19 NOVEMBER 1892, Page 11

quaintance of an eccentric and miserly old cousin, Geoffrey by

name. He leaves her a ruby ring, which is as good as a For- tunatus's purse to her. She makes money at once by lending it on hire, and she finds in it the secret of how she is to become "rich beyond the dream of avarice." The extraordinary condition made by the will makes no difficulty at all, except it be in the reader's mind, who cannot imagine what could have been the testator's purpose in making it. But really the probability or improbability of a recorded incident is hardly worth considering when it is introduced into a story so vigorous.