CHAPTER V.

MR. CARLYLE'S OFFICE.

In the centre of West Lynne stood two houses adjoining each other, one
large, the other much smaller. The large one was the Carlyle residence,
and the small one was devoted to the Carlyle offices. The name of
Carlyle bore a lofty standing in the county; Carlyle and Davidson were
known as first-class practitioners; no pettifogging lawyers were they.
It was Carlyle & Davidson in the days gone by; now it was Archibald
Carlyle. The old firm were brothers-in-law--the first Mrs. Carlyle
having been Mr. Davidson's sister. She had died and left one child.
The second Mrs. Carlyle died when her son was born--Archibald; and his
half-sister reared him, loved him and ruled him. She bore for him all
the authority of a mother; the boy had known no other, and, when a
little child he had called her Mamma Corny. Mamma Corny had done her
duty by him, that was undoubted; but Mamma Corny had never relaxed her
rule; with an iron hand she liked to rule him now, in great things as in
small, just as she had done in the days of his babyhood. And Archibald
generally submitted, for the force of habit is strong. She was a woman
of strong sense, but, in some things, weak of judgment; and the ruling
passions of her life were love of Archibald and love of saving money.
Mr. Davidson had died earlier than Mr. Carlyle, and his fortune--he had
never married--was left equally divided between Cornelia and Archibald.
Archibald was no blood relation to him, but he loved the open-hearted
boy better than his niece Cornelia. Of Mr. Carlyle's property, a small
portion only was bequeathed to his daughter, the rest to his son; and in
this, perhaps there was justice, since the 20,000 pounds brought to