Mrs. Lander, the doctor confessed, the second morning, was more shaken up by, her little attack than he had expected; but she decided to see the gentleman who had asked to call on Clementina.  Lord Lioncourt did not come quite so soon as she was afraid he might, and when he came he talked mostly to Clementina.  He did not get to Mrs. Lander until just before he was going.  She hospitably asked him what his hurry was, and then he said that he was off for Rome, that evening at seven.  He was nice about hoping she was comfortable in the hotel, and he sympathized with her in her wish that there was a set-bowl in her room; she told him that she always tried to have one, and he agreed that it must be very convenient where any one was, as she said, sick so much.

Mr. Hinkle came a day later; and then it appeared that he had a mother whose complaints almost exactly matched Mrs. Lander’s.  He had her photograph with him, and showed it; he said if you had no wife to carry round a photograph of, you had better carry your mother’s; and Mrs. Lander praised him for being a good son.  A good son, she added, always made a good husband; and he said that was just what he told the young ladies himself, but it did not seem to make much impression on them.  He kept Clementina laughing; and he pretended that he was going to bring a diagram of his patent right for her to see, because she would be interested in a gleaner like that; and he said he wished her father could see it, for it would be sure to interest the kind of man Mrs. Lander described him to be.  “I’ll be along up there just about the time you get home, Miss Clementina.  Then did you say it would be?”

“I don’t know; pretty ea’ly in the spring, I guess.”

She looked at Mrs. Lander, who said, “Well, it depends upon how I git up my health.  I couldn’t bea’ the voyage now.”

Mr. Hinkle said, “No, best look out for your health, if it takes all summer.  I shouldn’t want you to hurry on my account.  Your time is my time.  All I want is for Miss Clementina, here, to personally conduct me to her father.  If I could get him to take hold of my gleaner in New England, we could make the blueberry crop worth twice what it is.”

Mrs. Lander perceived that he was joking; and she asked what he wanted to run away for when the young Russian’s card came up.  He said, “Oh, give every man a chance,” and he promised that he would look in every few days, and see how she was getting along.  He opened the door after he had gone out, and put his head in to say in confidence to Mrs. Lander, but so loud that Clementina could hear, “I suppose she’s told you who the belle of the ball was, the other night?  Went out to supper with a lord!” He seemed to think a lord was such a good joke that if you mentioned one you had to laugh.