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 her with a weekly paper of a disreputable character.

"Law my dear, 'the Weekly Lyre,' thank you, I never read any of those abominable papers. Do carry it away for fear the girls should see it."

"For the sake of the girls, ma'am, you must read the paragraph I have marked."

Mrs. Hopkinson was half inclined to put on her gloves, before she touched what she looked upon as poison. She had a pair of hideous dark green gauntlets, that seemed made to encounter the 'Weekly Lyre.' A broad black border, the work of Willis, encircled the following paragraph:—

"Fracas in High Life.—It is our melancholy duty to report the separation of a young and noble couple, whose appearance at the altar of Hymen we detailed some months ago. Whether the levity of the lady, or the temper of the gentleman has brought about this dénouement we are unable to say. Rumours of all sorts are rife—a foreign court, and a villa not one hundred miles from London