r daughter in his way through the hall, he glanced at
her with an expression which might have amused the young lady, but
that she always regarded him with an instinctive antipathy.

The conversation disappointed Mrs. Pendarrel. She had hoped for
intelligence of a more definite kind, and placed very little reliance
on the expectations held out by her protege. But now another
solicitude engaged her attention. In spite of her own excitement when
Randolph confronted her with his name, she had not omitted to notice
the agitation of Mildred. She saw the scarlet of her face, and felt
the pressure of her trembling arm. She fancied she heard the
exclamation--my cousin--escape from her lips. Cousin indeed! she
thought. Well it will be if that is all.

She had wielded her rod of iron so long, was so accustomed to entire
submission from all connected with her, and so firmly persuaded of the
power of her will, that in preparing to settle Mildred--pleasing is
the ambiguity of the word--as she had succeeded in doing Gertrude, she
forgot or undervalued the point of support, which Mrs. Winston's
position enabled her to afford her sister. Right well did the
clear-sighted mother know, how bitterly Gertrude repented the day when
she exchanged captivity with a heart for liberty without. She knew
also that Mrs. Winston would certainly take Mildred's part in
resisting an unacceptable match. But the knowledge rather stimulated
her love of triumph than occasioned her any dread. Parents seem often
apt to visit upon their children their own hardships or misfortunes.
The parvenu father thinks he has fully excused narrow-mindedness
towards his son by saying--the lad is better off than ever I was. And
the mother, whose own marriage, was unhappy, will not seldom be
careless of her daughters' comfort in theirs.

Now, Mrs. Pendarrel had for some time decided upon Mildred's lot. Mr.
Melcomb was to be the happy man. It was true, he was a gambler and a
rake; but it was also true that he was the owner of Tolpeden Park and
a large estate thereto appended. It was equally true that he was
pretty deeply embarrassed; but the extent of his liabilities had not
yet transpired, and the prudent mother supposed that her daughter's
fortune would pay off the encumbrances upon the land, and that by
stringent settlements it might be kept free in future, and secured for
the children. And so her descendants would unite Tolpeden and
Pendarrel. But Melcomb was desultory i