the d—1 do you mean by interviewing a client of mine behind my back? Here the well-bred lady rose to the oc casion and came to rescue me from as awk ward a position as I ever remember myself to have placed in. Rising from her seat she faced the angry lawyer, saying in clear, ring ing tones: "Mr. Maule, I am not in the habit of sitting in a room where men use bad lan guage, I require you at once to apologize to me, and afterwards to Mr. Borret, for your language and for your rudeness. A gruff apology was muttered, and Mrs. Simpson resumed her seat. "As Mr. Maule is present I will now ask you, Mrs. Simpson, to tell me about the set tlement which you spoke to me about a few minutes since." "Do not tell Mr. Borret anything about any settlement," said Mr. Maule; "it is no business of his, and if he wants to know any thing about it he can apply to me." "As you please, Mr. Maule," said I. "Then I will ask you in Mrs. Simpson's presence whether you are aware of any settlement made by Mrs. Elliott in favor of Mrs. Simp son, of High Street, or of her husband?" "I decline to answer your question," said Mr. Maule, fiercely. "But why do you decline, Mr. Maule?" asked the lady; "surely Mr. Borret ought to be told about it, now that my aunt is dead." "I will give you my reasons when you and I are alone, not till then." "Mr. Maule is strictly within his right, Mrs. Simpson," I said. "I will leave the room, and when you and Mr. Maule have had full time for advising together, you can call me in again. I am only anxious to be relieved of the charge of having made a mess of the whole business." I went into another room, but before long I heard Mr. Maule's voice raised in angry discussion, and presently I heard the door open, and overheard Mrs. Simpson saying, "You will be good enough to send that set tlement and any other papers of my aunt's over to Mr. Borret's office as soon as pos
sible; I shall not require you to act for me any further, Mr. Maule." I waited until he had gone out and then rejoined Mrs. Simpson, whom I found very much agitated by the interview. Of course I felt it my duty to make light of Mr. Maule's rudeness, but what struck my visitor as in explicable was Mr. Maule's keeping secret the existence of the settlement; to me it was not so extraordinary, knowing him, as I did, as a man to whom candor and straightfor wardness were unknown virtues. I have no doubt that he bitterly resented my having been called in to draw the will, in his absence, and he wanted in every possible way to humiliate me in Mrs. Simpson's eyes, and prevent her entrusting me with the proving of the will and the business of distributing the estate. This last scheme of his was quite unnecessary, for I had already made up my own mind that strict professional etiquette required me to refuse to take up the business, even if Mrs. Simpson desired to withdraw it from Mr. Maule: and so the business went into the hands of Mrs. Simpson's husband's London solicitor. I learned, however, from her that she and her cousin w'ere both left orphans in their early infancy, through an awful epidemic of small-pox, that Mrs. Elliott had taken them to her own home, bravely facing all risk of infection, though they carried the terrible disease with them to Mrs. Elliott's only child, who died from it; that Mrs. El liott nursed theçn bravely_ and devotedly, notwithstanding her own terrible bereave ment, and for some years they knew nothing of their true relationship, but were brought up to look upon her as their mother. And when the elder of them mar ried the man who had fought his way alone in the world, and had risen to be the manager of Mrs. Elliott's business, she had by a deed of settlement (drawn up by Mr. Maule, but kept secret from every one by Mrs. Elliott's desire), settled the shop and the good-will and stock of the business on Mr. Simpson, in trust for Mary, his wife,
