Even Benjamin lost all patience with me this time. “What is bred in the bone,” he said, quoting the old proverb, “will never come out of the flesh. In years gone by, you were the most obstinate child that ever made a mess in a nursery. Oh, dear me, we might as well have stayed in London.” “No,” I replied, “now we have traveled to Edinburgh, we will see something (interesting to _me_ at any rate) which we should never have seen if we had not left London. My husband’s country-house is within a few miles of us here. To-morrow--we will go to Gleninch.” “Where the poor lady was poisoned?” asked Benjamin, with a look of dismay. “You mean that place?” “Yes. I want to see the room in which she died; I want to go all over the house.” Benjamin crossed his hands resignedly on his lap. “I try to understand the new generation,” said the old man, sadly; “but I can’t manage it. The new generation beats me.” I sat down to write to Mr. Playmore about the visit to Gleninch. The house in which the tragedy had occurred that had blighted my husband’s life was, to my mind, the most interesting house on the habitable globe. The prospect of visiting Gleninch had, indeed (to tell the truth), strongly influenced my resolution to consult the Edinburgh lawyer. I sent my note to Mr. Playmore by a messenger, and received the kindest reply in return. If I would wait until the afternoon, he would get the day’s business done, and would take us to Gleninch in his own carriage. Benjamin’s obstinacy--in its own quiet way, and on certain occasions only--was quite a match for mine. He had privately determined, as one of the old generation, to have nothing to do with Gleninch. Not a word on the subject escaped him until Mr. Playmore’s carriage was at the hotel door. At that appropriate moment Benjamin remembered an old friend of his in Edinburgh. “Will you please to excuse me, Valeria? My friend’s name is Saunders; and he will take it unkindly of me if I don’t dine with him to-day.” Apart from the associations that I connected with it, there was nothing to interest a traveler at Gleninch.