'Maude, whose father was a professor, looked quite appalled and said--

'You will be the one to infuse better things.' She felt quite proud of
the word.

'Perhaps,' returned Dolores; 'they always do that in time, but not
till they've been awfully bullied. All the cousins are jealous, and
the aunt spites them because they are nicer and prettier than her own.'

'Yes,' said Maude, 'but then there's always some tremendously nice boy-
cousin, or uncle, or something, that makes up for it all. Will Sir
Jasper Merrifield's eldest son be a Sir?'

'Oh no; he's not a baronet, but a G.C.B., Knight Grand Cross of the
Bath, that is. Besides, I don't care for love, and titles, and all
that nonsense, though father is first cousin to Lord Rotherwood.'

'And you never saw any of them?'

'Yes, Aunt Lilias was at the Charing Cross Hotel with Uncle Jasper and
the two eldest daughters, Alethea and Phyllis, and some more of them,
just before they sailed; and father took me there on Sunday to
luncheon; but there were so many people, and such a talk, and such a
bustle, that I hardly knew which was which. Aunt Jane and Aunt Ada
were a talking that it made my head turn round; but I saw how affected
Aunt Lilias is, and I knew that whenever they looked at me they said
'poor child,' and I always hate any one who does that! All I was
afraid of then was that father would let Aunt Jane and Aunt Ada come
and live with us; but this is ever so much worse.'