"What a world! What is life? What is man?" murmured the attorney with a devout feeling of the profoundest vexation. "It was for this most melancholy character," he continued; "you'll pardon me, my lord, for so designating a relative of your lordship's--the Honourable Arthur Verney, who has so _fraudulently_, I will say, presented himself again as a living claimant. Your lordship is aware of course--I shall be going up to town possibly by the mail train to-night--that the law, if it were permitted to act, would remove that obstacle under the old sentence of the Court." "Good God! sir, you can't possibly mean that I should have my brother caught and executed?" exclaimed Lord Verney, turning quite white. "Quite the reverse, my lord. I'm--I'm unspeakably shocked that I should have so misconveyed myself," said Larkin, his tall bald head tinged to its top with an ingenuous blush. "Oh no, my lord, I understand the Verney feeling too well, thank God, to suppose anything, I will say, so _entirely_ objectionable. I said, my lord, if it were _permitted_, that is, allowed by simple non-_interference_-- your lordship sees--and it is precisely _because_ non-interference must bring about that catastrophe--for I must not conceal from your lordship the fact that there is a great deal of unpleasant talk in the town of Cardyllian already--that I purpose running up to town to-night. There is a Jew firm, your lordship is aware, who have a very heavy judgment against him, and the persons of that persuasion are so interlaced, as I may say, in matters of business, that I should apprehend a communication to them from Goldshed and Levi, who, by-the-by, to my certain knowledge--_what_ a world it is!--have a person here actually watching Mr. Dingwell, or in other words, the unhappy but Honourable Arthur Verney, in _their_ interest." (This was in effect true, but the name of this person, which he did not care to disclose, was Josiah Larkin.) "If I were on the spot, I think I know a way effectually to stop all action of that sort." "You think they'd arrest him, about it?" said Lord Verney. "Certainly, my lord." "It is very much to be deprecated," said Lord Verney. "And, my lord, if you will agree to place the matter quite in my hands, and peremptorily to decline on all future occasions, conceding a personal interview, I'll stake my professional character, I effect a satisfactory compromise." "I--I don't know--I don't _see_ a compromise--there's nothing that I see, to _settle_," said Lord Verney.