Suddenly the old man, feeling himself fatigued by standing a few minutes, remembered that he had impolitely, even if unintentionally, kept his relatives in the same position. “Oh, excuse me! Take seats! take seats!” he said, waving his hands wildly around the hall among the oaken and leather-cushioned chairs with which it was furnished. Mr. and Mrs. Legg seated themselves on two of the nearest. Dandy drew a third up before then and dropped into it. “You’ll come home ’long of us and stop for good, Uncle Andrew, I hope,” said Mrs. Legg. Before the old man could reply Mr. Legg took up the word. “Yes, sir, we should be proud to have you a member of our family for the rest of your life! And may it be a long and happy one!” “I do thank ye, niece and nephy! I do, indeed! But I don’t know ’bout going home ’long of you now! You see, I’m stopping here ’long o’ my young friend, Mr. Randolph Hay, and wisiting of him, am sort o’ at his orders——” began Dandy, but his niece interrupted him hastily, almost indignantly, with: “You don’t mean to say, Uncle Andrew Quin, that while ever you have got a ’fectionate niece and nephy ready to share their last crust ’long o’ you as you have gone at your age and tuk service at the Hall?” “Lord! No, wench! What are ye talking on? Didn’t I tell ’ee that Mr. Randolph Hay was a friend of mine? And didn’t I tell ’ee I was a-visiting on him? What be ye a-thinking on?” “Well, then, what did you mean by being at his orders?” “Oh! just to give my testimony onto a certain matter in case of need. And I say I can’t give you any answer to your invitation until I see how things be gwine to turn out at the Hall!” “Ah! how long will that be?” demanded Mrs. Legg. “Maybe a few hours, if it don’t go into court; maybe a few centuries if it do. And in the last case, I sha’n’t be here so long.” “Uncle Dandy, you speak in riddles.” “I must do that at the present moment, my dear. But in a few hours, or a few centuries, if you haven’t guessed them in that time, I will give you the answers to them riddles.” “Uncle Andrew, we thought by your sending a telegram to us to ‘come at once,’ that you were very ill.” “Well, my wench, I thank you and him for coming so very prompt. I do, indeed! So much prompter than I could expect! Really, I didn’t think you would get here until some time to-morrow. But I’m glad and thankful as you’re here to-night.” “But you are not ill, Uncle Dandy. You are very well, thank the Lord!” “I never said I was ill, Juley. I said I wasn’t able to travel. No more I ain’t. And no more I wasn’t. I’m a feeble old man, wench.” “Tut! tut! ‘Feeble old man,’ indeed! You are a ‘fine old English gentleman,’ as the song says. And now you have come home to old England so well off and so well-looking you will be getting married and putting some blooming young aunt-in-law over our heads!” “‘Blooming young’ fiddlesticks!” giggled old Dandy, not displeased at the words of his niece.