"I only wished to prove to Mr. Brinsley that I'm to be trusted at sea," Fanny answered.
"My dear child," said Miss Cordelia, "Mr. Brinsley knows that, and he must be a good judge, having been in the navy."
"Oh, I didn't know you'd been in the navy, Mr. Brinsley," said the pitiless young girl, fixing her eyes on his with an expression which he, perhaps, understood, though no one else noticed it. "The English navy, of course?"
"The English navy," repeated Mr. Brinsley, sharply.
"Oh, well—that accounts for your not knowing how to club-haul a ship. Your own people are always saying that your service is going to the dogs."
Even Lawrence was surprised, and Brinsley looked angrily across the table at his tormentor, but found nothing to say on the spur of the moment.
"However," Fanny continued with some condescension, "I'm rather glad to know you're a navy man. I'll get you to come out with me some day and verify some of the bearings on our
