Lady Midlothian A week or ten days after this, Alice, when she came down to the breakfast-parlour one morning, found herself alone with Mr Bott.

It was the fashion at Matching Priory for people to assemble rather late in the day.

The nominal hour for breakfast was ten, and none of the ladies of the party were ever seen before that.

Some of the gentlemen would breakfast earlier, especially on hunting mornings; and on some occasions the ladies, when they came together, would find themselves altogether deserted by their husbands and brothers.

On this day it was fated that Mr Bott alone should represent the sterner sex, and when Alice entered the room he was standing on the rug with his back to the fire, waiting till the appearance of some other guest should give him the sanction necessary for the commencement of his morning meal.