one hundred and five, and so forth; and by-and-
by another heavy sum—one thousand and fifty
pounds. Do you remember what that was for?"

"Yes, to be sure; that was the thousand
guineas for the mail phaeton and pair; and even
Castletowers said it was not dear."

Mr. Trefalden turned to another page of his
note-book.

"It seems to me," observed he, "that Lord
Castletowers is the only young man of your
acquaintance whose friendship has not been
testified in some kind of pecuniary transaction.
Here, now, is the Honourable Edward Brandon.
Has he also been generously depopulating his
stables in your favour?"

Saxon laughed, and shook his head.

"I should think not, indeed!" said he. "Poor
Brandon has nothing to sell. He hires a horse
now and then, when he has a sovereign to spare
—and that is seldom enough."

"Which, being translated, means, I presume,
that the two thousand and odd pounds paid over
at different times to Mr. Brandon are simply
loans?"

"Just so."

"And Guy Greville, Esquire—who is he?"

"One of our Erectheum men; but that's a
mere trifle."

"You call two hundred and fifty pounds a
mere trifle? Howard Patrick Fitz Hugh,
Esquire—four hundred pounds. Is he another
member of your club?"

"Yes, a very pleasant fellow, an Irishman."

"Both loans, of course?"

Saxon nodded.

"Then come a number of miscellaneous
cheques, evidently payments to tradesmen—one,
I see, of nearly a thousand, to Hunt and Roskell.
How much of that went for the prima donna's
bracelet, you young rogue?"

"I haven't the least idea. Gillingwater takes
care of the bills."

"There is another little item that must not
be forgotten," said the lawyer; " namely, that
trifle of fifty-nine thousand pounds to Mr.
Laurence Greatorex."

"Which is not spent, but deposited," said
Saxon, sagely.

"Exactly so, and which might have been
deposited to equal advantage in the crater of
Vesuvius. But enough of details. Have you
any notion of what the sum total amounts to?"

"None whatever."

"What do you say to seventy-eight thousand
six hundred and twelve pounds?"

"I am afraid I have no original remarks to
offer upon the fact," replied Saxon, with
unabated cheerfulness. "What is your opinion,
cousin William?"

"My opinion is, that a young man who
contrives to get through fourteen thousand pounds
of uninvested capital per week, would find the
air of Hanwell highly conducive to his general
health."

"But, cousin, do you think I have done
wrong in spending so much?"

"I think you have done foolishly, and obtained
no kind of equivalent for your money.
I also think you have been unscrupulously
plundered by your acquaintances; but, after
all, you have gained some little experience of
life, and you can afford to pay for it. To tell
you the truth, I foresaw something of this kind
for you; and, having introduced you to Lord
Castletowers, I purposely kept myself and my
advice in the background for a few weeks, and
let you take your first plunge into the world in
whatever way you pleased. I had no wish,
Saxon, to play Mentor to your Telemachus."

"I should have been very grateful to you,
though," said Saxon.

"Well, I am just going to begin, so you can
be grateful by-and-by," replied Mr. Trefalden,
with his pleasant smile. "I am here to-day
for the purpose of inoculating you with financial
wisdom, and pointing out to you how absolutely
necessary it is that your fortune should be
invested to advantage."

"You told me that before."

"Yes; but now I am about to prove it
Eight weeks ago, young man,you were worth
four million seven hundred and seventy-six thousand
pounds.Since that time you have
disembarrassed yourself of a good deal of the odd
money; but putting that aside we will, for the
sake of convenience, reckon your fortune in
round numbers at four million and a half,"

"Certainly. At four millions and a half,"
repeated Saxon, wearily.

"Well, have you ever asked yourself how
long your four millions and a half are likely to
last, if you simply go on as you have begun?"

"No but they would last out my life, of
course."

"They would last you just six years, nine
weeks, and three days."

Saxon was speechless.

"You can now judge for yourself," said Mr.
Trefalden, "whether your money ought, or
ought not, to be placed at interest, and whether
I am making myself needlessly obnoxious to
you to-day, when you might have been galloping
after the fox. What you require, Saxon, is
a fixed income."

"Yes—I see that."

"And, as I told you long since, your property,
if well invested, will bring you a princely revenue.
At five per cent, it will produce two hundred and
fifty thousand pounds a year; and at seven and
a half per cent, three hundred and seventy-five
thousand—more than a thousand pounds a day.
I believe, Saxon, that I have found an investment
for you at seven and a half per cent, for as
much of your fortune as you may be inclined to
put into it."

"A thousand pounds a day—seven and a half
per cent," stammered Saxon; " but isn't that
usury, cousin William?"

"Usury!" repeated Mr. Trefalden, with an
amused smile. "Why, my dear fellow, no man
of business ever calculates on making less than
seven or eight per cent of his capital!"

"But then he is a man of business, and his
skill and experience make part of his capital;