’He’s Sir Frederick now, and has, or had, one of the finest fortunes in England, for a commoner; the most of it is gone now.  Well, when he heard of his governor’s death, he was in Paris, but he went off to Hatherly as fast as special train and post-horses would carry him, and got there just in time for the funeral.  As he came back to Hatherly Court from the church, they were putting up the hatchment over the door, and Master Fred saw that the undertakers had put at the bottom “Resurgam”.  You know what that means?’

‘Oh, yes,’ said Frank.

‘"I’ll come back again."’ said the Honourable John, construing the Latin for the benefit of his cousin. ’"No,” said Fred Hatherly, looking up at the hatchment; “I’m blessed if you do, old gentleman.  That would be too much of a joke; I’ll take care of that.”  So he got up at night, and he got some fellows with him, and they climbed up and painted out “Resurgam”, and they painted into its place, “Requiescat in pace”; which means, you know, “you’d a great deal better stay where you are”.  Now I call that good.  Fred Hatherly did that as sure as—­as sure as—­as sure as anything.’

Frank could not help laughing at the story, especially at his cousin’s mode of translating the undertaker’s mottoes; and then they sauntered back from the stables into the house to dress for dinner.

Dr Thorne had come to the house somewhat before dinner-time, at Mr Gresham’s request, and was now sitting with the squire in his own book-room—­so called—­while Mary was talking to some of the girls upstairs.

‘I must have ten or twelve thousand pounds; ten at the very least,’ said the squire, who was sitting in his usual arm-chair, close to his littered table, with his head supported on his hand, looking very unlike the father of an heir of a noble property, who had that day come of age.

It was the first of July, and of course there was no fire in the grate; but, nevertheless, the doctor was standing with his back to the fireplace, with his coat-tails over his arms, as though he were engaged, now in summer as he so often was in winter, in talking, and roasting his hinder person at the same time.

‘Twelve thousand pounds!  It’s a very large sum of money.’

‘I said ten,’ said the squire.

’Ten thousand pounds is a very large sum of money.  There is no doubt he’ll let you have it.  Scatcherd will let you have it; but I know he’ll expect to have the title deeds.’

‘What! for ten thousand pounds?’ said the squire.  ’There is not a registered debt against the property but his own and Armstrong’s.’

‘But his own is very large already.’

‘Armstrong’s is nothing; about four-and-twenty thousand pounds.’

‘Yes; but he comes first, Mr Gresham.’

’Well, what of that?  To hear you talk, one would think that there was nothing left of Greshamsbury.  What’s four-and-twenty thousand pounds?  Does Scatcherd know what rent-roll is?’