CHAPTER I.
YOU still are what you were, sir! ......
...

With most quick agility could turn And return; make knots and undo them, Give forked counsel .-- _Volpone, or the Fox_.
BEFORE a large table, covered with parliamentary papers, sat Lumley Lord Vargrave.

His complexion, though still healthy, had faded from the freshness of hue which distinguished him in youth.

His features, always sharp, had grown yet more angular: his brows seemed to project more broodingly over his eyes, which, though of undiminished brightness, were sunk deep in their sockets, and had lost much of their quick restlessness.

The character of his mind had begun to stamp itself on the physiognomy, especially on the mouth when in repose.