sympathy of every generous heart, and rouse Sir Lionel to action. One
thing might, indeed, prevent, and that was the disgrace that had fallen
upon the Dalton name. This might prevent Sir Lionel from taking any
part; but Miss Plympton was sanguine, and hoped that Sir Lionel's
opinion of the condemned man might be like her own, in which case he
would be willing, nay, eager, to save the daughter.

The first thing for her to do was to find out where Sir Lionel Dudleigh
lived. About this there was no difficulty. Burke's _Peerage and
Baronetage_ is a book which in most English homes lies beside the
Bible in the most honored place, and this inn, humble though it might
be, was not without a copy of this great Bible of society. This Miss
Plympton procured, and at once set herself to the study of its pages. It
was not without a feeling of self-abasement that she did this, for she
prided herself upon her extensive knowledge of the aristocracy, but here
she was deplorably ignorant. She comforted herself, however, by the
thought that her ignorance was the fault of Sir Lionel, who had lived a
somewhat quiet life, and had never thrust very much of his personality
before the world, and no one but Sir Bernard Burke could be expected to
find out his abode. That great authority, of course, gave her all the
information that she wanted, and she found that Dudleigh Manor was
situated not very far distant from Cheltenham. This would require a
detour which would involve time and trouble; but, under the
circumstances, she would have been willing to do far more, even though
Plympton Terrace should be without its tutelary genius in the mean time.

On the next morning Miss Plympton left Dalton on her way to Dudleigh
Manor. She was still full of anxiety about Edith, but the thought that
she was doing something, and the sanguine anticipations in which she
indulged with reference to Sir Lionel, did much to lessen her cares. In