by his secret satisfaction in it. After all, he thought it a good thing for a man to have his authority respected in his own house, even if his sense of humour sometimes made him question the force of his mandate. 

 On this occasion the young man was very sure that Mr. Jackson would rather have had him dine out; but he had his own reasons for not doing so. 

 Of course old Jackson wanted to talk about Ellen Olenska, and of course Mrs. Archer and Janey wanted to hear what he had to tell. All three would be slightly embarrassed by Newland's presence, now that his prospective relation to the Mingott clan had been made known; and the young man waited with an amused curiosity to see how they would turn the difficulty. 

 They began, obliquely, by talking about Mrs. Lemuel Struthers. 

 "It's a pity the Beauforts asked her," Mrs. Archer said gently.  "But then Regina always does what he tells her; and BEAUFORT—" 

 "Certain nuances escape Beaufort," said Mr. Jackson, cautiously inspecting the broiled shad, and wondering for the thousandth time why Mrs. Archer's cook always burnt the roe to a cinder. (Newland, who had long shared his wonder, could always detect it in the older man's expression of melancholy disapproval.) 

 "Oh, necessarily; Beaufort is a vulgar man," said Mrs. Archer.  "My grandfather Newland always used to say to my mother:  'Whatever you do, don't let that fellow Beaufort be introduced to the girls.'  But at least he's had the advantage of associating with gentlemen; in England too, they say. It's all very mysterious—" She glanced at Janey and paused. She and Janey knew every fold of the Beaufort mystery, but in public Mrs. Archer continued to assume that the subject was not one for the unmarried. 

 "But this Mrs. Struthers," Mrs. Archer continued; "what did you say SHE was, Sillerton?" 

 "Out of a mine: or rather out of the saloon at the head of the pit. Then with Living Wax-Works, touring New England. After the police broke THAT up, they say she lived—"  Mr. Jackson in his turn glanced at Janey, whose eyes began to bulge from under her prominent lids. There were still hiatuses for her in Mrs. Struthers's past. 

 "Then," Mr. Jackson continued (and Archer saw he was wondering why no one had told the butler never to slice cucumbers with a steel knife), "then Lemuel Struthers came along. They say his 

 Prev. P 23/250 next