"But that son of his--Mountjoy. It's altogether a most distressing
story. He turns out to be nobody after all, and now he has disappeared,
and the papers for an entire month were full of him. What would you do
if he were to turn up here? The girl was engaged to him, you know, and
has only thrown him off since his own father declared that he was not
legitimate. There never was such a mess about anything since London
first began."

Then Sir Magnus declared that, let Mountjoy Scarborough and his father
have misbehaved as they might, Mr. Scarborough's sister must be received
at Brussels. There was a little family difficulty. Sir Magnus had
borrowed three thousand pounds from the general which had been settled
on the general's widow, and the interest was not always paid with
extreme punctuality. To give Mrs. Mountjoy her due, it must be said that
this had not entered into her consideration when she had written to her
brother-in-law; but it was a burden to Sir Magnus, and had always
tended to produce from him a reiteration of those invitations, which
Mrs. Mountjoy had taken as an expression of brotherly love. Her own
income was always sufficient for her wants, and the hundred and fifty
pounds coming from Sir Magnus had not troubled her much. "Well, my dear,
if it must be it must;--only what I'm to do with her I do not know."

"Take her about in the carriage," said Sir Magnus, who was beginning to
be a little angry with this interference.

"And the daughter? Daughters are twice more troublesome than their
mothers."

"Pass her over to Miss Abbott. And for goodness' sake don't make so much