Doltimore is up."

"Sad lazy dog, your friend."

"I shall be back by twelve."

"What are you going to ----- for?"

"Brookes, the farrier, has a little spaniel,--King Charles's breed. Miss
Cameron is fond of dogs. I can send it to her, with my compliments,--it
will be a sort of leave-taking."

"Sly rogue; ha, ha, ha! d-----d sly; ha, ha!" and the admiral punched
the slender waist of his nephew, and laughed till the tears ran down his
cheeks.

"Good-by, sir."

"Stop, George; I forgot to ask you a question; you never told me you
knew Mr. Maltravers. Why don't you cultivate his acquaintance?"

"We met at Venice accidentally. I did not know his name then; he left
just as I arrived. As you say, I ought to cultivate his acquaintance."

"Fine character!"

"Very!" said Legard, with energy, as he abruptly quitted the room.

George Legard was an orphan. His father--the admiral's elder
brother--had been a spendthrift man of fashion, with a tolerably large
unentailed estate. He married a duke's daughter without a sixpence.
Estates are troublesome,--Mr. Legard's was sold. On the purchase-money
the happy pair lived for some years in great comfort, when Mr. Legard
died of a brain fever; and his disconsolate widow found herself alone
in the world with a beautiful little curly-headed boy, and an annuity
of one thousand a year, for which her settlement had been exchanged.
All the rest of the fortune was gone,--a discovery not made till Mr.
Legard's death. Lady Louisa did not long survive the loss of her husband
and her station in society; her income of course died with herself. Her
only child was brought up in the house of his grandfather, the duke,
till he was of age to hold the office of king's page; thence, as
is customary, he was promoted to a commission in the Guards. To the
munificent emoluments of his pay, the ducal family liberally added
an allowance of two hundred a year; upon which income Cornet Legard
contrived to get very handsomely in debt. The extraordinary beauty
of his person, his connections, and his manners obtained him all the
celebrity that fashion can bestow; but poverty is a bad thing. Luckily,
at this time, his uncle the admiral returned from sea, to settle for the
rest of his life in England.

Hitherto, the admiral had taken no notice of George. He himself had
married a merchant's daughter with a fair portion; and had been blessed
with two children, who monopolized all his affection. But there seeme