked to hasten the return. But now it was a question whether he
had not better start at once,--start somewhither, and probably for
a much longer period than the usual vacation. Should he take the
bull by the horns, and declare his purpose of living for the next
twelvemonth at--; well, it did not much matter where; Dresden, he
thought, was a long way off, and would do as well as any place. Then
it occurred to him that his cousin, Sir Alured, was in town, and
that he had better see his cousin before he came to any decision.
They were, as usual, expected at Wharton Hall this autumn, and that
arrangement could not be abandoned without explanation.

Sir Alured Wharton was a baronet, with a handsome old family place on
the Wye in Herefordshire, whose forefathers had been baronets since
baronets were first created, and whose earlier forefathers had lived
at Wharton Hall much before that time. It may be imagined, therefore,
that Sir Alured was proud of his name, of his estate, and of his
rank. But there were drawbacks to his happiness. As regarded his
name, it was to descend to a nephew whom he specially disliked,--and
with good cause. As to his estate, delightful as it was in many
respects, it was hardly sufficient to maintain his position with that
plentiful hospitality which he would have loved;--and other property
he had none. And as to his rank, he had almost become ashamed of it,
since,--as he was wont to declare was now the case,--every prosperous
tallow-chandler throughout the country was made a baronet as a matter
of course. So he lived at home through the year with his wife and
daughters, not pretending to the luxury of a season in London for
which his modest three or four thousand a year did not suffice;--and
so living, apart from all the friction of clubs, parliaments, and
mixed society, he did veritably believe that his dear country was
going utterly to the dogs. He was so staunch in politics, that during
the doings of the last quarter of a century,--from the repeal of the
Corn Laws down to the Ballot,--he had honestly declared one side to
be as bad as the other. Thus he felt that all his happiness was to be
drawn from the past. There was nothing of joy or glory to which he
could look forward either on behalf of his country or his family. His
nephew,--and alas, his heir,--was a needy spendthrift, with whom he
would hold no communication. The family settlement for his wife and
daughters would l