SPITE of what he had previously expressed to the contrary, Mr. Merivale thought it well to serve a formal notice to quit Holmcastle upon Mr. Tresham Potts, and he accompanied it with an offer to produce any evidence which might seem necessary as to the identity of Wilfred as the son of the late Squire. Potts was far too shrewd a lawyer to think even of disputing the matter, and prepared accordingly, with the idea of avoiding further expense, to evacuate the property from which he had obtained but little enjoyment; although, by Wilfred’s especial desire, he was entreated not to inconvenience himself by hurrying his departure, but to remain, should he so desire it, for three months upon the estate. Truth to tell, he was not surprised in his inmost soul at the turn matters had taken. Deep down in his coarse, sensual, and overbearing nature there was a vein of superstition, and though over and over again he had chased the idea from his mind as ridiculous and impossible, he had never forgotten the conviction of Evelyn, that she had seen her brother’s name in that place in the Family Tree of the Manwarings from which it had been erased by her father. When, shortly after his arrival at Holmcastle, his wife had been brought to bed of a son--when any new instance occurred of the contempt or dislike in which he was held by even his poorer neighbours--in fits of depression, after a bout of unusually hard drinking, the lawyer had been wont to unlock, examine, and re-examine the pedigree, and each time it was a positive relief to him to find the space which erewhile had contained the poor boy’s name white and blank. He knew it could not be there, and yet he was relieved to find that it was not. His pride had been deeply mortified by the studied neglect of the surrounding gentry, who were justly incensed at his treatment of Evelyn, to call upon himself and his wife, and by their avoidance of him upon all public occasions; and he was enraged at the independence of manner and plain speaking of the tenantry and labourers, whom he in vain strove to intimidate by bluster and assumption. And now, when the day came for his departure from the Manor, a new mortification awaited him. Passing with his wife and daughters in two open carriages through the village street on the way to the station, he saw a large bonfire in an open space near the stocks, and, stopping to ascertain the cause, he beheld unmistakable effigies of himself and wife (with large red noses), and of his two eldest daughters (with red wigs), being committed to the flames amidst the uproarious applause of a large portion of the inhabitants. Under such untoward circumstances, a wise man would have gone on his way without appearing to take any notice; but lawyer Potts was not a wise man, although he was an angry one withal. Seeing, then, the village constable surveying the conflagration with a broad grin upon his somewhat stolid countenance, he stood up in the carriage,