To all these attractions the mind of this thoughtful young gentleman may be said to have been fully open.  He did not disguise from himself, however, that there were a number of drawbacks in the way of his becoming established as the heir of the Dudley mansion-house and fortune.  In the first place, Cousin Elsie was, unquestionably, very piquant, very handsome, game as a hawk, and hard to please, which made her worth trying for.  But then there was something about Cousin Elsie,—­(the small, white scars began stinging, as he said this to himself, and he pushed his sleeve up to look at them,)—­there was something about Cousin Elsie he couldn’t make out.  What was the matter with her eyes, that they sucked your life out of you in that strange way?  What did she always wear a necklace for?  Had she some such love-token on her neck as the old Don’s revolver had left on his?  How safe would anybody feel to live with her?  Besides, her father would last forever, if he was left to himself.  And he may take it into his head to marry again.  That would be pleasant!

So talked Cousin Richard to himself, in the calm of the night and in the tranquillity of his own soul.  There was much to be said on both sides.  It was a balance to be struck after the two columns were added up.  He struck the balance, and came to the conclusion that he would fall in love with Elsie Venner.

The intelligent reader will not confound this matured and serious intention of falling in love with the young lady with that mere impulse of the moment before mentioned as an instance of making love.  On the contrary, the moment Mr. Richard had made up his mind that he should fall in love with Elsie, he began to be more reserved with her, and to try to make friends in other quarters.  Sensible men, you know, care very little what a girl’s present fancy is.  The question is:  Who manages her, and how can you get at that person or those persons?  Her foolish little sentiments are all very well in their way; but business is business, and we can’t stop for such trifles.  The old political wire-pullers never go near the man they want to gain, if they can help it; they find out who his intimates and managers are, and work through them.  Always handle any positively electrical body, whether it is charged with passion, or power, with some non-conductor between you and it, not with your naked hands.—­The above were some of the young gentleman’s working axioms; and he proceeded to act in accordance with them.

He began by paying his court more assiduously to his uncle.  It was not very hard to ingratiate himself in that quarter; for his manners were insinuating, and his precocious experience of life made him entertaining.  The old neglected billiard-room was soon put in order, and Dick, who was a magnificent player, had a series of games with his uncle, in which, singularly enough, he was beaten, though his antagonist had been out of play for years.  He evinced a profound interest