Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/228



was sitting in his library meditating when the joyous strains that accompany the above effort grew louder and louder as they progressed through the house, until the door opened and Blake walked in, looking very spruce and well-groomed, with hat slightly tilted on one side, as becomes a man with a good opinion of himself.

"Oh, I beg pardon," he cried, taking off his head-gear. "I thought the house was empty."

"It is, Blake, it is; for empty-headedness on the part of inmates does not fill a house. Wherefore