‘Were you much alarmed?’ said Lord Colambre, with a voice of tenderness, looking at his mother first, but his eyes fixing on Miss Nugent.

‘Shockingly!’ said Lady Clonbrony; ’I never thought it would REELLY come to this.’

‘It will really come to much more, my dear,’ said Lord Clonbrony, ’that you may depend upon, unless you prevent it.’

’Lord! what can I do?—­I know nothing of business; how should I, Lord Clonbrony; but I know there’s Colambre—­I was always told that when he was of age everything should be settled; and why can’t he settle it when he’s upon the spot?’

‘And upon one condition, I will,’ cried Lord Colambre; ’at what loss to myself, my dear mother, I need not mention.’

‘Then I will mention it,’ cried Lord Clonbrony; ’at the loss it will be of nearly half the estate he would have had, if we had not spent it.’

’Loss!  Oh, I am excessively sorry my son’s to be at such a loss—­it must not be.’

‘It cannot be otherwise,’ said Lord Clonbrony; ’nor it can’t be this way either, my Lady Clonbrony, unless you comply with his condition, and consent to return to Ireland.’

‘I cannot—­I will not,’ replied Lady Clonbrony.  ’Is this your condition, Colambre?—­I take it exceedingly ill of you.  I think it very unkind, and unhandsome, and ungenerous, and undutiful of you, Colambre; you, my son!’ She poured forth a torrent of reproaches; then came to entreaties and tears.  But our hero, prepared for this, had steeled his mind; and he stood resolved not to indulge his own feelings, or to yield to caprice or persuasion, but to do that which he knew was best for the happiness of hundreds of tenants who depended upon them—­best for both his father and his mother’s ultimate happiness and respectability.

‘It’s all in vain,’ cried Lord Clonbrony; ’I have no resource but one, and I must condescend now to go to him this minute, for Mordicai will be back and seize all—­I must sign and leave all to Garraghty.’

’Well, sign, sign, my lord, and settle with Garraghty.—­Colambre, I’ve heard all the complaints you brought over against that man.  My lord spent half the night telling them to me; but all agents are bad, I suppose; at any rate I can’t help it—­sign, sign, my lord; he has money—­yes, do; go and settle with him, my lord.’

Lord Colambre and Miss Nugent, at one and the same moment, stopped Lord Clonbrony as he was quitting the room, and then approached Lady Clonbrony with supplicating looks; but she turned her head to the other side, and, as if putting away their entreaties, made a repelling motion with both her hands, and exclaimed, ’No, Grace Nugent!-no, Colambre—­no—­no, Colambre!  I’ll never hear of leaving Lon’on—­there’s no living out of Lon’on—­I can’t, I won’t live out of Lon’on, I say.’

Her son saw that the LONDONOMANIA was now stronger than ever upon her, but resolved to make one desperate appeal to her natural feelings, which, though smothered, he could not believe were wholly extinguished; he caught her repelling hands, and pressing them with respectful tenderness to his lips—­