"But, my dear, you must have noticed so many things; indeed you have had rare opportunities, for instance, the change from amiability to moroseness." "I don't think Mr. Thornton ever was amiable, Ma'am." "My dear! the most amiable of men." "Then not in my time, Ma'am." Mrs. Brand gave me a perplexed look, then observed-- "Do you really think, my dear, Mr. Thornton is of sound mind?" "I am sure of it." "My dear, you take a weight from my mind. Edith would have it that he did such strange things when she was here--write such oddities. I wonder what there is in those papers." She stretched forth her hand; I drew away the papers from her reach, and said, quietly-- "There is nothing odd in these papers, Ma'am. They are merely about mineralogy." "Mineralogy!" she exclaimed, eagerly, "my dear, if a lawyer were to see them he might detect what you cannot of course perceive--the scientific madness." "The what, Ma'am?" "'The scientific madness,' you deaf little fool," said the sarcastic voice of my grandfather. Mrs. Brand jumped and I started. We looked round, he was nowhere in the room. He laughed ironically; we turned round and saw his head rising above the window-sill, on which his chin just rested. "So," he said, addressing his cousin, "you are kind enough to trouble yourself about me in my absence. Eh!" Mrs. Brand, the first moment over, was too thorough a woman of the world to allow herself to be disconcerted. "Yes, Mr. Thornton," she said, rising with sorrowful dignity, "your ill- used relatives think of schemes for your benefit; they know their duty to you, and though they should be misunderstood, they will persist in that duty. Good-bye, my dear child, I leave you with regret to the fatal consequences of your blindness." She walked out of the room as she spoke. The head of my grandfather sank down and vanished, and in a few minutes his whole person appeared at the door of the study; he stood there eyeing me from head to foot. "Why did you let her in?" he asked sternly. "I could not help it, Sir." "You should have turned her out." "Sir." "Turned her out. Are you getting deaf?" He seemed in a very bad temper, sat down with his hat on, and hunted for something amongst the books and papers on his table, grumbling all the time. A knock at the door disturbed him; he opened it himself. "Miss Burns is engaged," he said sharply, in reply to something, then re- entered the room, slamming the door and muttering to himself. In a few minutes, there was a sound of carriage wheels rolling down the avenue. "A happy riddance!" grumbled Mr. Thornton. "Will you soon have done that transcribing?" "By dinner-time, Sir."