“She was until after her husband’s death, when she married a second time. There were four sisters,” glibly proceeded Mr. Black, “all daughters of Alderman Cuthbert; one died young, unmarried.” “The gods loved her, then, we may conclude,” said Mr. Stewart, grimly. “The eldest daughter married Mr. Ormson, of Cushion Court, with whose name, I dare say, you are well acquainted.” “Yes, as that of a very honest, respectable man,” acquiesced Mr. Stewart, in a tone which implied that he never expected to hear one-half so much good of the person he addressed. “The second did me the honour of linking her fortunes with mine,” went on Mr. Black, at which speech his auditor smiled again, not pleasantly. “The youngest married Major Dudley, of Berrie Down, and——” “Is, consequently, this Squire Dudley’s mother,” suggested Mr. Stewart. “No, his mother-in-law,” amended the promoter. “Stepmother, you would say, I presume,” corrected Mr. Stewart. “So that is the relationship, is it?” and apparently he constructed a genealogical tree for his own edification on the instant, where hung prominently a matrimonial excrescence, with a pretty face and vulgar manners, sister-in-law to Peter Black, Esquire, of Stanley Crescent. “Major Dudley’s first wife, the present Squire Dudley’s mother, was a daughter of Arthur Hope, Esquire, of Copt Hall, Essex.” “Indeed!” “You may have observed Mr. Walter Hope’s name on our direction?” “I believe I did notice it.” “You can make what inquiries you please about Squire Dudley,” went on Mr. Black; “indeed, the more inquiries you make, the better I shall be pleased. His position is perfectly unimpeachable. Excepting that he has not so much money as his friends could wish, I am not aware that there is a fault to be found with him or his surroundings.” “For a man short of money, the purchase of a house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields was surely a venture,” remarked Mr. Stewart. “He bought it, as I have said, on my advice,” answered Mr. Black, who could be brave on occasion; brave as well as self-asserting. “I thought, considering that with me originated the idea of this company; with me rested its very existence; on me devolved the organizing, carrying out, and perfecting of this scheme; I thought, I say, considering all these things, that when the concern came to be floated, a few of my suggestions would be received, and that I might do, at once, a good stroke of business for the company with which I was connected, and for the man who had stood by me and backed me up through thick and thin.” “Your imagination outran your discretion, then,” remarked Mr. Stewart. “It is a dangerous thing for a man to try to benefit other people. Observe, the financial field has been reaped almost bare before he thinks of his acquaintances. You reaped and gleaned, Mr. Black, and then you wanted a second crop for your friend. We allow your claims, but the claims of your acquaintances and relations must go to the wall.”