"The _vis inertiæ_, the force of letting things alone," said Angus; "yes, that is a tremendous power, nobly exemplified by vestries and boards of works--to say nothing of Cabinets, Bishops, and the High Court of Chancery! I delight in that verse of Scripture, 'Their strength is to sit still.'" "There shall be very little sitting still for you if you submit yourself to Christabel and me," replied Miss Bridgeman. "I have never tried the water-cure--the descriptions I have heard from adepts have been too repellent; but I have an idea that this system of yours must be rather worse than hydropathy," said Angus, musingly--evidently very much entertained at the way in which Miss Bridgeman had taken him in hand. "I was not going to let him pose after Lamartine's _poëte mourant_, just because his father died of lung disease," said Jessie, ten minutes afterwards, when the warning gong had sounded, and Mr. Hamleigh had gone to his room to dress for dinner, and the two young women were whispering together before the fire, while Mrs. Tregonell indulged in a placid doze. "Do you think he is consumptive, like his father?" asked Christabel, with a compassionate look; "he has a very delicate appearance." "Hollow-cheeked, and prematurely old, like a man who has lived on tobacco and brandy-and-soda, and has spent his nights in club-house card-rooms." "We have no right to suppose that," said Christabel, "since we know really nothing about him." "Major Bree told me he has lived a racketty life, and that if he were not to pull up very soon he would be ruined both in health and fortune." "What can the Major know about him?" exclaimed Christabel, contemptuously. This Major Bree was a great friend of Christabel's; but there are times when one's nearest and dearest are too provoking for endurances. "Major Bree has been buried alive in Cornwall for the last twenty years. He is at least a quarter of a century behind the age," she said, impatiently. "He spent a fortnight in London the year before last," said Jessie; "it was then that he heard such a bad account of Mr. Hamleigh." "Did he go about to clubs and places making inquiries, like a private detective?" said Christabel, still contemptuous; "I hate such fetching and carrying!" "Here he comes to answer for himself," replied Jessie, as the door opened, and a servant announced Major Bree.