The excuses they have stooped to make, some of them! I suppose they thought that we should either flee the country or give them the sanguinary satisfaction of a double suicide.

Well, we are not going to do either one or the other; we are agreed about that, if about nothing else.

And my wife has behaved like a trump, though she wouldn't like to hear me say so; it is her wish that we should sit tighter than if nothing had happened, and not even go to Switzerland as we intended.

So we are advertising for a fresh domestic crew, and we dine at Ireby the week after next.

It is true that we got the invitation before the fat fell into the fire, but I fancy we may trust the Invernesses not to do anything startling.