But Benja was impervious to bribes today, and would have nothing to say to the gold chain. Suddenly, in the midst of his prolonged stare, he burst into tears, with a great deal of unnecessary noise.
"I am strange to him," said Mrs. St. John. "He will know me better in a day or two. See! what have I here for Benja!"
She took up a sweet biscuit from a plate that happened to be on the table. What with the biscuit, and her persuasive words, her kisses, Benja suffered himself to be coaxed, hushed his sobs, and kissed his new mamma.
"Friends from this minute," she said triumphantly, glancing up at her husband, who had stood by, smiling. "I will try and be a good mother to him, George."
"I shall like her better than I thought," decided Honour from the door, who could find no fault, even in her prejudice, with her new mistress. "I shall like her much if she will only love the child."
And thus the future lady of Alnwick had entered on her home.
[CHAPTER V.]
On St. Martin's Eve
"At Alnwick Hall, on St. Martin's Eve, the wife of George Carleton St. John, Esquire, of a son."
This was the next announcement in the local papers; some ten months, or a trifle more, having elapsed since the last one. And I hope you will have patience with these notices, and not find fault with their frequency: they are not yet over.