Page:Lady Barbarity; a romance (IA ladybarbarityrom00snai).pdf/21

 positive that my soul is of so peculiar a colour that he recommends it to be scrubbed without delay. Thus I am taking the proper steps, you see."

He laid his hand upon the Bible.

"'Tis no secret, my dearest Bab," he said, "that Robert John, fifth Earl, your papa, never was an anchorite. He hath ta'en his fill of pleasure. He hath played his hazard, and with a zest both late and early; but now the candles sink, you see, and I believe they've called the carriage." Again he laid his hand upon the Bible.

'Twas a very solemn moment, and his lordship's words had plunged me in the deepest grief, but when he laid his hand upon that Testament a second time, it was as much as I could do to wear a decent gravity. For he was a very old barbarian.

"You see, child," he continued, "that many years ago I took a professional opinion on this point. The Reverend Joseph Tooley, chaplain to the late lord, your grandpapa (I never felt the need for one myself), was always confident that there was hope for a sinner who repented. He used to say that he considered this saving clause a very capital idea on the part of the Almighty, as it permitted a certain degree of license in our generous youth. In fact, I can safely say that in my case it has been a decided boon, for my blood appears to be of a quality that will not cool as readily as another's; indeed, it hath retained its youthful ardours to quite a middle age. Highly inconvenient for Robert