Some few drops of Bohemian blood mingled with the pure life-stream in her veins.

It pleased me to think of this; but I derived no pleasure from the idea that Charlotte might possibly be the claimant of a great fortune.
"She may have cousins who would stand before her," I said to myself; and there was some comfort in the thought.
After tea I asked permission to inspect the old family Bible, much to the astonishment of uncle Joe, who had no sympathy with antiquarian tastes, and marvelled that I should take any interest in so mouldy a volume.

I told him, with perfect truth, that such things had always more or less interest for me; and then I withdrew to my little table, where I was provided with a special pair of candles.
"You'll find the births and deaths of all poor Molly's ancestors on the first leaf," said uncle Joe.

"Old Christian Meynell was a rare one for jotting down such things; but the ink has gone so pale that it's about as much as you'll do to make sense of it, I'll lay." Charlotte looked over my shoulder as I examined the fly-leaf of the family Bible.

Even with this incentive to distraction I contrived to be tolerably business-like; and this is the record which I found on the faded page: "Samuel Matthew Meynell, son of Christian and Sarah Meynell, b.