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Rh with a pleased and prolonged gaze on the many familiar objects around.

"This is better than the Tower," exclaimed Lord Avonleigh as his eye followed the green sweep of the park to where it merged in the forest.

"But will you never have finished?" exclaimed Lord Stukely "I am impatient to run over the old place. Half an hour ago, I agreed with you, that avant tout il faut déjeûner"—(a few days at Whitehall had already imbued the youth with the prevailing fashion of using French when English would have done as well, if not better)—"but really we are spending half the day in looking out of the window."

What answer his father might have made it is impossible to say; for at that instant a servant entered, and gave in Francesca's packet.

"A lady's writing! and very pretty writing it is, vraiment, mon père. I do not know whether I can allow this."

"Well, yon can save me the trouble of opening it: I doubt much my taking any interest in the matter."

Albert opened the packet, and proceeded to read Francesca's note aloud.

"Very mysterious! Why, my dear father, this is quite a delightful adventure."