and Molly he had a general friendly feeling; but he did not care if he never saw them again.  But for Mr. Gibson he had a warm respect, a strong personal liking, which he should be glad to have ripen into a friendship, if there was time for it in this bustling world.  And he fully resolved to see more of Cynthia; his wife must know her; they must have her up to stay with them in London, and show her something of the world.  But, on returning home, Mr. Kirkpatrick found so much work awaiting him that he had to lock up embryo friendships and kindly plans in some safe closet of his mind, and give himself up, body and soul, to the immediate work of his profession.  But, in May, he found time to take his wife to the Academy Exhibition,’ and some portrait there, striking him as being like Cynthia, he told his wife more about her and his visit to Hollingford than he had ever had leisure to do before; and the result was that on the next day a letter was sent off to Mrs. Gibson, inviting Cynthia to pay a visit to her cousins in London, and reminding her of many little circumstances that had occurred when she was with them as a child, so as to carry on the clue of friendship from that time to the present.

On its receipt this letter was greeted in various ways by the four people who sate round the breakfast-table.  Mrs. Gibson read it to herself first.  Then, without telling what its contents were, so that her auditors were quite in the dark as to what her remarks applied, she said,—­

’I think they might have remembered that I am a generation nearer to them than she is, but nobody thinks of family affection now-a-days; and I liked him so much, and bought a new cookery-book, all to make it pleasant and agreeable and what he was used to.’  She said all this in a plaintive, aggrieved tone of voice; but as no one knew to what she was referring, it was difficult to offer her consolation.  Her husband was the first to speak.

’If you want us to sympathize with you, tell us what is the nature of your woe.’

’Why, I daresay it’s what he means as a very kind attention, only I think I ought to have been asked before Cynthia,’ said she, reading the letter over again.

‘Who’s he? and what’s meant for a “kind attention"?’

’Mr. Kirkpatrick, to be sure.  This letter is from him; and he wants Cynthia to go and pay them a visit, and never says anything about you or me, my dear.  And I’m sure we did our best to make it pleasant; and he should have asked us first, I think.’

’As I could not possibly have gone, it makes very little difference to me.’

’But I could have gone; and, at any rate, he should have paid us the compliment:  it’s only a proper mark of respect, you know.  So ungrateful, too, when I gave up my dressing-room on purpose for him!’

’And I dressed for dinner every day he was here, if we are each to recapitulate all our sacrifices on his behalf.  But for all that I did not expect to be invited to his house.  I shall be only too glad if he will come again to mine.’