FER. My dear uncle, I _have_ made it. If marks were now, as they were once, the current coin of the realm, you'd find I'd made a considerable number. MR. W. My dear boy, I'm very glad to hear it. I always said you would do well. Tell me all about it. (_Enter_ WALTER LITHERLAND, _door_ R.) WALTER. Mr. Watmuff, might I crave one moment?--(_seeing_ SWIFT)--Oh! I beg your pardon, sir; I see you are engaged. MR. W. Not at all, not at all. Ferdinand, you must let me introduce to you my friend, Walter Litherland. Walter, this is my nephew, Ferdinand Swift, just returned from America, having made his fortune. WALTER. I am very glad to hear it. I must congratulate you, sir. FER. Not at all. Very glad, indeed, to know you. Friend of the family, must, of course, be a friend of mine. MR. W. Quite right, quite right. I must tell you, Ferdinand, that Walter is attached to Emily. FER. Very sensible man. Very pleasant and appropriate thing, I should say. WALTER. You are very good. I wish that all the members of your family were of the same opinion. FER. What! you don't mean to say that my venerable uncle (_all seated_)-- WALTER. Mr. Watmuff is kindness itself; but I regret to say that your aunt-- FER. Not a word, Walter, not a word. I very much regret that she _is_ my aunt; I've regretted it for years; but I've lived her down, and you must live her down. She's one of those women that want living down. MR. W. But you were going to tell me about your fortune, Ferdinand. WALTER. Perhaps Mr. Swift would like me to withdraw-- FER. Not at all; not in the least. You're one of the family, and as I shall leave all my money _to_ the family, you may as well hear about it. Have a cigar? (_Offers cigar-case to_ LITHERLAND.) WALTER (_taking one_). Thank you. FER. Uncle? MR. W. (_taking one_). Thanks, Ferdinand; yes, I--(MRS. WATMUFF'S _voice heard without: "What ho! there, Emily! Come hither, girl._" MR. WATMUFF _drops his cigar_.) My dear Ferdinand, I forgot your aunt, She does not like the smell of smoke. In fact, if you don't mind, I think we had better not smoke at present. FER. Certainly not. My aunt, is, after all, one of the family, and by another member of it family prejudices ought to be observed. MR. W. (_relieved_). What a good fellow you are, Ferdinand! You deserve a fortune. Now tell us how you have made it. WALTER. You have made me very curious, sir; for a fortune is just the thing which I want to make. FER. My dear sir, it is merely a question of time and tact, and the greater the tact the less need for time. Mine is a pure case of tact. WALTER. I trust the fortune is intact. FER. Well, no, it isn't; because it is what you may call _in futuro_. It's got to be made yet; but in more ways than one it's a dead certainty. MR. W. (_who during this conversation keeps on pinching his cigar, smelling it, and otherwise indicating how he would like to smoke it_). It isn't anything to do with mausoleums, is it?