a daughter there were none
to follow. And further, that there never was but one Miss Iden at a
time.

If the Direct Line had a daughter first, they never had any more
children; consequently that daughter was the only Miss Iden.

If the Direct Line had a son, they never had a second son, though they
might have daughters; but then, in order that there should still be
only one Miss Iden, it always happened that the first died, or was
married early, before the second came into existence.

Such was the tradition of the Iden family; they had a long pedigree, the
Idens, reaching farther back than the genealogies of many a peer, and it
had been observed that this was the rule of their descent.

Amaryllis was the only Miss Iden, and the heiress, through her father,
of the Spade-Guinea Man. She tried to make them feel that she knew it
and felt it; that she was the Iden of the Idens. Her proud face--it was
a very proud face naturally--darkened a little, and grew still more
disdainful in its utter scorn and loathing of the vague crowd of
enemies.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIII.

TO one, as it were, in the gallery, it was a delight to see her; her
sweet cheeks, fresh as the dawn, reddening with suppressed indignation;
her young brow bent; her eyes cast down--don't you think for a moment
she would deign to look at them--pride in her heart, and resolute
determination to fight for her dear father and mother.

But she felt as she sat so unconcerned that there was a crack in her
boot unmended, and it seemed as if everyone could see it though under
the solid table. She had not had a really sound pair of boots for many,
many months; they could not afford her a new pair at home, and the
stupid shoemaker, "Established 1697," was such a time repairing her
others.

She would not look at them, but she knew that they were all dressed
better than she was; there were some of them very poor, and very vulgar,
too, but they were all dressed better than her, and without a doubt had
sound boots on their feet.

The cottagers in Coombe hamlet always had sound boots; she never had;
nor, indeed, her mother. Her father had a pair, being compelled by the
character of his work in the fields to take care of himself so far,
though he wore a ragged coat. But neither mother nor daughter ever had a
whole pair of boots--whole and sound as the very cottagers had.

If Amaryllis had sat there with naked feet she would have