Owen Oliver

“ Nature was a bit harder than Sir Anthony. He had his twelve hours, but he died an hour before his second cousin arrived from Scotland. In the meantime he had called in a solicitor in a small way, who lived near, and made his will.
"I can't cheat death," he remarked, when he signed the instrument, "but death shan't cheat me."
The lawyer waited at the house to receive the new Lord Rutton. He was a very pleasant little gentleman, and more capable than his small practice suggested. ”

“ They shook hands heartily.
"The best way," the lawyer pronounced, "will be to make up your mind first what you want—to draw up what I may call a specification of the lady. Of course, women aren't set patterns. The sex is variable, astonishingly variable. Still, the specification will give me a general idea of the ladies to ask to meet you—to ask my wife to ask."
"Capital," his lordship agreed, "capital!"
"We will not tell Mrs. Adams the object. She would co-operate readily enough—women are all matchmakers—but she would go by her own specification, not ours. ”

“ Adams suggested, "our set is too much of a pattern. You might get Angela to take you to the tennis club. You'd meet a varied assortment there."
"Oh," his lordship said, "she often takes me! They don't satisfy the specification at all."
"Well," the lawyer said, "something must be done; you can't lose all that money. Do you know the Meadows? They've a houseboat up the river, and there are always crowds of people there. ”

“ He found the new lord a very different person—a tall, rather shy man of about five-and-thirty, who had devoted himself to chemical research, and had lived the life of a hermit, except for occasional golf and pretty regular chess. ”

“ You see, the process of—er—courting takes some time; a nice lady would probably wish for an engagement of a few months. It would look better. Would you mind if I consulted Mrs. Adams?"
His lordship did not mind. He had grown very cheerful lately, and did not seem to mind anything.
"You might tell her this afternoon," he suggested. "I'll keep Angela out of the way. She always likes to go up the river."
"Yes," the lawyer said—"yes. It is kind of you to take the child out so much."
His lordship and Angela departed immediately after luncheon. ”

“ She'd always be putting me through my tables, so to speak."
"Ah!" said the lawyer. "Umph, yes! Somebody more docile, eh?"
"Yes," his lordship assented, "that's it."
There were a number of ladies at afternoon tea the next day. The number seemed to confuse Lord Rutton. He dropped several things and nearly knocked over the cake-stand. Angela gave him a little table to put his. cup on, and whispered in his ear. He looked up at her and laughed—his only laugh while the guests were present.
"I'm not used to the society of ladies," he remarked to Mrs. ”