JOHNA.SEAVERNS ■■i-^» 1 8 14 54 G3 77 90 103 117 135 143 178 187 20-! 210 223 231 244 258 VI CONTENTS. CKXP. PA.GB XXIII. AN UNHAPPY EDITOR 275 XXIV. JACK CLINKER EXPLAINS HIS FINANCIAL DIFFI- CULTIES ....... 287 XXV. SANDOWN RACES ...... 302 XXVI. A FATAL FENCE . . . , . .313 XXVII. MRS. FORRESTER PROVES HER VETERINARY SKILL 321 XXVIII. SUSPENSE 334! XXIX. KING OLAF's DEATH . . . . .341 XXX. '* THE RIFT WITHIN THE LUTE " . . . 350 XXXI. *'mEN were DECEIVERS EVER " . . . 366 XXXn. AFTER THE BALL . . . . . .387 XXXin. GOOD-BYE FOR ALL ETERNITY .... 400 XXXIV. what's done can't be UNDONE . . . 408 XXXV. AN EVENTFUL GRAND NATIONAL . , 42:^ XXXVI. Kate's confession ...... 430 XXXVII. conclusion 442 LIST OF 1 LLUST RATI O.N S. His next act was to take off his red coat, roll it INTO a call, and place IT UNDER THE GIRL's head . . . . . . \ ■ Frontispiece PAGB She took fright and ran away for miles . . .27 And in less time than it takes to tell, he landed ON THE opposite SIDE . . . . . 82 She came v^ith a t?.emendous rush .... 246 '• That was a near thing," thought Iv.\te ; I've never KNOWN King Ol.af so nearly done before." . 319 After twice stopping to inquire the way . . . 327 "Good-bye, King Olaf. " ...... 344 K^vte set Sir Richard at a place rather more to the bight . • 396 THE EIGHT SOBT. CHAPTEE I. EN SEARCH OF A. KOKimG-BOX. '* Listed to this, Mary. It's tlie very thing !" exclaimed a young lady, who, wMle sipping a cup of tea at the breakfast- table, was engaged in carefully poring over the advertisement sheets of the Field with, an air of profound interest. The speaker, without any absolute claim to regular beauty, was a decidedly good-looking girl, with the air of freshness, health, and rosiness that, accompanied by youth, have an unfailing power to please. Her small head was covered by thick glossy brown hair ; the broad, thoughtful brow gave evidence of a considerable amount of natiu-al intelligence ; the eyebrows were dark and delicately arched; while the eyes which sparkled and flashed beneath them constituted the principal charm of an interesting countenance. They were dark grey, fringed by the longest of lashes, and looked you straight in the face with such a candid, innocent expression, such resolute, fearless honesty, that they seemed to mirror the soul within, sufficing to prepossess the ordinary observer, and to instil a belief in the integrity of their owner. A slim shapely figure completed the sum total of Kate Brewser'a attractions. B 2 THE RIGHT SORT. "What's the very thing, Kate?" asked her companion, a gentle, fair-haired, low- voiced girl of about eight-and-twenty, roused to displa}^ symptoms of lively curiosity by the other's ejaculation. "Have you at length found this celebrated hunting-box we have heard so much about lately, or is your imagination soaring to yet higher flights, and contemplating a deer-forest in the wilds of Scotland for the ensuing autumn ? " " No, no," replied Kate with a light laugh. " I'm scarcely advanced enough yet in my sporting proclivities to be able to shoulder a rifle. Somehow the slaughter of the stag possesses no attraction for me, but, as regards the hunting-box, if all advertisements were not such abominable cheats and delusions, if they did not convert every tumbledown cottage into a com- modious mansion replete with modern conveniences, every wretched little two-acred field into an undulating and well- timbered park, every dilapidated outhouse into a substantial stone building, and every miserable evergreen into a thriving shrubbery ; in short, if it were possible to believe in a^nything or anyhodi/ in this wicked world of ours, I should be greatly tempted to declare that I had found what I wanted ; but alas ! though young in years, it is my misfortune to b© old in experience, and experience has taught caution, distrust, and suspicion." And the girl shrugged her shapely shoulders with a gesture of unbelief so hopelessly cynical that it verged on the ludicrous. "Come, come, Kate!" returned Mary Whitbread remon- stratingly. "While you have been amusing yourself by a sweeping condemnation of advertisements in general, please to remember that I remain in a state of Egyptian darkness as to this one in particular. Won't you take pity on my ignorance and deign to enlighten it? At present I feel thoroughly mystified." ** Eeally ? Then I will proceed at once to do away with the mystery, if mystery there be. But," she went on in tones of mock despair, "although, as before remarked, the advei tise- ment in question sounds the very thing, I am much too Bceptical to be really sanguine." IN SEARCH OF A HUNTING-BOX. 3 Wliereupon Miss Brewser, once more taking up the news- paper from the table, proceeded in a clear and distinct voice to read as follows : — '''To be let, for the winter months, or by the year, as agreed upon, a most perfect, couMnodious, and well-arranged hunting-box, late in the possession of Reginald Eich, Esq., known by the name of Sport Lodge, and within three-quarters of a mile of the market-town of Foxington, in the county of Huntingshire. The residence is replete Avith every conveni- ence, and the stabling, which has just been put into thorough repair, is uncxceptionally good, consisting of six loose-boxes, four stalls, double coach-house, wash-house, and excellent accommodation for the men. The Critchley, the Scottesmore, and Sir Beauchamp Lenard's hounds hunt the immediate neighbourhood, while the Horn, the Lever, and the South Garrick are easily attainable by rail. For particulars and cards to view apply to Messrs. Fulton, Brown, and Son, estate agents and auctioneers, Foxington.' " " There, Mary ! What do you think of that ? " exclaimed Kate, as she came to a conclusion, looking up with an air of prospective ownership, already strongly visible in spite of her vaunted prudence. " Does not that sound everything the heart of hunting man or woman could desire ?" "It sounds too good, almost," suggested the cautious Mar}^ who, less talkative, and with fewer theories, was in some ways more practical than her friend. " The number of packs of hounds is positively overwhelming. If so inclined, you could apparently hunt every day of the week. Despite such attractions, there is, however, one thing I emphatically protest against — at least so far as you and I are concerned." "And what might that be, dear Miss Propriety? Some social hesitations, I suppose, as usual?" " Well, to tell you the truth, Kate, it's the name. I call it positively dreadful. Indeed, I can't conceive any one in their senses bestowing such a heathenish, outlandish title upon a dwelling-place. Xo doubt Mr. Reginald Rich and gentlemen of his calibre may have found Sport Lodge emi- nently suited to their peculiar propensities ; but fancy two 4 THE EIGHT SORT. respectaHe young women, like ourselves, guiltless of all male belongings, going to live in such, an abode ! AVhat ivould the world say of us ? Ugh ! there is something horsey and fast and utterly disreputable in the very nomenclature ! Does not Sport Lodge conjure up all sorts of bachelor extravagance to the mind ? Can't you smell brandies and sodas in the air, a fine aroma of stale tobacco in every habitable room ; in short, spirits and pipes impregnating the entire atmosphere with their nauseous fumes ? Oh ! I can imagine it so well ! A small square drawing-room, with hermetically sealed windows, a dirty dingy carpet, fusty red or green rep curtains, an arm- chair or two, covered in a hideous chintz, with the inevitable wool antimacassars of every colour under the sun. Come, Kate, you must confess my sketch of a bachelor apartment is not far out on the whole." '' I confess no such thing. Besides which my imagination is not so lively nor my olfactory organs so sensitive as your own. We have only to show ourselves proof against the insiduous attractions of a *' B and S," or calumet of peace, in order to render poor Sport Lodge absolutely harm- less. Now to show how tastes differ, I, for my part, consider there is something quaint and original about Sport Lodge — something a trifle removed from the everlasting common- places of everyday life. I am quite sick of Mount Pleas- ants, Hermitages, Bellevues, etcetera, etcetera. The same- ness and monotony about such names wearies me extremely, especially when in nine cases out of ten the misnomer is palpable to the most indulgent eyes. If only for the sake of variety, I welcome Sport Lodge as a joositive relief, and Mr. Reginald Eich, instead of being abused, deserves a fair meed of praise as a daring and original innovator ; and both courage and originality, in this prosaic age, are qualities entitled to the highest respect." ''Why, Kate," interposed Mary, smiling in spite of her inward convictions at the dexterity of the other's argument, " what a funny girl you are, to be sure I You talk like a regular old grandmother ; nevertheless I am far from being convinced, and stick to my assertion that Sport Lodge sounds IN SEAHCH OF A HUNTING-BOX. O decidedly fast, and the chances are if we go to live there the greater portion of the community will pronounce a similar verdict upon you and me." "And what if they do ? Do you suppose /care what people say ?" retorted Kate contemptuously. ''Let them make what ill-natured remarks they like." This was all very well in theory, Kate Brewser having not yet arrived at an age to recognise what a tjTannical mentor the world ^s — what a harsh, uncharitable, fault-find- ing, scandal-loving taskmaster; hut the criticisms, if made, would probably have caused the young lady a considerable amount of vexation. "People situated as I am can't expect to escape tittle-tattle in some form or other," she continued loftily. "I know per- fectly well how every woman who hunts is condemned beforehand. She is dubbed masculine and unfeminine, while nearly every man she comes across congratulates himself in his heart of hearts that his wife, his sister, his womanly belongings do not join in the pursuit, but are content to sit at home stitching their eyes out over a piece of trumpery fancy needlework, tinkling the last new waltz upon the piano, or enfeebling their mental faculties by the perusal of worthless and highly sensational novels. Do not the vast majority of men and women fail to see because a girl is high-spirited and independent, she need not necessarily be lacking all feminine attributes, and because she can put a horse fairly well at a fence, is fond of sport, and all honest, healthy, outdoor pas- times, it does not by any means follow that she has unsexed herself and laid all womanhood aside. If I speak warmly it is because I /^(?^ warmly on this subject. Now, according to my notions, the pursuit of the fox calls forth, firstly, courage ; secondly, cool judgment; thirdly, presence of mind, and that sort of independence which teaches a person to rely upon him or herself alone. Will any one deny the excellence of such qualities ? A woman who hunts, and who hunts well, is not likely to scream and faint away like a log directly any accident occurs — will not talk, but act — not hinder, but help — not lose her head at trifles, but in every emergency has 6 THE RIGHT SORT. all her wits about hex, and, if necessary, is calculated to steer her own course with tolerable coolness and dexterity through the varied shoals of life." / ''Moral. No man, therefore, ought to marry unless the lady of his choice be qualified to scamper over fences at the risk of life and limb. According to your theory, Kate, I'm afraid my chances of inatrimony are well-nigh nil. A fire- side and a cat comprise my future prospects." "Don't forget the man," interrupted Kate playfully. *'You are one of those sweet, yielding individuals who could never encounter the world without masculine assist- ance and support. But to return to the subject under discussion. If we reallt/ go to Sport Lodge, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll stick a large placard on my back, and print on it in enormous letters, ' Beware. I'm a most improper young person; I htmt.^ That ought to satisfy everyone's scruples." "Kate, Kate, you are incorrigible!" laughed Mary "Whitbread. " Argument becomes impossible when opposed to such levity. But seriously, don't you think you are going ahead just a little bit too fast? You seem to have decided straight away that Sport Lodge is to be our future destination. Under these circumstances it is useless my entering any further protest. Nevertheless, I fear you may be disappointed." "Well," said Kate, "it's a funny thing, but somehow Qj^ other I have a curious presentiment, too strong to be accounted for, that Sport Lodge will see us this winter. You know, Mary, what a fancy I've always had for going to that part of the world and seeing some first-rate hunting. An overwhelming desire possesses me to behold a bona fide Huntingshire oxer and a genuine blackthorn bullfinch. You don't hunt or care for the sport, and wonder often at what you term my enthusiasm ; but I tell you, you miss one of the greatest, if not the greatest, pleasures in life by not doing so. It is a simply glorious sensation, mounted on the back of a thorough good horse, to go bounding over each intervening obstacle. At every fence left behind, every easy sweeping stride, the sj)irit rises. The blood warm? in the IN SEARCH OF A HUNTING-BOX. 7 veins, a delicious glow of pleasurable excitement, intensified by the element of danger, pervades the whole frame, you set your teeth, cram your hat on your head, forget every care in the world, and, intoxicated with the brief transport of present joy, ride like," pausing breathless in search of a suitable metaphor, "like old Harry. There is nothing in the world to compare with it." '^ It strikes me ^our hobby-horse runs away with its mistress altogether," observed Mary Whitbread with a species of semi- indulgent sarcasm. "Ah! you should hear Captain Fitzgerald on the subject of hunting," continued Kate, now thoroughly roused. "You know he has hunted [everywhere — Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Ireland, the Yale, Bicester, &c., &c. — and he says that for a real good all-round sporting country, with wild, straight- running foxes ; for the finest grass and fairest flying fences in England ; for a steady workmanlike pack of hounds, who can both hunt their fox in the good old style, sticking to him with patience and perseverance, and yet go the pace when required, whose noses, speed, dash, and stoutness are unde- niable ; and for a huntsman who never turns his head from mortal thing, who has the eye of a hawk, the seat of a centaur, and the heart of a lion — give him the Critchley ! " And Kate, as she finished speaking, looked up with the light of a thorough enthusiast shining in her great grey eyes, and her whole face sparkling with that animation and joyous belief in the good things of the future which is one of tho most precioiia attributes of youth and, it must be added, in- experience. She could depict to herself the delights of safely negotiating the most formidable obstacles, but the reverse side of the picture — the tumbles, the vexations, the accidents, and the broken bones — never found even the smallest dwelling-place in her imagination. lUE HIGHT SOUT. CHAPTEE rr. THE DIE IS CAST. "Oh! So that is Caiotain Fitzgerald's experience, is it?" returned Mary. ''Poor little man! I am not particularly fond of him, but doubtless he took his dismissal to heart, and retired quite as much discomfited as the majority of Miss Browser's admirers." At this speech of Mary's Miss Browser reddened per- ceptibly. She had indeed, a short time ago, refused the gallant Captain, but was not aware that her friend had discovered the fact. Now, however, it appeared useless to attempt denial. "Miss Browser's admirers have a bad time of it," she observed demurely. '* That state of things may not endure for ever," said Mary. ''Yes it will. The fact is, I don't seem to care about men. They bore me, after a certain point is reached. They are all very well to talk to and sharpen one's wits upon, but my predilections end there. There are exceptions, of course, to every rule, but the majority of the young men I come across are a weak, selfish, and luxurious lot, living only to gratify their own tastes and their own inclinations. Pleasure, not duty or honest wholesome work, is the goal of their aspirations, the aim and object of lives which are frivolous and common- place. When they contemplate matrimony they do not con- sider or seek the welfare of the girl, but their own. ' How much money has she ? How much can she contribute to our ease, how little detract from our requirements ? ' These appear to me the principal ideas permeating their brains. Now I happen to be particularly happy and comfortable as I THE DIE IS CAST. 9 am, and therfore require great inducements to effect any change in my position. Seriously, Mary, it seems to me there is little or none of the old heroic spirit loft nowadays. The spirit that breathed in such men as Ealeigh, Sir Eichard Grenf ell. Cook, Columbus ; the intrepidity, the restless crav- ing for distinction which in those times impelled men to action ; the chivahy, the stern sense of honour, accompanied by that bulldog pluck and capacity for fighting which made England's name what it was — seem slowly fading away, absorbed by the luxury and effeminacy of an ever-increasing civilisa- tion. The free nomadic spirit that taught us to be self-reliant and self-dependent is dying out, giving place to a fatal ease and slothfulness. Instead of being able to shift for them- selves, ladies and gentlemen in these days require constant waiting upon and rtttendance. They cannot do' without their valets and their ladies' maids. Mentally and physically they are little better than big, grown-up babies." " True wisdom, to my mind, consists in making the best of things as they are," remarked Mary, to whom Kate's striv- ings after an ideal perfection appeared highly chimerical. '* You and I can't alter the world by grumbling at it, and I dare say people are not more degenerate nowadays than formerly. As for Captain Fitzgerald, he is no worse than his neighbours, and I must say you are altogether too hard on his sex." ''Am I ? I think not. I fail to see why Captain Fitz- gerald should be considered an object worthy my pity. He is far too fond of number one ever to care for anybody else as much as he does for that all-important personage, and, according to my old-fashioned, or perhaps romantic, notions, when a man marries, his wife ought to occupy the foremost place in his thoughts. Now, Captain Fitzgerald simply looked upon me as a harmless, inoffensive sort of girl, who, as she possessed a satisfactory number of thousands a year, justified him in disposing of his dapper, divinely tailored person, soft drooping moustache, curly eyelashes, and killing blue eyes in the matrimonial market, thinking by so doing to gain some material advantage. Is["o doubt, had I been a 10 THE RIGHT SORT. properly minded young person I should have perceived and been duly grateful for the vast honour thus conferred. As it Avas, my perverse disposition made me look uj)on the whole affair in the light of an ordinary bargain, into which neither affection, mutual respect, or esteem were allowed to enter, being regarded as entirely superfluous. Well, tlio bargain did not suit me, and nothing more remained to be said. No doubt my taste was lamentably bad. Nevertheless, the fact remained, Had I been a Hottentot Yenus, with a sufficient number of money-bags hanging round my waist, Captain Fitzgerald would have proposed just the same. I, as an individual, had nothing to do with the ofl'er, lucre alone being the attraction. You may say I ought not to think such things, but how can I help doing so when they are so self- evident ? I can't go through the world with my eyes shut, and in keeping them open they are apt to see too clearly. And, in my opinion, a man who seeks a woman for the sake of her fortune, and strives to shelter himself at her expense, is lucky if he escape without incurring her deej) contempt." And Kate, recalling the discomfited guardsman's amaze- ment and incredulity, and the utter bewilderment with which he had received his conge, laughed a bitter little laugh that sounded strangely from the fresh young lips. ''Now, Kate, it is my turn to be angry," said Mary Whitbread, who had listened to this oration with symptoms of marked disapproval, rendered still more conspicuous when the lords of creation were under sweeping condemna- tion. " After all, there is good in everybody, and often we only are to blame for not discovering the merits of others. I am quite sure if we were as keen to do so as we are to pick holes, the world would be a much pleasanter place than it is. Now you, individually, have worked yourself up into the absurd belief that, because you happen to be an heiress possessed of a handsome fortune and good yearly income, nobody will ever care for your own self, just as if you were some horrid old frump, instead of a — well, never mind what ; it won't do to make you too conceited. Anyhow, THE DIE IS CAST. 11 such a notion is preposterous, and if jou go on encouraging these foolish ideas, youi- money, instead of proving a blessing, will end by being nothing but a curse. Your belief in human nature will grow weaker and weaker, disinterested affection appear an impossibility, until finally the crown will be set on this happy state of things by your driving from your side some straightforward and honest fellow who loves you dearly, and which sentiment in your heart of hearts you recipiocate. Oh, Kate ! take warning in time." Mary Whitbread spoke with such unusual earnestness that, in spite of herself, Kate felt moved. ''When that extraordinary occurrence comes about," she answered, with a half -incredulous sigh, " either somebody falling genuinely in love with me, or me falling genuinely in love with somebody, I'll give you due notice of the fact, Mary. In the meantime, all I can say is, such a contingency appears highly remote, and I am perfectly content to remain in my present state of spinsterhood. As you know, I like my own way, and, what's more, am used to having it ; and I often think it would require an immense amount of devotion to render me amenable to the dictates of a husband. No, no ; depend upon it I am better as I am. But, Mary, since you plead so speciously in favour of matrimony, and give such sage advice, I am more than half inclined to believe you yourself are harbouring some romantic absurdity. Come, make a clean breast of it, and confess on the spot." "I have nothing to confess," said Mary, with evident truth, though the tell-tale blood rushed to her fair cheeks ; for Kate's remark recalled the one solitary romance of her pure but uneventful life, when, in olden days, a certain long-legged, lank-haired, narrow-shouldered, telescope-necked curate had lain himself — not his fortune, for he had none, but just himself — at her feet, and sworn imdying, unalterable affection. The episcopalian demonstration had been nipped in the bud, nipped before the poor fragile blossom had had time to expand in the sunlight of answering love. Marj^s father, since dead, was a practical man, who promptly dis- missed the idea of bliss in a cottage on twopence a year as a 12 THE RIGHT SOKT. lunatic hallucination bordering on downright madness. The unfortunate wooer, though ardent in the face of opposition, became timorous and blighted, and after a melancholy interview, during which tears were freely shed on eithej side, took a long and last farewell of his innamorata. Bui the gentle Mary, having once tasted the sweetness and known the importance of being considered a Dulcinea in a pair of masculine eyes, continued to cherish sentimental recollections of the past, which, united to a species of vague indulgence towards the opposite sex, rendered her consciously, though modestly, hopeful of a future time when some other candidate might step forward and ask her to become the sharer of his joys and partner of his life. '' Why, Mary, you are blushing! positively blushing!" exclaimed Kate in mischievous glee. "You dreadful little hypocrite. I am more confirmed than ever in my opinion that you have a sneaking sort of hankering after a dual existence. Fie, for shame ! What sentimental follies are you cherishing in that foolish head ? " So saying, Kate, in an unusually tender mood, put her arm round Mary Whitbread's neck, and kissed the sweet pale face held up to her own. The conversation somehow seemed to have affected them both, for there was a tear glistening in Mary's eye as she said — "Oh, Kate! how can I ever thank you for all your kind- ness ?*' "By not making the smallest allusion to it. But now, instead of talking any more nonsense, let us return to the subject of Sport Lodge, from which we have indeed wandered far. If you will consent to waive your objection to its unfor- tunate name, I had better sit down at once and write to Messrs. Brown, Fulton, and Son." "I do not think my objection — as you call it — was really formidable, Kate. It was made more in fun than in earnest." "Bravo. You funny little person! You quite took me in by the gravity with which you protested. However, all's well that ends well You have had your say and I mine j THE DIE IS CAST. 13 therefore we both feel considerably relieved. Some of my ideas are rather crude, no doubt, and it is a good thing for me, your putting an occasional check upon them. As it is, we argue and wrangle nntil between us we manage to strike upon a vein of tolerably good common-sense. So now for the famous letter." Whereupon Kate Browser sat down to write to Messrs. Brown, Fulton, and Son at Foxington, after the fashion of her sex, demanding every possible and impossible particular concerning Sport Lodge, and specifying a certain day, in the event of a favourable reply, on which it would please her majesty to run down and personally inspect the premises before taking the residence on lease, for on that point her mind was quite made up. She intended to devote the forth- coming winter to the pursuit of the fox, and for carrying out such an intention, what place could possibly be more con- venient, handy, and suitable than the famous Foxington, celebrated from time immemorial in all annals of the chase ? 14 THE RIGHT SOET. CHAPTER III. KATE BREWSEr's ANTECEDENTS. Ka.te Brewser, as already intimated, was an heiress — a good, solid, bona fide heiress. None of your unfortunate land-endowed proprietors, whose tenants, in these days of radicalism, assassination, and agricultural collapse, give notice, politely or impolitely, as the case may be, of their inability to pay any rent ; but a real unquestionable heiress, possessing an income of some six or seven thousands a year, invested principally in Consols and securities of a similar nature. Being an only child, it may naturally be inferred that Kate Browser had inherited this large fortune from her parents. Such, however, was not the case. Colonel Browser, who once commanded an infantry regiment, had served with great distinction during the Indian Mutiny, and gained for himself a character for courage and uprightness from all those with whom he came in contact. During the storming of Delhi, single-handed he had succeeded in keeping a dozen of the enemy at bay, and prevented their blowing up a large pow^^magazine, and for this truly gallant defence was rewarded by the bestowal of the then-coveted distinction of the Victoria Cross, which in those days was more highly esteemed and less easily obtained than at present. Like many others of his profession, the honours thus received, however gratifying to Colonel Browser's military pride, were not of a nature to replenish an always scanty purse. Glory was cheap and cost nothing, but substantial rewards were not for the men who had shed their life's blood and ruined their health in the service of so great a country as England, KATE BREWSER's ANTECEDENTS. 15 Fetes and banquets by the score were organised in honour of the sun-di'ied warriors, but money wherewith to enable them to withdraw from active service and ' ' heal them of their grievous wounds " was not forthcoming. In Colonel Brewser's case worse results ensued ; for too proud to solicit favours, too retiring of disposition to push his own interests when peace was proclaimed and the rebellion crushed, the "War Office, by some singular fatality, overlooked his claims to promotion, and placed younger and less scrupulous men over the head of -a veteran who knew what war was in deed not only in name. The disappointment was so great that Colonel Browser never recovered from the blow thus inflicted. As he lived he died, a brave and fearless gentleman, rich in nothing but honour and truth, lacking oftentimes the humblest neces- saries, and constantly struggling to make both ends meet. His wife, whom he had married for a pretty face and a sweet temper, which, in spite of many trials, had enabled her to make their modest home a very happy one, after the birth of a son, who died in infancy, and of an only daughter — our heroine, Kate — seemed never to regain her strength, but faded slowly beneath the scorching sun of the Indian climate, like some pure and fragile lily, so slowly and so imperceptibly that not until death was imminent did the sorrow-stricken husband fully realise the situation. Then it seemed as if he no longer cared to exist without her he had loved so well, and after a year or two he too fell a victim to the grim pursuer of mankind Thus it came to pass that at the early age of five Kate Brewser was left a well-nigt penniless or^jhan — a solitary fatherless and motherless child Eer only living relative happened io be an uncle on the paternal side, who many years before had set out for Australia, possessing at that time nothing but an eager, resolute spirit, a large share of ambition, and an excellent constitution, added to a fixed determination and powerful will to succeed in what- ever he imdertook — one of those steadfast, Kon-heaii:ed men who, fixing their eyes on a given goal, allow no petty interests or trivial amusements to divert them from their path, but whose whole thoughts and energies are concentrated on 16 THE EIGHT SORT. , the object for wliich they labour. Slowly but surely Camp- bell Brewser, mounting one by one the rungs of the ladder, in course of time carved his way to fortune. Then, and not till then, when through incessant work his health began to give way before the magnitude of this self-imposed task, though the indomitable spirit of the man was still undaunted, he turned his face towards his native land — that glorious land of rugged hills and changing skies, of brown bracken, rushing streams, red heather, and keen mountain air ; where the cock grouse cackles to his mate, the wild red-deer sniffs the bracing breeze, and where such men as Campbell Brewser are born and given forth to the world — men cast in an iron mould — adventurous, shrewd, self-reliant, and self-confident in tlie highest sense of the word — formed alike by nature and by temperament to be the pioneers of every fresh enterprise, every hazardous undertaking ; men on whose broad and capable shoulders the burden of life sits fitly, and who, with that innate love of the beautiful land of their birth which in far-off climes clings to them like perfume to a flower, given out more strongly when the day is well-nigh o'er, return when the struggle is at an end, the battle won, to lay them down and die in the oft-remembered home of their youth — the home where they trotted about the winding burns, where they pressed the springy heather with their little bare red feet, where they fished and bird-nested, and where their mother, dead long since, breathed a nightly prayer over their innocent couch. Ah ! the man's heart must be cold indeed who can forget such early days, and who in his old age does ^ot yearn to revisit the scenes of childhood. With Campbell Brewser, as the years went by, the yearning i)ecame so intense that nothing short of fulfilment could appease the longings of his weary heart. And now, in her time of n eed, this man, whose lofty nature seemed to stand alone, who, though not despising, had never y^^t eought solace in a woman's love, took care of the little houseless orphan. He, who in his far-off home in the bush hardly know the sound of a child's sweet shrill voice or sturdy pattering footsteps, in the autumn of life resolved to shield KATE BREWSER's ANTECEDEXTS. 17 and protoct tlie lonely creature, his own kitL. and kin, his niece, the daughter of the dead brother whose image he h^d never ceased to worship. He, too, was alone but for a nephew, his sister's orphan, whom he had adopted, for lack of any nearer relation on whom to pour out the wealth of affection that had so long lain dormant in his breast. There- fore Campbell Browser, when he heard of his brother's death, immediatel}' determined Kate should live with him and be his charge in the future. And as the years rolled on, the strong, resolute man, who in youth, when love should have come naturally, as it does to the birds and the beasts, had been too absorbed in physical labour to render any tender passion admissible, realised for the first time that a void had existed in his heart which this tiny creature filled. This large-eyed, high-spirited, resolute, and fearless child, who in man}^ ways so closely resembled himself, appealed to his better nature, teaching him softness and humility, sympathy and loTe, while in return he imparted to Kato much of that energy and force of character which had always rendered him conspicuous amongst his fellow-men, and which, added to an austere simpHcity and innate nobility of disposi- tion, commanded not only obedience but affection. Thus little Kate became the ver}^ apple of his eye, the poetry and romance of his declining years. It seemed as if a new element of brightness and refinement had entered into his hitherto somewhat prosaic life, tinging it with a golden hght. To be with Kate was a perpetual source of wonder and of joy. It was enough for him to hear her innocent prattle, to watch the sudden illumination of her expressive countenance, and to endeavour to keep pace with the quick strange workings of her childish mind ; its pleasures, its sorrows, its questionings, its simplicity and shrewdness, were all equally novel, equally charming and delightful. Not only did she become his play- fellow and idol, but also his companion, for the child was unusually quick of comprehension, and clever beyond her years. Kate fully reciprocated Campbell Erewser's affection, or ratber idolatry She was never so happy as when with hinv. c 18 THE RIGHT SORT. '^ and her chief delight consisted in endeavouring to induce him to narrate some of the adventures and stirring incidents of his Australian life. An unerring instinct, possessed by all children and dumb animals, told her that, although outwardly rough, her uncle was good and true. Therefore, in her turn, she loved him with all the intensity of an ardent nature, with the reverence and hero-worship which are so inexpressibly beautiful in the young towards the old, whan the youthful imagination is apt to exalt its object, perhaps even beyond its intrinsic merit. The other inmate of this happy household, Herbert Munro, Mr. Browser's nephew and reputed heir, was some five years Kate's senior. Yielding and pliant, easily led astray, full of good resolutions, but without the strength of character or moral energy requisite to put them into force, delicate both physically and mentally, it seemed as if the boy and girl should have changed places. Kate, with her strong vitality, keen intelligence, and unquestionable ambition, ought to have been the man; while Herbert, as a woman, would have made one of those dependent and trustful creatures who appeal insensibly to the masculine nature, and who are often preferred to their sturdier sisters. In spite of such differences both of character and constitu- tion, the cousins were excellent friends ; but although Herbert possessed a considerable advantage in point of years, even in these early days he failed to assert his superiority. In all their pastimes and pursuits Kate invariably proved the lead- ing spirit, hers the master mind ; for she directed, patronised, and advised, while Herbert followed her with unquestioning obedience. He lacked that boyish confidence and roguish assumption of self-assertion, whose very im2')udence possesses an undoubted charm for the feminine mind, ever prone to worship the strength which so quickly establishes an ascen- dency over it. Kate, at this time, was far too young to analyse such feelings. She only knew that when with Herbert she some- how always felt herself the most capable of the two, stronger KATE BREWSEU'S ANIEOEDEXTS. 19 both bodily and intellectually, while in her uncle's presence it was exactly the reverse. At his side she was nothing but a weak little child, humble, ignorant, loving, eager in quest of knowledge, and realising with thankfulness the advantages derived from the protection she received. She could never forget that had it not been for her uncle, and her uncle's care and affection, she might have been left utterly alone in the world. She had no fears, no doubts, no hesitations or distrust when Campbell Browser was there. She believed in him as she believed in her God. In her eyes he was the best, the kindest, the cleverest, the nicest, and the most superior of human beings. Compar^l with him, Herbert appeared a weakling and a nonentity; besides ■which, poor Herbert's nature happened to be somewhat timorous, while neither Kate or Campbell Brewser appeared to know the meaning of the word fear. There seemed to them something wrong, unnatural, uncanny, in the boy's want of courage, in his instinctive shrinking from everything at all unpleasant or dangerous. They were fond of him, certainly ; but, almost unconsciously, a large sprinkling of contemptuous pity was mingled with their love. He seemed fashioned of such different stuff to themselves — more like some beautiful fragile flower, fair to look upon, but so delicate as to be unable to face the slightest storm, bowing to the earth at the first gust of wind — a thing deficient in hardiness and vitality, only fitted to be pampered in a heated hothouse ; while they were as the sturdy upthrusting thistle, forcing its glossy purple head over the barrenest plot of ground, with lordly indifference to rain, cold, and climate, defying them all with its sharp spiky leaves. And perhaps, though quite unintentionally, this pair of kindred spirits were apt to be a little hard at times, and to underestimate the tender alien nature of the youth. Their judgments inclined towards harshness, and their estimations of Her- bert's worth leant somewhat towards disdain, with the result that the lad grew still more silent and reserved. And so mid sunshine and shade the years repeated themselves. The trees in the pictui'esque old garden in due season put on 20 THE RIGHT SORT. first their green, then their red and yellow, finally their meagre black raiment, preparatory to sleeping the long winter through, as if mourning the beautiful bygone summer days. Then, when the spring once more came round, the life-giving sap burst out into tender, curled-up leaves, which unrolled themselves gently in the sunshine. The birds carolled their love-songs in loud, triumphant notes, fighting, courting, building, mating, until the young ones came forth, and in course of time, feeling strong and gladsome, stretched their wings and flew away, obedient to that great law of nature that dictates the desertion of parents when no longer useful and necessary. In the green fields, starred by golden buttercups and sweet-smelling clover, the white lambs frislred and gambolled in pure light-heartednees, wagging their supple tails, bleating with soft, persuasive voices, stretching their long, ungainly limbs, and courting the rays of the sun in a state of dreamy enjoyment and blissful ignorance of the future. Little recked they that all life, however strong and beautiful, ends in death, come it by the cruel butcher's knife, by disease, or the slow process of natural decay. They, poor innocents, like Herbert and Kate, were happy in the present, demand- ing, thinking, realising nothing more ! Oh ! glorious youth ! knowing not regret, remorse, nor aught but transient sorrow, whose joys are keen and pain short-lived, to whom the past is a void, the future a blank, and the present — the happy, fleeting present, here to-day and gone to-morrow— all-suificing, all-engrossing, how we envy thee in old age ! How lovingly and with what reverent recollections, do we not look back upon and cherish thee ! In thy innocence and joy thou art more lovely than any- thing on the face of this wide earth, and yet so evanescent, that ere we have learnt to fully appreciate the inestimable gifts which thou conferrest — the heedlessness, the freshness, the exquisite light-heartedness, the animal strength and spirits, which are a part and parcel of thyself — thou art gone. Either gently faded by the unflagging hand of time, or else killed by some rude shock, which, rousing mankind from this short KATE BREWSER's Als^TECEDENTS. 21 period of unthinking content, sets a mark upon liis life for evermore, bringing him, once for all, face to face with the stern realities and complex problems of existence ! Even no-w, slowly, though surely, was the shadow creep- ing up, destined to plunge the peaceful household in grief and envelop it in a shroud of darkness. Death, tliat delays for no man — the dread reaper with his sickle — was at hand, intent on adding another to the long list of Lis reluctant victims. 22 TUE RIGHT SORT< CHAPTER IV, A SUDDEN ILLNESS. It was upon Kate's seventeentli birtliday— how well here- after she had cause to remember that day!— and Herbert, who was then at college, but had lately returned home, was in his twenty-second year— that in the middle of the night the girl was roused from her dreamless slumbers by the entry of the old housekeeper, who, apparently scared out of her senses, shook her violently by the arm until she awoke, with a beating heart, wondering what dreadful calamity had taken place. ''Get up, Miss Kate, dearie, get up at once," cried the seemingly distracted woman, in a hurried and tremulous voice. " Your uncle hae been taken vera ill." *'My uncle!" ejaculated Kate in that state of uncom- prehending bewilderment incidental to a sudden awakening at an unusual hour. ''What of him?" Then roused to a sense of uneasiness by old Maggie's flurried manner, she added, " Oh, Maggie ! why do you look so strangely at me ? Is anything the matter ?" "Joost that," answered Maggie solemnly. " If I am no mistaken there's vera much the matter." "With whom? With my uncle?" cried Kate, springing out of bed, and now thoroughly awake. "But no," as if trying to reassure her fears, "there can't be anything serious, for when I wished Uncle Campbell good-night at ten o'clock jho was then perfectly well and in good spirits." *' A guid deal may happen between ten and one o'clock," replied Maggie sententiously. " Come, come, noo, Miss Kat&, dJ'^n.a lose time in talking — we may both be wanted A SUDDEN ILLNESS. 23 for aught we ken ; but put on your claes as fast as ye can. Here, throw this dressing-gown over your shoulders, for the night air is unco keen, and it wadna do for my bonny bairn to catch cold. There ! that's right," as Kate meekly did her bidding. ^' And noo we wull depart." ** Oh, Maggie ! suspense is the worst of all to bear. Tell me quickly what you know," said poor frightened Kate as she clung to the kindly old woman's arm. Thus adjured, Maggie commenced her sorrowful tale. ** Weel, then, Miss Kate," she said, ''ye maun know that your uncle had a fit o' some sort, though I canna tell ye rightly what the name o' it wad be, never having had any experience in sic-like dreadful matters — ■' " Yes, Maggie," interrupted Kate breathlessly, ** go on." *' Weel, then, my dearie, after ye had gane up-stairs to your ain room, Mr. Brewser rang the bell and asked for some hot whuskey and water. Jock happened to be oot, so I fetched the drink myself, and made it strong and guid, thinking it wad do the master no harm, since he complained o' a bad pain in the head, and said he felt dizzy and out o' sorts. When I brought the wee drap into the study I noticed Mr. Brewser looked unlike himself. His een were vera wild, and liis face so flushed that, had I na been acquainted with his temperate habits, I might hae suspected he had already been drinking mair than was guid for him. However, I joost made np my mind to sit up all night in case he wanted a bit help. I canna tell ye what induced me to do so, but I had a kind o' presentiment something evil was going to happen. I went and sat in the corridor ootside, and by-and-by I heard him begin to tramp up and doon, up and doon the study, joost like some caged animal at a show ; then on a suddea came the noise o' a heavy body falling to the airth, afte^ which all was still again. I rushed in as fast as my puir auld legs could tak me, and, wae's me" — beginning to cry bitterly — " there I found my dear kind master lying all in a heap on the floor, and looking for all the warld like a cornse. Oh Miss Kate ! it was awful, joost awful ! " And Maggie, true to her class, determined that the nana- 24 THE ItiGHT SORT. tive should gain rallier than lose in solemnity in the telling, Bobbed with more vehemence than ever. ''Poor uncle; poor darling uncle," exclaimed Kate re- peatedly, as they hurried through the long passage which led to the dying man's bedroom, for dying he was, althoagh neither yet comprehended the fact. Already the honest, manly countenance appeared changed and distorted by pain, und the stalwart form stricken,, like some fine old oak up- rooted by the vehemence of a passing storm or flash of light- ning. In the space of a few short minutes Death had per- formed his task with certitude, stamping his imprint on the suffering features. Meanwhile Campbell Browser lay totally unconscious, his slow and stertorous breathing alone giving sign that life had not yet altogether departed or the brave spirit fled from its earthly tenement. But for the first time in the whole course of her recollection did Kate's passionate ^rief and terrified entreaties fail to rouse him. Never before had kiss of hers met with no return. The very thought filled her being with a nameless dread. Perhaps it was well for him that he could not witness the gui's deep sorrow. It would have wounded his loving heart sorely to have seen Kate's slender form shaken by a very tempest of uncontrollable sobs, while she prayed aloud in her agony that he would speak to her. "One word, Uncle Campbell, only one word, just to show that you are alive," she repeated over and over again, almost mechanically. Alas ! the words of Campbell Browser in the future were destined to be but few, if any, for the family doctor, who had been sent for with all haste, on his arrival pronounced Mr. Browser to be suflering from an attack of apoplexy of a most fatal description. Of course, " While there was life there was hope ; " but according to ordinary practice nothing short of a miracle could restore Mr. Browser to health. Therefore it was false kindness not to speak the truth, and prei^are those attending him for the worst. So spoke the straightforward country doctor, unversed in the evasive arts of his toAvn- dwelling brethren. A SUDDEN" ILLNESS. 25 For two whole days and nights Kate never left her uncle's side. Love did everything suggested by experience, and if love alone could have saved Campbell Browsers life it surely would have been spared ; but the tenderest tendrils are torn asunder and severed by the ruthless reaper, and it was ordained other- wise by One who watches over poor suffering, impatient humanity, and to whose decrees, however hard they may occasionally appear, we are all bound to submit. For to our mortal and finite comprehension faith in the unknown and the infinite is difficult to acquire, especially when the blood runs warmly in the veins, and the world in the springtime of youth seems only beginning to unfold and open out before us. Kate's mind was full of rebellious thoughts against the workings of Providence as on the morning of ihe third day she sat by her uncle's bedside, weary mentally and physically, while the tears rained down unheeded on her listlessly clasped hands. Suddenly a voice, very faint and weak, but yet recognis- able, broke the death-like stillness of the chamber. Kate started violently as she saw her uncle's eyes fixed upon her own with every appearance of returning consciousness. ''Kate," he said, " don't cry, my darling. I cannot bear to see you shed tears." The joy and the surprise of hearing him speak, in her exhausted condition, were almost too much. She jumped from one extreme to the other, without reason or reflection. So great an improvement in the invalid must mean that the miracle to which the doctor had distinctly alluded had already taken place. ''Oh, Uncle Campbell! Uncle Campbell! " she exclaimed, in hysterical delight. "I shall have no need to cry now that, thank God, you are better. You will make haste and get well, darling, won't you, if only for my sake ? You do not hiow what I have suffered since your illness, or how miserable I have been." She looked at him with tears of affection dirrning her beautiful grey eyes, and a soft, quivering smile playing arc-imd the corners of her trembling mouth. He knew 26 THE RIGHT SORT. better, liowever, than to encourage vain hopes — hopes which he realised too "^ell would never be fulfilled in this world. ''Don't deceive yourself, my precious one," he said softly. '' Something tells mo that my time on earth is over, and nothing remains but to try and face my fate like a man. It is no use repining over the inevitable. God bless you, Kate, and keep you from all harm, until we meet some day in heaven. You have rendered the closing years of my life happier than any I had known before, and I am thankful to my Maker for His goodness, even although he has chosen to call me hence sooner than we ever contemplated. It seems hard to have to leave my little Kate, does it not ? But His will be done." There vras something inexpressibly touching in this strong man's patient resignation, in his unselfishness, his tenderness and compassion for the sorrow which he so clearly perceived overwhelmed the young girl. " Uncle Campbell, dear Uncle Campbell, you whom I love and honour more than anybody in the whole world, you will break my heart if jovl talk so," protested Kate vehe- mently. ''You shanH die. Don't speak of dying. I won't let you. I will sit up night after night, never leave your side, and nurse you ever so carefully. You shall pull through yet. You must pull through. Oh ! " with a bitter intonation of voice, "Oh! it cannot be. God would never show such cruelty towards His creatures. If He is really good and kind, as people say. He won't take you away — you who are father and mother both in one. Uncle Campbell, I could not live without you." Mr. Brew^ser at her words raised his hand from the coverlet in feeble rej)roach. "Kate, my own darling," ho said, appealing to her with tender pity, "you don't vrant to make a woman of your poor old uncle, do you? You must help him to bear this trial as you have helped him to bear many others. Don't you remember how brave I always thought you, how proud I used to bo of your courage ! I recollect as clearly as if it t A SUDDEN ILLNESS. 27 only took place yesterdaj", one Monday, long years ago now, when you rode tlie little black Shetland pony, Thekla, and she took fright at something or other, ran away for miles, and ended by throwing you over her head violently on to the hard high-road. What a fright I was in, to be sure ! You were a wee bit of a lassie then, not more than six yeard old, and when I came up, with my heart standing still through fear, though your poor little arm was all bleeding and badly cut from the elbow downwards, and your face as white as the ox-eyed daisies growing by the hedgerow, what did you do but stretch out your tiny hands towards me and say, ' Don't be frightened, dear Uncle Campbell. I am not much hurt, and please do not be cross with Thekla. It was not her fault, and I should like to get on and ride her home.' Do you remember that, Kate ? For if you don't / do. And I said to myself, * Bless her little heart ! The child is of the right sort, and no mistake. Game as a bantam cock. She takes after her father, who was a true chip of the old block, a regular Highland Browser.' And now, my darling," look- ing at her with dim, but loving eyes, " you are not going to do anything to make me alter my opinion, are you ? If for my sake I ask you to be brave, in order to please me, you will try, won't you, Kate dearest? " He had a way about him of overcoming resistance that went straight to Kate's heart. She felt it impossible not to en- deavour to comply with a rec[uest so touchingly worded. " I would do anything in the world for your sake," she returned fervidly, '* anything that you could possibly ask of me. But oh!" — with a fresh burst of grief — '' this — this, Uncle Campbell, is so hard to bear." Campbell Browser passed his hand hastily across his brow ere he replied. " I know it is, darling, hard for you and hard for me, very hard for both of us to have to part. We have been such good friends, have we not, Kate. Somehow or other, from quite the beginning we seemed to get on and understand each other's ways. Mine, too, must have been funny, rough ways often and often to a we© bit slip of a girl ; but you never 28 THE RIGHT SOET. seemed to mind tliem, Kate, as most cliildren would have done, or as Herbert did, for instance. Why, the very first day we met, when T went to fetch you from off the steamer, instead of being- shy and frightened, or wanting to hide behind your Nannie's skirts, you looked up into my face with those great truthful grey eyes of yours, slipped your little hand inside mine, and won my heart upon the spot. Heigh-ho ! how the good, old times come back to one to be sure ! " His mind seemed to wander to the past, and for a few seconds silence prevailed in the chamber. Then, with an ap- parent effort at concentration of purpose, Campbell Brewser continued — ''But the minutes are precious, and while I am 3^et able I wish to speak to you about yourself. Have you ever thought what was to become of you, Kate, if this should happen which is now happening ? " There was no mistaking the meaning of the question. She hid her face in her hands, while a shudder ran through her frame. All power of speech seemed to have forsaken her ; for what did she care about the future when he was dead and gone ? Everything looked equally dark and blank and colour- less. She almost went the length of feeling vexed, with her uncle for bringing the subject under discussion, and wondered how he could talk so composedly when on the eve of leaving her for evermore. She herself could not keep calm when she re- flected that she might never see that dear, rugged face again, or listen to the grave and loving voice. Life without him appeared impossible. AH the reasoning and argument in the world could never make her think otherwise. *'You see, my darling," continued Mr. Brewser after a pause, during which Kate's reply was evidently not forth- coming, ''you are very young to face existence all by your- self, and when I go Herbert will be your only living relative — the only one left who will have the right to care for and tend you. I believe him to be a right-thinking lad at heart, though in many ways he has not grown up as T could have wished, and since he went to college has occasioned mo A STTDDEN ILLI^ESS. 29 considerable anxiety. Still, I hope everything may come right in the end, and you, Kate, possess courage and deter- mination enough for both. I make no secret of my plans, and if Herbert only accedes to them, I tell you frankly he Tvill then inherit the greater bulk of my fortune. So long as I lived I was your fitting and natural protector, but at my death it becomes impossible for a 3'oung man and a young woman of j^our and Herbert's respective ages to live together without giving rise to comments of a more or less malicious nature. Don't you begin to comprehend, or is it necessary for me to speak more plainly still? Well, then," as Kate's countenance assumed a somewhat mystified expression, ''I must impart the scheme which for many years past I have cherished, and which would provide against any such con- tingency. For — Kate, surely now you can guess what I mean ? " She did at last, as was evident from the downcast eyes and the hot blushes that dyed her girlish face. ''Do you mean you want me to marry Herbert?" she faltered, in a voice she hardly recognised as her own, for the proposition had come upon her with the shock of a great surprise. ''I do. You are fond of Herbert, and have been brought up together. Therefore, what can be more natural and proper ? Unless I am greatly mistaken, Herbert will make you a kind and good husband." ••I don't want a kind and good husband," flashed through poor Kate's mind, but she dared not give utterance to the thought, for fear of vexing her uncle in his present state. "Of course," continued he, ''I should never dream of forcing your inclinations on either side. Nevertheless I con- fess I fail to perceive any other plan so well calculated to secure your mutual advantage." '' I don't care two straws, uncle, about our mutual advan- tage," broke in Kate tempestuously. "The thing is, will such a scheme really and truly make you happy? That is all I want to know." ** Undoubtedly. The knowledge of your being actually 30 THE FJGHT SORT. engaged to eacli other would remove the one care harassing my mind. *' Say it again, so that there cannot possibly be any mis- take," repeated Kate, with a strange insistence and feverish eagerness. *' If I marry Herbert it will make you really and truly happy ? " '^Eeally and truly happy," re-echoed Mr. Browser, won- dering a little at her earnestness. ''It will realise the fondest visions of my dying days." **Then that is quite enough. I cannot, of course, answer for Herbert, and I trust to you, uncle, not to place me in any false position, but as regards myself I promise faithfully to fulfil your wishes." Truly indeed had Campbell Browser spoken when he said this girl was brave, and a real chip of the old block. She liked Herbert as a sister likes a brother — nay, with even a more lukewarm affection, for his faults had not improved with age, and she was keenly alive to the weakness and want of stability inherent in his character. Her whole soul re- volted against this prosaic, dispassionate mariage de convenance. Girl-like, she had formed her own notions of an ideal man, who should in all things closely resemble her uncle, and who, like him, should be capable of inspiring respect and confi- dence, while she on her side was to acquire a certain influ- ence, and use that influence gently and for his good, so that she might uphold him in all great works, cheer his drooping spirits, comfort him in failure, rejoice in his success, quietly and unobtrusively identify herself with every pursuit. Some- thing* such as this was Kate's ideal view of matrimony, for whose illusions youth and inexperience must be her best excuse. Kate was too clear-headed to deceive herseK. In agreeing to her uncle's request she was conscious of having made a great sacrifice, and one that in after life she might very probably repent. To be as it were bartered away, to be won without being wooed, to become a wife from a sense of convenience and mutual interest, was hatef id to her ; but to please her uncle, the one being in the whole world whom she loved heart and soul, she would cheerfully have laid down k SUDDEN ILLNESS. 31 her life. Therefore, once certain that this promise would satisfy him and comfort his last moments, she never hesitated. Had he been well and in his usual health, she might not have yielded so easily, might have argued the matter roundly ; but now she could not vex or cross him in any way. Hers might have been mistaken courage, but surely it was courage in its highest fo?m — a courage in its forlorn heroism closely akin to that of our soldiers when, obedient to orders, they hurled themselves against the iron guns of the countless enemy in the ''grim valley of death." ''Let us send for Herbert," said Mr. Browser, "I should like this matter settled at once." So Herbert was sent for, whereupon Mr. Browser pro- ceeded to unfold the nature of his much-cherished scheme. The young man appeared, if possible, even more discon- certed than Kate . He blushed up to the very roots of his hair, and displayed signs of the liveliest emotion, which were by no means lost upon Mr. Browser, who, from various causes, had recently begun to view Herbert's proceedings at college with suspicion. "It is impossible, perfectly impossible," ho muttered, as if speaking to himself ; "I cannot marry Kate." "May I ask if you have any objection?" asked Mr. Browser, with growing distrust. "No, not exactly any objection," returned Herbert prevari- catingly. " Of course I like Kate, just as I hope Kate likes me, but — but — " "But what, man? For God's sake speak out. What do you mean by all this shilly-shallying ? If there is any reason why you cannot marry Kate teH me the honest truth. In justice to her and to myself it is only right that you should do so." " I have nothing to tell," said Herbert sullenly. "Very well then," returned Mr. Browser, whoa^ wrath now appeared fairly roused, while Kate stood by ready to drop with humiliation, "I will proceed to explain the nature of my wiU, as it is just possible it? may influence your deci- 32 THE EIGHT SORT. "Oh no, uncle, please don't!" interrupted Hate in an agony. ' ' You are exciting yourself far too much, and neither Herbert nor I care the least about your mone3\" '' Speak for j^ourself, Kate," returned Mr. Brewser. ''I'm not so sure of Herbert. Now listen both of you to what 1 am about to say. If 3'ou two marry I have left nearly tho whole of my property to Herbert, with the sole condition he sliall assume the family name of Browser. Kate has already signified her willingness to enter into this contract. She agrees with me in thinking such an arrangement the most suitable one under the existing circumstances." Kate here endeavoured to speak, but Mr. Browser continued, unheedful of the interruption — ''It now therefore only remains for 3'ou, Herbert, to follow your cousin's example. Understand once for all I have no power to force your inclinations on either side — in fact, I only seek to secure your welfare. "When, however, 3'ou say 'the thing is impossible,' I not unnaturally beg that you may state your reasons. If they be legitimate ones, Herbert my boy, don't fear to name them, and I will endeavour to act justly and fairly; but" — and he fixed a keenly suspicious glance upon the young man — "if you are deceiving me, if you are so behaving as to wrong Kate or wound her natural feelings, I swear to God I will make some other provision for her future, and give you cause to repent your unmanly conduct." So saying Mr. Browser fell back exhausted on the pillow, while his countenance resumed a fixed and rigid look. Possibly this direct allusion to his will sufficed to convince Herbert of the imprudence of not carrjdng out the invalid's wishes, for with a sudden compliance strangely at variance with his previous statements he now expressed himself willing to become engaged to Kate. As for Kate, mortification and perplexity racked her whole being. Herbert's reluctance to the bargain was perfectly clear in her eyes. She might find this proposed marriage distasteful, but it was evidently doubly so to him. Maidenly dignity and pride were sorely wounded, and already she began to fear that, with the best possibio A SUDDEN ILLNESS. 33 intentions, her uncle '^as committing a grievous error. For almost the first time in her life she questioned any action of his, and of the three human beings now occupying the apartment, he alone who was so shortly destined to quit this earth seemed thoroughly contented. Nevertheless, by Mr. Brewser's desire, they plighted their troth there and then, pledging themselves to become man and wife six months after the date of his decease. The end came soon — sooner, in fact, tlian any one foretold. The return to consciousness proved but the last flickering of the lamp of life. After a prolonged interview with his lawyer, during which neither Herbert nor Kate were allovv'ed to be present, Mr. Brewser fell into a tranquil sleep, and in sleep his spirit passed away, so peacefully and so calmly that even Kate, who had reoccupied her place by the bedside directly the legal business was transacted, failed to perceive that in this quiet slumber the soul had soared from its earthly prison, leaving for ever all the aching weariness, the void and unrest of life. No need to describe Kate's passionate grief, or the horror of death which now fell upon the girl. A blight had over- taken the hushed and saddened household, whose cheerful- ness and mirth could never be restored. Then the dead man's body was laid under the ground, and after the funeral his will was formally read. With the exception of one or two legacies to old and valued servants, and a sum of five hundred pounds per annum to be paid to Kate, Mr. Brewser left his entire fortune to Herbert Munro. Attached to the will, ho\v- ever, was a sealed codicil, with instructions that it should not be opened until the day appointed for the wedding, and it was upon this recently executed deed that Mr. Brewser had evidently been employed during his last remaining hours of existence. Time now passed slowly and monotonously away, Kate struggling hard to adapt herself to the changed order of things. She was much alone, for Herbert rarely remained at home, pleading his collegiate duties in excuse, and moreover during his brief visits he appeared absorbed by some internal care, and curiously preoccupied. D Si THE RIGHT SORT. Over and over again Kate endeavoured to gain His con- fidence, but lie repulsed all lier advances. In fact, so visibly did lie shun lier society that the intercourse between the cousins became more and more constrained. It can easily be imagined, therefore, that poor Kate, as the months went by, completed her humble preparations with a sore and aching heart. !For three whole v\^eehs Herbert had never come near the place, and yet their wedding-day was fixed for the morrow. Surely a stranger bridegroom it would be hard to find anywhere; so at least thought Kate as she stood before the glass trying on a plain white silk gown pur- chased for the ceremony. She had not yet recovered her uncle's death, and her heart felt very heavy. Nothing indeed but the knowledge that she was acting in entire accordance with his wishes could have sustained her in the present ordeal. Suddenly the door opened and old Maggie came in, bearing a telegram that had just arrived. It was from Herbert, and contained but a very few words, yet they were enough to change the whole course of her future career. " Forgive me, Kate," it said, "I have deceived you cruelly. There can be no marriage between us, for I was married this morning to another." So she read, and with a great, unconscious sigh of relief the crisp pink paper fell from her white fingers to the ground, where it lay totally unheeded. Even the exclamaions of Maggie, who with the privileges of a confidential servant promptly made herself mistress of its contents, failed to rouse the girl to a full sense of the situation. In that fii'st moment of astonishment she was only aware that some crushing weight that had been hanging over her for months was removed. Her liberty was restored, she was free once more ! Free to love where and whom she pleased, free to follow the dictates of her own heart, at the eleventh hour saved by another's fault from ties which she now recognised had been insupportable from the first. The feeling of relief was so intense that she thanked God on her kness for this providential escape. Not till many liours afterwards did she begin to inquire into the cause of A SUDDEN ILLNESS. 35 her escape, or realise the fact that she had been shamefully treated. Nor until she learnt the full particulars of Herbert's disgraceful marriage did she harbour any ill-will against her cousin. But when she heard the sort of woman he had chosen — ignorant, illiterate, and of low extraction — and discovered how, when engaged to this person, he had lied to his uncle on his death-bed, and professed his willingness to marry her- self, solely thdTough fear of being deprived of his inheritance ; how, for many months afterwards, ashamed to acknowledge the truth, he had systematically deceived her until compelled to make known the actual state of the case — then Kate's indignation broke loose. The wrong she had suffered was nothing compared with the meanness and cowardice of Her- bert's conduct. She could not forgive him. But curiously enough, when the codicil before mentioned came to be read, it really seemed as if Mr. Brewser, with his usual powers of intuition, had divined Herbert's intentions from the first; for in the event of his committing a mes- alliance such as the present, Mr. Brewser directed the five hundred a year to be paid to his nephew, and the residue of his fortune was placed at Kate's disposal, with absolute con- trol to do as she pleased with it save in any way augmenting the income of her cousin. But these events had turned the bright, impulsive, affectionate girl into a thinking, reasoning woman, shrewd beyond her years, and experienced in the ways of the world. Moreover, they had imbued her with a disdainful distrust of the opposite sex, with a hearty scorn of everything paltry and mean, which, however admirable in the abstract, rendered her at times somewhat cold in manner to all but a chosen few who had successfully inspired her respect and gained her confidence. In fact, to use a vulgar simile, she was a an instance of '' once bitten, twice shy." Mary Whitbread, however, had completely won her affec- tions. Gentle, refined, amiable, pure in thought and in deed, in short, a thorough little lad}', Kate had not been slow to recognise the inherent sweetness distinguishing her character, and the two girls wei-e close friends and allies. The first shock over, and the programme of life now thoroughly 36 THE RIGHT SORT. altered, Kate began to look about ber in searcb of a congenial companion, and immediately tbougbt of Mary Whitbread, wbom she had known intimately when at school. Conse- quently she wrote to Mary, telling her what had happened, and offering her a home — an offer that Mary Whitbread, having recently lost both parents, only too thankfully and gratefully accepted. So the two young ladies set up house together, and for the last four j-ears had contrived to live most amicably. They travelled, went about, and amused themselves after the manner of happ}", idle folks possessing a large capacity for enjoyment, to whom money is no particular object, and whose desires have only to be expressed in order to meet with gratification. That such an existence might not have had some attendant drawbacks in the shape of increasing egotism and satiety was open to question ; never- theless both Kate and Mary had so far escaped any deteriora- tion of character. They possessed an unusual share of sound common-sense, which not only prevented the perpetration of any egregious follies, but kept their e^'es open to the dangers? as well as to the pleasures of their somewhat peculiar position. Kate, as the heiress, was of course exposed to the greater temptations of the two. Foreign counts, German barons, and Russian princes, when abroad, vowed allegiance by the score, and even at home she became the mark of many a penniless youth and scheming, matchmaking mother. As a rule she was a great favourite with men, being bright and amusing, and though equally indifferent, equally courteous to all ; but it must be confessed that maturely seasoned girls viewed her with envy and malice, while the class of juvenile married women, now so fashionable in London society, abused her heartily. In short, Kate's fault was that she occupied too large a share of masculine thoughts and masculine attentions to be pleasing to the other competitors for such honours. Never- theless, her admirers were received with a coldness and a composure decidedly discomforting to the majority. The truth was, that so far no man had come up to her ideal. Either people were weak — an unpardonable fault — vain, conceited, self-satisfied, stupid, prosy, dull, unintelligent, vapid, idiotic, A SUDDEN ILLNESS. 37 or something. At all events they failed to touch Kate Browser's heart, and she reviewed the different candidates for her hand ''in maiden meditation, fancy free." She had plenty of offers but no flirtations. She never descended to them. It was not in her nature, or consistent with her creed of honour, to encourage any man to believe she cared for him when she did not. She was a brave, honest girl, greatly to be envied, said the world. But at the sanre time she was so diffident, so incredulous of her power to charm, aj)art from her fortune, that she had well-nigh persuaded herself that a man disinterested enough to love her for her own sweet sake did not exist ; while Mary Whitbread, who, as a bystander, saw most of the game, and not only appreciated Kate's sterling qualities, but knew how thoroughly calculated she was to make any real good fellow happy, told her, and told her not once but many times, that she erred, and was in danger of ruiiung her future prospects. 88 THE RIGHT SORT, CHAPTEE V. THE CUB-niTNTING SEASON. The crisp brown leaves were falling fast. Their short span of life was ended, and as fluttering softly one by one to tho ground they rested peacefully on the bosom of mother earth. The hedges began to droop and their foliage to wither ; the luxuriant woodbine's long tendrils shrivelled and shrank, the flowers hid their pretty heads, and the hardy bramble, clothed in autumnal tints of red and yellow, did its best to enliven the aspect of vegetable decline, while already clusters of wizened scarlet berries betokened the early approach of another hunting season. And who amongst us, loving the ^^ sport of kings," and enjoying health and fortune wherewith to participate in its delights, has not ere now rejoiced in such yearly recurring sjonptoms of nature's wintry sleep ? Eejoiced with a glad heart at the gradual clearing of ditches, and thinning of hedges, and stripping of bough and bush, and welcomed as an old friend the first crisp frosty mornings, which recall many a well-remembered run and stirring thirty minutes over the broad and undulating pastures for which Huntingshire is justly celebrated — mornings when the trusty steed has had to strain every nerve in order ■^ keep within view of the flying pack, as with a breast-high scent the beauties tore along, close in pursuit of their travel-stained fox. It wanted still ten days, however, to the regular inaugura- tion of the hunting season — ten days to that formal and ceremonious epoch, the first publicly advertised meet, when men, doffing the distinct comforts of pot hats, blucher boots, gaiters, and eccentric checks, affording any amount ot scope THE CUB-HUNTING SEASON. 39 to the iuclividual fancy of tlie wearer, appeared in all the glory of glossy tiles, scarlet coats, spotless leathers, immacu- late tops of the last fashionable hue, and ties whose scrupu- lous neatness compelled admiration for the deftness of the masculine fingers that had tied them ; . while the fair sex, not to be outdone, donned the latest triumph in the way of exquisitely fitting habits, moulded to the figure by artists of such repute as Messrs. Hohne, Creed, Steclilebach, and Co. Nevertheless cub-hunting was in full swing, and so great had been the sport ah^eady shown even at this early period by Sir Beauchamp Lenard's hounds, that several of his staunchest supporters and keenest brother-sportsmen, con- gregating from different parts of the world, had put in an appearance in the hopes of a few preparatory gallops before the opening day. Therefore the little town of Foxington was waking up from its normal condition of stagnation, throwing off its summer slumbers, and putting on that air of life and general activity which characterised it during the months of the hunting season. For some weeks past, every morning, weather per- mitting, at an early hour, long strings of sleek conditioning horses, enveloped from ear to C|uartor in warm hoods aud monogramed clothing, were to be seen sniffing the keen air through their distended nostrils, and looking warily around with sidelong glances, as giving an occasional switch of the tail they marched demurely by. Later on in the day, some- where between morning and afternoon feeds, grooms and helpers were wont to assemble in small knots of twos and threes, hanging about the angles of the principal street, inter- changing words of welcome, imparting the last piece of gossip or scandal, and failing that, falling back on a severely impartial discussion of the studs under their charge, and the merits and demerits of their employers. The inhabitants of Foxington just now seemed to have been seized with a sudden fit of cleanliness, and on all sides the scrubbing of doorsteps grown green through damp and dis- use, th© forcing open of paint-stuck windows, their adornment 40 with smart white curtains, and the free application of white- wash, betokened the expected arrival of visitors. The town of Foxington itself was a small, old-fashioned, unpretentious place situated on a level flat, round which the country rose gently in every direction. It was bounded on the north and east by a sluggish brook, which in summer time revealed a muddj^ unsavoury bottom, but which during heavy rains was apt to overflow its banks and inundate the principal thoroughfare, in which the best-patronised shops were situated. At these, thanks chiefly to the ignorance of the bachelor element of the community, who so long as its wants were gratified cared little for the cost, most of the necessaries of life could be purchased at truly extortionate prices, greatly exceeding those of the metropolis. If some individual, more venturesome or long-headed than his fellows, attempted to remonstrate on this preposterous state of aflairs, he was well snubbed for his pains, the sleek tradesmen either explaining blandly or expostulating indig- nantty, but in either case with similar results. The foe retired discomfited, the honest vendor of goods triumphed and continued his prosperous career ; for, as Mr. Merton the saddler, who, having contrived to amass a large fortune, was looked upon as a great authority, sagely remarked to his friend and neighbour Mr. Cowley, the opulent grocer, when discussing the matter confidentially over an evening glass of whiskey- punch, " The long and short of the 'ole thing is this, Cowley : them as can haflord to ^unt can hafford to pay like gentlemen, and them as can't had better keep away. They're no good to nobody, and nobody wants 'em in this part of the world. It's all very well in your provincial countries, but toe^^ — with an unmistakable intonation of pride — "we area cut habove that." And Mr. Merton inflated his capacious chest, and looked as if he really thought himself and Mr. Cowley, as Foxing- tonians born and bred, superior to all the rest of m^ankind. Such sentiments, however, apj) eared to Mr. Cowley fraught with so much common-sense, that they elicited his entire approval and most cordial sympathy, at the same time ei^v THE CUB-HUNTINa SEASON. 41 couraging Mm to maintain his tariff of prices unaltered, and by no means to make that change in the cost of black pepper and loaf sugar "vrhich in a weak moment he had rashly con- templated, but which he now clearly perceived was quite unworthy of him. Mr. Cowley's shop occupied a prominent position half- way down the High Street, which terminated abruptly in an open space or sort of square, surrounded by red-brick houses, in the centre of which stood the church, a building laj-ing claim to great antiquity and architectural beauty. It was built of solid grey stone, from whose crevices sprang bunches of green moss and lichen. The windows were quaintly latticed with ivy-grown arches, and the massive doors curiously wrought in iron, while the tall, slender spire stood out as a beacon for miles around. Seine couple of hundred j^ards further off you came upon the market-place. Here, every Thursday, rested droves of meek-eyed, long- horned cattle, fat porkers, whose shrill, squeaking voices were loudly raised in self-defence each time the blue-bloused butcher attempted to prod them in the ribs, timid sheep huddled together in crowded pens, rough-coated, shaggy- tailed colts, quacking ducks, cackling hens, smelling fish, hardened cheeses, meat, bloaters, gingerbread, cheap crockery and female finery, boots, shoes, toys, sweets, oranges, apples, lemons, in short, goods and chattels of every description, dis- played either on the ground or on rudely constructed booths, round which the neighbouring farmers with their wives and daughters congregated. Here, too — presumably for the sake of cheerfulness, that of cleanliness or quietude being out of the question for this one day in every week — were situated the majority of those diminutive and unpretentious-looking dwellings, overshadowed by j)alatial stables some six times their own size, which in Foxington were considered the hunting box proper. Some of these houses had been oddly named by their inmates. The Snuggery and The Eetreat were only divided by a handsome stone-faced seminary for young ladies, whereat the daughters of opulent graziers received a liberal educatioj I ; 42 THE EIGHT SORT. while some eccentric individual, doulDtless of the m&,sculine sex, had actually so far outraged the proprieties as to christen his abode ''The Loose-Box." Others again rejoiced in the high-sounding, and it must be confessed somewhat inappropriate, titles of Bellevue Mansion, Beauchamp House, &c., while the sporting element found vent in Fox Villa, Covert Lodge, and Hunt Hall. On the evening of Thursday, October the 22nd, 188 — , four sportsmen were seated round the dinner-table of the hospitable residence known as ''The Eetreat." A bottle of sixty-eight Lafitte — warmed to a nicety — was being freely discussed, while the quartette, rendered thorouglily com- fortable in mind and body by a most excellent repast, gave themselves up to the pleasure — no slight one — of talking over in all its bearings, and from every point of view, the brilliant sport afforded that very morning during a racing five-and- twenty minutes over the cream of the country by the flying ladies of Sir Beauchamp Lenard's pack, who by good luck had happened on an old dog-fox in an outlying field, and were not to be denied. "By Jove! Clinker, my boy!" exclaimed Terence McGrath, a plump, volatile little man about five or six- and-thirty years of age, speaking in a strong brogue, which displayed his nationality, addressing himself to his host, a tall, good-looking young fellow, "that's what I call some- thing like a run — a downright clipper from start to finish. Could not have- been better had it taken place in the middle of the season instead of during the cub-hunting. Bedad ! but I never thought for one moment, when Pretty Lass stole through the hedge into the stubble beyond, and enticed aU the young hounds after her, that there was going to be such a deuce of a scent ! Why, the beauties flew, literally flew," concluded Mr. McGrath with Hibernian enthusiasm. "They certainly went an uncommon pace." assented the others. " It's not often one sees hounds travel faster, even in this country, than they did to-day." " Faith ! but that's true enough. The pace was something terrific. Gad I " and Mr. McGrath thumped the mahogany THE CUB-HUNTi:N'a SEASON. 43 triumpliantly by way of giving forcible expression to his words, '^ old Juniper had to bustle along and put his best leg foremost to live with them at all, at all." ''Without wishing to wound the natural pride of a master possessing so distinguished an animal," returned Colonel Clinker with good-humoured sarcasm, " may I be allowed to inquire which u old Juniper's best leg ? It strikes me any selection would be most invidious under the circumstances." " Come, shut up. Jack. None of your chaff." "Well, but Terry," returned the other laughing, ''you must admit that old Juniper's understandings are not much to boast of." " Nor are a good many folks'," replied Mr. McGrath, witli severe reprisal. " However, I'll tell you exactly how it was. You know. Jack" — and his voice here dropped somewhat of its severity, and assumed a semi- apologetic tone — " that poor old Juniper's hocks were originally fired over in Ireland, when he was only a four-year-old. In my native counthree they consider prevention better than cure, and last winter, when he got that infernal splinter of wood in the off- fore-fetlock joint, which literally played the divil with it, firing seemed the last resource. So says I to the vet. when he came, ' Begorrah ! my man, but we had better make a clean job this time all round, for it would be a damned unhandsome thing of us to leave one leg out in the cold, and render it conspicuous-like. So we'll make em all match, and then they can start quite fair and square again.' The vet. looked me full in the face and said. ' Sir, I honour you. Your humanity is truly beautiful.' Whereupon the operation was performed without much, more ado. It took place last spring, and this is the first time I have been on the old horse's back since then, but he galloped in rare good form, and if he only stands sound after to-day will serve me faithfully for many a year to come. Bedad ! but he's not likely to have such, a breather again in a hurry. Lord, how we raced ! " Mr. McGrrath chuckled audibly as he complacently recalled the doughty deeds performed that morning, for self-satisfaction happened to be one of this gentleman's idiosyncrasies. He 44 THE RIGHT SORT. cliosG, however, utterly to ignore tlie fact that his varied exploits, feats, marvellous doiugs, and escapes in the hunting- field proved a source of constant amusement to the Foxington world, which was ill-natured enough to assert that most of Mr. McGrrath's statements ^veie highly coloured, and often devoid the smallest substratum of truth. His imagination might command a certain amount of ad- miration, but only at the expense of his veracity. Such was the verdict passed upon Mr. McGrath's sporting a(Jventures b}^ the public at large, who it is to be feared regarded the loquacious and quick-witted Irishman in the light of an impostor, at least so far as riding was concerned. '' You've made a capital start anyhow, old man," said Jack Clinker, who knew his friend's little harmless weakness by heart, and regarded it with magnanimous indulgence. " It is very evident, Terry, that the brilliant nerve for which you are so renowned has not disappeared since last winter. I only wish I could say the same for mine. Increasing years, heavy dinners, late nights, and long cigars are not particularly con- ducive to courage, so it is pleasant in your case to witness so gallant an exception. I'm awfully glad, old chap," — with a covert wink at the other guests — " that, according to pour own account, you were so well up, and really saw something of the run. It would be hard to say which of the two deserves the most credit, you or old Juniper," ''Honours are easy," returned Mr. McGrath. ''But" — after a moment's reflection, during which he appeared to detect some hidden irony in his companion's speech — " I like your cheek. What do you mean by saying, ' according to my own account ? ' Isn't it good enough-for you? Do you doubt my word ? Do you consider me caj^able of exaggeration ? Have you ever known me distort facts or speak an}i:hing but the truth on all occasions ? " "Never," replied Jack Clinker with ludicrous solemnity. " You are a perfect sj^ecimen of candour and honesty." "Very well, then," continued Terry, working himself up into a state of excitement, "perhaps you'll admit I've not, hunted here all these years without knowing as much about THE CUB-HUNTING SEASON. 45 hunting as my neighbours. Faith! but there are some people born so sceptical that they will hardly believe their own mother brought them into the world, and I really think you are one of them, Jack. Once for all, let me tell you it's not in my nature to magnify anybody's performances in the hunting-field, least of all my own ; and what's more, it is not always those who talk the most, and who puff themselves up, who are the best sportsmen." And Mr. McGrath drew his portly person on high as much as to say '* There, what do you say to that ? " '' Hear, hear I " interrupted the Honble. Jack Clinker, colonel in Her Majesty's Grenadier Guards, approvingly. ," Amost laudable and commendable sentiment. Post-pran- dial Nimrods are plentiful enough, are they not, Terry ? Pluck and fluency are boon companions when no more formidable obstacle presents itself than the polished mahogany laden with bottles. Ha, Bacchus ! thou art a merry fellow, and a right good one to boot ! T^Tiich reminds me thou hast suffered neglect too long. Come, Terry, old chap, pass the claret this way. We are uncommonly thirsty on our side of the table, and your innings is fairly over for the present." "You're pat enough with your tongue, Jack; you always were," observed Mr. McGrath, whose offended dignity had not yet been restored to its pedestal, "and I flatter my- self I can take chaff as well as mo^t people ; but as for going hard in the hunting-field, well, I never pretend to be a crack-brained, harum-scarum fellow like yourself, who can't even get within a hundred yards of a fence without wanting to cram at it like a downiight lunatic." "Don't be abusive, Terry. Pemember I am not to be held responsible for the deficiencies of my cerebral condition. Some scientific cove, I believe, stated the fact that only one in five hundred human beings is born with decent intelli- gence ; therefore do not be too hard on the four hundred and ninety-nine. It's unkind." ^^Thafs not viy idea of riding to hounds," continued Mr. McGrath, completely ignoring the other's remark, " though '* — with withering contempt — " it seems to be some people's. 46 lUE rJGIIT SOIlT. Pluck is all very well, but tliere are a great many othe? qualities essential before a really fine horseman can be pro- duced. Valour without discretion resembles the clumsy beast of the field, deprived of reason. What say you, Fuller ? " ''That Mr. McGrath's powers of language and choice of metaphor are simply beautiful," returned he readily. ** What would I not give to possess such grace and fluency!*" The antecedents of the gentleman thus appealed to were shrouded in mystery, but the Foxington world had come to accept Captain Fuller as the best ecarte-player, the most inveterate gambler, the coolest hand, the most amusing story- teller, and greatest authority on sporting matters (Colonel Clinker alone excepted) in the place. Added to these quali- . fications he rode undeniably well to hounds, was in with all the dealers, and never refused a decent profit on a j^oung horse. He rarely meddled in other people's afiairs unless directly invited to do so, and kept a singularly quiet tongue in his head with reference to his own. When asked his opinion on any subject he gave it with a decision that carried weight, and which had gained for him a reputation for wisdom and cleverness perhaps greater than he was fairly entitled to. ''What is it you want to know, McGrrath ? " he asked, raising his eyebrows in a slightly supercilious manner. "Whether valour should be tempered with discretion, eh? AVhy, of course it should, and in nine cases out of ten gene- ] ally is. The majority of men funk at heart if only they had the courage to acknowledge it, but instead of doing so, when they come to a nasty place they take gi-eat pains to explain how they fully intended jumping it, only they thought the ground was too hard, or there really was no occasion, or they feared they might stake their horse — any excuse, in short, that comes to the mind. However, talking of a combination of the two »j^ualities, I was fortunate enough to witness a very striking instance this morning. Do you happen, McGrath, by any chance to remember that first little blind gap we came to just when hounds had begun to settle to their work ? The ditch was towards you, and almost completely overgrowu THE CTJli-nUNTlNG SEASOi^. 47 «^itli long yellow grass. Well, you came up to it, and you looked at it, and were doubtless at that moment brimful of courage, but you refrained from doing anj-tliing rash. Your discretion was of the highest order. Still, by the time you had waited a few minutes, during which hounds were stream- ing away in the distance, and the passage of scime twenty horsemen had reduced the dangerous nature of the impedi- ment to a minimum, you took heart. ' Hang it all ! ' you said once more, 'it's not such a bad place after all. Here goes for a shy at it.' Yalour, jou see, came to the front. Your mind was made up, and without further hesitation you charged the reduced gaj) with that heroic and indomitable courage born of an empty flask and stimulated spirits for which you are so deservedly esteemed by a large and admiring circle of friends. But now, what does that beggar, old Juniper, do ? Does he feel im2oelled by the same eager desire for distinction as his ambitious rider? No, not he. He whij)s round with such velocity as considerably to disturb Mr. McGrrath's centre of gravity, gives an obstinate shake of that wicked old head of his ; having in the interim spied a convenient gate some twenty yards or so to the right, he makes promptly for it, like a sensible and confidential animal. And now, Terry, your judgment came to the fore, for had you been a regular bruiser, like our friend Clinker here, you would pro- bably have remained at that blessed gap for the best part of an hour, endeavouring to force the obstinate brute over it, and by so doing lost your temper and your run at the same time. But you, like a true philosopher, discreetly yielded to old Juniper's better judgment, and, after passing through the gate, must have made most wonderful dispatch, since I gather from your statements that you had pretty well the best of the run throughout. Therefore I drink to valour and discretion in the persons of Mr. Terence McGrath and old Juniper, than whom no worthier representatives could possibly be found in all Huntingshire." And Captain Fuller raised his glass and drained its con- tents with evident approval of their quality. His speech was greeted by a chorus of laughter, ■s^lule a 48 THE RIGHT SORT. complacent smile overspread Mr. McGrath's ruddy coun- tenance, for curiously enough, sharp as he was at detecting a joke at another person's expense, his share of the national vanity was so great as to render him perfectly proof against any but the bluntest sarcasm, while Captain .Fuller's witti- cisms were so insidious, so artfully intermingled with judicious flattery, that they not only failed to wound Terry's suscepti- bilities, but actually restored him to a state of high good- humour and self-satisfaction. '^ Ha, ha! a capital story!" exclaimed Colonel Clinker. ''But I say, Fuller, if it is not an impertinent question, how was it you witnessed all this by-play ? It's mighty seldom you stand looking on and allow some twenty horsemen to take precedence, even if the obstacle be not a more formidable one than a blind gap. Come, what were you about?" ''Well, to tell the truth," answered Captain Fuller, ''being rather short of horses at present, owing to that beastly influenza having broken out in the stable, and never thinking for a second hounds were likely to run in the way they did, I merely rode out on my hack, intending" to potter about. She is only a four-year old, quite a pony, and as ignorant as a baby where jumping is concerned. Knowing, therefore, that she could not possibly get over the fences, particularly in their present leafy state, I contented myself with bringing up the rear, and making sundry judicious cuts along the roads whenever they were possible. I should be sorry to say how many of my neighbours I came across, or what curious phases of character revealed themselves to my observant eyes. It's wonderful what a lot one sees. I know almost every shirker in the field. The Grangeton brook was rare fun. I made a first-rate nick just about that time, and got on to the road, which runs almost parallel with it, exactly when the leading men came charging down at the water. I tell you what, Clinker, that's a rare good nag you were riding to-day ; not the bay, the one you rode home, but that young roan mare who carried you so brilliantly through the run. By Jove ! sho's a nailer ! She flew the brook like a bird. I never saw THE CUB-HUNTING SEASON. 49 anything prettier in my life. You happened to pick out rather a nasty place, where the banks were steep and under- mined, and although the mare had nothing in front to give her a lead, she never hesitated one single second, but pricked her ears and went at it straight as a die. I have not seen an animal that takes my fancy so for a long time. She jumps in such beautiful form, as lightly and as quickly as a stag. Why, she must have covered close upon twenty feet when jhe took the brook." *^ It was a pretty tidy jump for a young 'un," said Jack (^linker, who, little as he was given to bragging about his own performances, like all true lovers of the noble animal, dearly liked, when he possessed a good conveyance, to hear its praises sounded. ''I picked her up this summer when down at Newmarket with the Governor. She's clean thorough- bred, by Hyperion out of Emerald. You may, perhaps, recollect the dam. She is an Irish mare, not unknown to fame, having about six years ago won one of the big steeple- chases at Punchestown, while Hyperion has some of the finest blood in the country running through his veins, as everj^ono who has studied his stud-book knows. Directly I set eyes on Opal — that is the young 'un's name — I fell in love with her. I knew she was bound to race and jump, not only from her pedigree, but from her make and shape. If you were to cast your eye over her you would be surprised how deep she is in the girth, and what great square hips she has got. She wants furnishing, but her bone and muscle are quite remarkable for a four-year-old. She belonged to a racing farmer, who knew her value, and for a long time the price proved a stopper. A man ought not, perhaps, to praise his own cattle, but though I say it who should not. Opal, bar none, is the very best four-year-old I ever threw a leg over. She is handsome as paint, bold as a lion, and clever as a cat. As for jumping, it comes naturally to her. She never saw hounds until to-day, although of course she has done a bit of quiet schooling at home." ''Well, she could not have gone better had she been the most mature old hunter," said Captain Fuller. " And what's E 50 THE RiaHT SORT. more, she ouglit to win between the flags. Has she any turn of speed? " '' Speed ! I should rather think she had. It's extraordinary how she gets over the ground with that long, sweeping stride of hers. Of course, hunting is a different thing altogether to racing ; nevertheless you know to-day how fast hounds went, fast enough at any rate for most of them, but they never suc- ceeded in extending Opal. From fii-st to last she was going well within herself, and hardly turned a hair. No, if only she grows the right way, unless I am greatly mistaken she is good enough to pull off one of our big steeplechases." Now it is a common- enough delusion of most gentlemen possessing a second-rate animal that can gallop a trifle faster than its companions in the hunting-field, that the said animal is likely to prove a mine of wealth, and has been a hitherto- nndiscovered treasure, whose light only requires to be rescued from the bushel in order to shine forth and take the sporting world by storm. Jack Clinker, however, was well qualified to give gin opinion, and was not likely to be led astray in his judgments through any momentary enthusiasm occasioned by Captain Fuller's enconiums. In all matters connected with sport he was thoroughly conversant. His knowledge and experience were both considerable, for at the early age of thirty he had attained the proud position of being recog- nised as the finest rider, the best man to hounds, and the most successful gentleman-jockey, both on the flat and between the flags, of the day. So great, indeed, had his prestige become, that it was almost sufficient for it to be known beforehand that the Honble. Jack Clinker would ride any given horse in a race, for that horse immediately to be installed favourite. Like the invincible Ai'cher, he had his herd of blindly worshipping followers. At cross-country meetings his success was astonishing, while even professional jockeys respected him as no unworthy opponent, and pro- nounced him, for an amateur, '' a wonderful good judge of pace." His friends — and they were legion — declared Jack Clinker to be the best fellow in the world, whose only fault consisted in a harrowing impecuniosity, which at times led THE CUB-HUNTINa SEASON. 51 him into considerable difficulties; wliilehis enemies — for what man has none ? — took pleasure in asserting he was a regular scapegrace, a ne'er-do-well, and a shamefully extravagant young dog. Whichever party might be right, despite sundry scrapes and adventures, chiefly of a financial nature, not a soul had ever breathed a word against Jack Clinker's honour, or accused him of any impropriety in connection with his trans- actions on the turf. If he were, as was generally admitted, sans peur, he was equally sans reproche. Colonel Clinker's father — Lord Nevis — a rare old gentleman of a fast dying-out school, had inherited the title and a heavily-mortgaged estate through the unexpected demise of a somewhat distant relative. Lord Nevis spent most of his days upon the property, struggling hard to free it of encumbrance, so 'that at his death it might be handed down clear of debt to his only son, whose comfortable settlement in life was his one great wish. To effect this result, the unselfish and devoted father econo- mised in every possible way; while, if the truth will out. Master Jack made such frequent applications to the family purse that he quickly disposed of any small surplus accruing therein. Put into the Guards at an early age. Jack's chief difficulty had always lain in endeavouring to make both ends meet. An allowance of eight hundred a year proved totally insufficient to defray the debts he incurred. Generous to a fault, open-handed and kind-hearted, with a perfect passion for horseflesh and sport of every description, up till now ho had found it impossible to live within his income. His reso- lutions were excellent, and his desire to retrench sincere, yet somehow or other at the end of each year the same old story repeated itself. Bills came pouring in, and money wherewith to meet them was not forthcoming. Now and again, when his lucky star was in the ascendant. Jack Clinker managed to pull off some " good thing " on the turf, the proceeds of which, impartially divided among his numerous creditors, served for a space to stay their clamorous tongues, and staved off the evil day; but alas! these ''good things" were few and far between, oftentimes succeeded by shockingly bad 52 THE EIGHT SORT. ones, during whicli poor Jack went about in a dejected mood, cogitating the alternatives of an immediate and comprehen- sive scheme of reform, or an abode in that last retreat of the destitute, i.e. the workhouse. Nevertheless, so sanguine was Colonel Clinker by temperament, that even when most bowed down by difficulties he firmly believed in something or other turning up. The final crash certainly loomed in the distance, and year by year appeared more imminent, but by hook or by crook the crisis had hitherto been delayed, while in the meantime the gallant Colonel's life was not otherwise than a pleasant one. In the summer he idled about town, forming one of the highly esteemed '^ gardenia division," attended all the smart parties given by the leaders of society, was idolised by fashionable spinsters and professional beauties, went to every race-meeting almost in the United Kingdom, from ' Appy 'Ampton to aristocratic Goodwood ; later on shot grouse and slaughtered stags on his own native hills, paid innumerable visits, contrived to kill time more or less success- fully until the hunting season came round, and altogether spent a pleasant, profitless existence, such as generally falls to the lot of young men possessing just enough to keep them in idleness, to the detriment of all their higher qualities and legitimate ambitions. Jack Clinker was no fool. He had fallen into a groove which, on the whole, suited him fairly well ; still, in his more serious moods, he fully recognised the fact that it might be wise to turn over a new leaf ; only the pages of the book had stuck together, and a commencement was so hard to make ! At the present moment he was supremely happy, recalling Opal's meritorious performances, and looking forward to an excellent season's sport. During the winter months, in com- mon with his argumentative friend, Terence McGrath, he rented the snug little hunting-box at Foxington in which we find the pair located, and which, owing to one or two uninvited visitors who occasionally put in an unwelcome appearance, had facetiously been christened '' The Eetreat.'' Captain Fuller lived next door but one, and had contrived to establish himself on terms of tolerable intimacy. Although possessed THE CUB-HUNTING SEASON. 5*3 of no ostensible means, the Captain was one of those fortunate individuals who, living no one knows how, are quite content 80 long as they enjoy the best of everything at a neighbour's expense. With this end in view he had constitated himself dry nurse to a wealthy inexperienced young man, one Eobert Grahame, son of a millionaire merchant, whom he had per- suaded into making his dehut in the hunting-field. The fatherly interest he took in Mr. Grahame, familiarly known as the Chirper, was truly beautiful to behold. He relieved him of all trouble, managed his stud for him, ordered in the forage, rode any awkward or fractious horses, engaged the servants, wrote out long lists of delicacies to be obtained from the stores, paid all the household bills regularly once a week, harangued the tradespeople, and in return for such inestim- able services demanded nothing but an occasional cheque wherewith to keep things going. And Mr. Grahame, who hated trouble, and who received from his wealthy parent just as many thousands as Jack Clinker did hundreds a year, with an injunction^to boot, to speoid his money royally, conceived that he could not possibly be obeying the parental wishes better than by allowing Captain Fuller to constitute himself administrator-in- chief of the finances — an arrangement which afforded that gentleman infinite satisfaction, and which so far appeared to have suited Mr. Grahame equally well. Naturally somewhat shy and of a retiring disposition, he not only in all things allowed Captain Fuller to take the lead, but effaced himself so completely that strangers were apt to put him down as a bigger fool than he was. Hobert Grahame went tlirough the world with open but good-humoured eyes, and being at the same time both indolent and rich, had no objec- tion to be preyed upon by his friends iip to a certain point. Captain Fuller had the sense to understand this, and never to go beyond the boundary line. Hence theii' apparent sympathy and cordiality. M THE RIGHT SORT. CHAPTEB VI. AN EYEIsTFUIi BET. There comes a time when even the subject of a good run may be worn threadbare, and conversation for lack of incident begins to droop. So it was now. Every fence had been recalled, the performances of each individual horse and rider discussed, the bhndness of the country animadverted upon, and the appearance of hounds and handling of huntsmen freely criticised, until at length a pause resulted — a pause which Mr. McGrath, whose chief merit certainly did not lay in silence, quickly proceeded tc? break by an interrogation which he evidently considered of great importance. '' By-the-bye, boys," he asked, "have you heard the news ? the news that is, or ought to be, agitating the heart of every blessed bachelor in Foxington. You, Jack, in particular, should feel interested. Such a chance may never come your way again." ''Indeed, then I had better make haste and profit by it, especially as there seems likely to be a good deal of competi- tion," returned the Honble. Jack carelessly. ''There'll be plenty of that, I'll be bound," said Mr. McGrath with a comical twinkle of the eye, looking exceed- ingly mysterious. *'For goodness sake, Terry, don't be so enigmatical. If you don't look out you'll be a terribly prosy old man some of these days. Get to the point of your story, if any point exists, of which I have my suspicions." "Well, you are a sceptical beggar, if ever there was one. I declare I've half a mind not to teU you afte».r all." "Don't, Terry, I'm not the least curious." AN EVENTFUL BET. 55 " Oh ! I like that ! Come, now, what would you say to the arrival of two young ladies on the scene of action — both young, both good-looldng, and one of them rich ? — so rich, indeed, that they say she does not know what to do with her money or how to spend it." ''Ialwa3^s mistrust what 'they say,'" responded Jack coolly, piiiFing a cloud of smoke from the long cigar he had just lighted. '''They say' is the most inveterate scandal- monger in the world, and at the same time the most untrust- worthy one. Yv^ho are 'they?' Answer me that question- Can yon point them out? Can anylody point them out? However, if you ask my opinion, that's a different matter altogether. / say the young lady to whom you allude must either be a phenomenon or an idiot. I can conceive of no intermediate condition. To be the happy possessor of more money than one knows what to do with appears to my limited comprehension an utterly impossible state of affairs. I can- not bring myself to believe in it. The very mention of such a thing conjures up dim visions of bliss." " Yisions which might come true," murmured Mr. McGrath under his breath. ""Wriieredid you pick up this exciting piece of news?" asked the Chirp er, dis]Dlaying an unusual amount of interest, most gratifying to Terry's feelings of self-importance, which had been rather damped by the Colonel's unbelief. "Is your informant to be relied upon ? I hope so, for two nice girls would be a great addition." "Well done. Chirp er ; your sentiments do you honour," exclaimed Mr. McGrrath ap^Drovingly. " Nevertheless, in ask- ing such a question you display profound ignorance. There is but one person in this neighbourhood capable of answering to the term 'informant,' and she is facile princeps ! If you want to know the intimate affairs of your bosom friend, better almost than he does himseK, ask Mrs. Forrester. If you wish to be posted in the latest fashionable scandal, the ail- ments of every animal in the county, with the means to cure them, the peccadillos of the fair sex, the last hon mot among tho men, again, I saj, ask Mrs. Forrester. That woman is a 56 THE RIGHT SORT. regular walking encyclopaedia. How she manages to retain so mucli knowledge would baffle the holy St. Patrick himself. Nothing escapes her ! She's just as sharp and as clever as she can hang together. Gad," bringing his plump red hand with a resounding smack down on the table with sucn force as to make all the empty glasses jingle, ''if Mrs. Forrester was only some twenty years younger, and not nearly old enough to be my mother, I declare I know no woman I have a greater respect for or would sooner ask to become Mrs. T." ^' I was not aware up till this moment," remarked Captain Fuller, " that the sentiment which prompted people to commit matrimony consisted of respect alone. However, since you entertain such extremely sensible views, I can tender no better advice under the circumstances than ' Go in, my boy, and win.' " ''Yes, go in, my boy, and win," laughed the others in a chorus. "Thanks for your good wishes," said Mr. McGrath with melodramatic accents ; " but my friends," and here he gave a solemn shake of the head, ' ' widows, even the most fasci- nating, are a dangerous class, besides which a man does wrong to place himself in a position where comparisons are sure to be drawn, and generally to his disadvantage. A second husband is a striking exception to the adage, ' Zes absents ont toujour s tort.'' The dead cannot rise up to disprove facts and contradict statements, and for this reason — No. 1 once safely under the sods is invariably right, and No. 2 invariably wrong. Therefore I am too chivalrous to desire to do the defunct Colonel Forrester's memory such injuiy." " I suppose you and the old woman have been chattering together as usual," said Colonel Clinker. "What else did she tell you ? Did you meet her in the town ? " *' Certainly," returned Mr. McGrath, with a comical assumption of dignity. ' ' I disapprove of clandestine assigna- tions, even though the female be aged — " "Say rather because, ^^ interrupted Captain Fuller, with a laugh. "Ah I sly dog!" ejaculated Mr. McGrath. * However, tQ AN EVENTFUL BET. 67 get on witL. my story ; tliis afternoon, after my ride, feeling a bit stiff and sore, I determined to stretch my legs by going for a short stroll up the street. The first person I met was Mrs. Forrester, who, having divested herself of her habit, had driven in to fetch some medicine for a sick cow at the chemist's. '''Come here,' she said to me; Tve something to tell you. You've heard the news, of course ? ' " I was obliged to confess that, having only arrived yester- day, I was somewhat behind the times, and consequently not posted in the topics of the Foxington day. " 'Well, then,' continued Mrs. Forrester, ' Sport Lodge is let for the season — let to a young lady, Miss Brewser by name, who, it appears, is a great heiress, and what's more, she is one of our set, for she is fond of hunting. 'There is a companion, a Miss Whitbread, and they both came to-day. I sent my groom down to the station on purpose to have a look round. The horses arrived by the 3.30 train, and I have just this instant seen them go by. There was no mark on the clothing, so I stopped the man and asked him whom they belonged to. Three hunters, a pair of uncommonly smart cobs, a hack, and a brougham-horse formed the lot. One of the hunters — a chestnut — looked a perfect beauty, and the bay took my fancy also. Depend upon it the money is all right, and just think what a chance for some of you young men ! There's Clinker, for instance ; you tell him from me to keep his weather eye open. Such plums as this Miss Brewser require care and delicate handling, they do not grow on every tree ; but though they hang high, every now and again they are apt to fall with a real good thud to the ground. Don't forget, but be sure and give Jack my message.' So saying, Mrs. Forrester whipped up her horse and departed." "Hang it all," growled the Honble. Jack, "why the devil can't people leave me alone ? I hate hunting women, most confounded bores, who get in your way on every occa- sion, can't ride one little bit, and yet who, to make matters worse, have any amount of pluck — a pluck born of sheer 58 THE EIGHT SORT. ignorance. I declare it makes my blood run cold to see nine women out of ten come tippiting up to a big place, with no more idea how to go at it properly tlian the man in tlie moon. Ugli ! don't talk to me of bunting women I Witb a few exceptions I'm sick of tbem ! " And Jack, remembering bow only last season be bad been jumped upon and narrowly escaped complete annibilation by a gorgeous but unfortunate young person attired in a bright blue habit, with yellow curls and golden brooch and earrings, shuddered in unmistakable disgust at the recollection of this beautiful but untimely apparition, as it had burst upon him when struggling on the small of his back in a moist ditch, and a pair of brown heels inflicted sundry bumps and bruises on his prostrate form. ''And yet," said Captain Euller thoughtfully, ''there are many worse modus vivendl than a wealthy marriage. As for a harmless fancy for hunting on the part of the lady, I think nothing of that whatever. Obstacles soon intervene, and if the money is only secure, well invested, and regularly paid, the chances are you, as the husband, wiU have the spending of the greater share, and do pretty well what you like with the interest, even if the capital be strictly tied up. Now-a- days nothing opens out so fine a prospect to impecunious youth as a well-to-do marriage. It is a safe and comfortable haven, not difficult of attainment if properly approached. "Women love a judicious mixture of hardihood and flattery. The whole secret of overcoming their scruples lies in that." "I don't agree with you, Fuller," said Colonel ClinkcT coldly. "Women are not such fools as you seem to imagine." The one subject on which he and Captain Fuller never agreed or could agree was that of the fair sex. Jack Clinker thought of his dead mother with reverence. He believed in the purity of women, while Captain Fuller affected to despise it. " AVell, well," returned he, " you can do as you like. After all too many aspirants are undesirable, and I'm not at all sure I shan't have a cut in at this Miss Browser mvself ." AN EVENTFUL BET. 59 And the Captain, who was exceedingly vain of his personal appearance, twirled his scanty moustache with a complacency all the stranger as two at least out of his three listeners were aware that any matrimonial intentions on his part could only be executed under extreme difficulties. '' Bedad," interposed Terry on behalf of his friend, ''but Jack must have the first innings. None of us are so hard up as he is. And if we can do him a good turn we will." '' Thanks, old boy," said Jack, with a kindly gleam in his clear eyes, " it's something to have such a backer. Besides which, what you say about my being hard up is sensible enough ; things financially don't imju'oye ; in fact they get worse and worse, so its no use attempting to disguise the truth. I shall have to take the bull by the horns and do something desperate before long, the only difficulty when — and how?" A shadow passed across his open countenance, rendering it for a moment unusually serious. There were times, though as a rule not of very long duration, when even Jack Clinker felt de]3ressed by the increasing difficulties of the financial situation. " Well settle all that for you," replied Mr. McGrrath cheer- fully. "The 'when' shall be this winter — or perhaps, in consideration of 3'our btth being hunting people, we may allow a little grace, and defer the happy event until the spring — and the ' how ' matrimony. Faith, me dear boy, but I quite agree with our friend Captain Fuller in thinking that excellent institution a grand refuge for the destitute, so much so that I declare to you I've had serious thoughts of trying it myself, only somehow or other the girls, bless their darling hearts, are fanciful, and require more pin-money than I can afford. It's a curious thing, but whenever I propose they begin to laugh, and nothing kills sentiment like ridicule ; it shrivels it up just like a cold wind does a rose-leaf. Now you. Jack, in spite of your poverty, have looks, position, and just that sort of celebrity that the fair sex appreciate. They like a man who is somebody and who is talked about. Why," ■«vaxing enthusiastic, "the grirl would be a bom fool who 60 THE RIGHT SORT. would refuse to marry the best seat on a horse and the finest hands in England. She never could do it, the thing is a simple impossibility." **The young lady might not be possessed of any sporting tendencies, Terry," returned the other with an amused smile. "and then what you are good enough to designate as 'the best seat and finest hands in England' would be rather thrown away upon her, would they not ? It's not exactly complimentary, all one's boon companions displaying such exceeding solicitude to get rid of one ; and this Miss Browser is not the only girl in the world with money. I've met others before now, and managed to escape their charms without any serious wound being inflicted on my heart." *' The more fool you, Jack. You are your own worst enemy, and always have been." ** Possible. But may I ask what you desire ? Would jom have me throw mj^self as a perfect stranger, without receiving an atom of encouragement, at this young woman's head, simply because she happens to be, or is reported to be, an heiress? A fellow must be awfully thick-skinned for that sort of work." *' Not at all. I would have you make up to her in a proper and sensible fashion. There is no occasion to fling yourself at anybody's head in the absurd way of which you speak. If any flinging is required, let it be at the lady's feet. She'll not leave you there long, I'll be bound. You know, Jack, you're a deuced agreeable fellow when you choose to take the* trouble. Come, boys, fill your glasses just once more, and drink to the health of Miss Browser that now is, the Honble. Mrs. Jack Clinker that will be." << We've had about enough of this stupid chafi'," said the bridegroom- elect. " Can't you chaps talk of something more sensible?" Then, as the toast was repeated, he added as if half speaking his thoughts aloud, ''Poor Mrs. Jack! She will have but an indifferent time of it, I'm afraid. A gam- bling, racing, betting, idle husband, head over ears in debt, and no sooner out of one scrape than into another, is hardly the sort of man for a nice young girl to marry." AN EVENTFUL BET. 61 "Just tlie sort of man slie adores," observes Captain Fuller, wIlo happened to overhear the remark, and enun- ciated the opinion with a decision probably arising from long experience. *' "Women may like and esteem the respectable goody-goody members of society, but their love is reserved for the black sheep." "You certainly entertain the oddest opinions of the sex," said Colonel Clinker. " However, your assurances are exceed- ingly comforting to those who, like myself, belong to the latter class. According to your theory the bigger blackguard a man is the greater affection he inspires." "That's about it. "Women's hearts are awfully soft, but their heads are weak in proportion. We may thank our stars the majority of the sex are not sharper than they are, and possess such sweet credulous natures. Now, I'd like to bet you ten to one, in the event of your proposing to Miss Brewser, that she accepts you." " That's rather a strong order, is it not ? " said Jack Clinker, "with increasing impatience. " For goodness sake let's drop the subject.'^ " There, I have booked it !" said the other, taking out the neatly bound volume from his pocket without which he sel- dom stirred. " If you win I pay you ten sovereigns, whereas, in the event of losing, you only pay me one. The odds are handsome enough in all conscience." "Done," said the Colonel abstractedly, "on the condition I hear no more about it between this and then." The conversation clashed with his nicer instincts of chivalry, and he wished to put an end to it. He felt vaguely irritated and incensed. He therefore rose from the table, rang the bell, and voted an adjournment to the next room, where the card- table was abeady spread, and all things in readiness for the amusement of the evening. Captain Fuller proposed loo. nnd overruled the objections of Mr. McGrath, who greatly preferred a quiet rubber of whist at haK-a-crown points. The Captain, however, desired a more lucrative game, being an adept in the art of gambling. So they sat down and played with varying fortunes until the clock struck mid- 651 THE RIGHT SOKT. night. Then. Colonel Clinker pushed back his chair, and said — " It seems inhospitable to turn you fellows out, but I make it a rule, in the hunting season, never to keep late hours." '' Just one more round," pleaded Captain Fuller, who with glistening eyes was engaged in counting over a little heap of i.o.u's placed before him. He was in his element now, and the gambler's spirit rife within him, but the Colonel proved inexorable. He had been a steady loser, holding misera'!.)le cards throughout, and evidently considered it useless going on, in the face of such bad luck. "What an insinuating cove that fellow Fuller is, to be sure," he remarked to Terence McGrath when their guests had departed. '^ Neither you nor I wanted to play high, and yet he somehow forced it upon us. I've lost close upon a hundred pounds to-night, worse luck." '' He's a rum un," said Terry, '' I never can quite make him out. But I say. Jack, old fellow, another time I do wish you'd put your foot down, and be firm. If we begin the winter in this sort of way, we shall have to finish ifc in Queer Street. You and I can't afford to lose a hundred pounds at cards." "I can't for one," Jack said with a sigh, as they went up- stairs. '' Brewser," he muttered during the progress of undressing. ''That's a Scotch name. I wonder what family this girl belongs to? Ugh! what beasts she would think us if she had only heard us all discussing her up and down in the way we did to-night. I declare I felt positively ashamed." The fair head was on the pillow by this time. ''I'LL enter Opal for the Grand National, and win a big coup," with which foiisoling determination the Honble. Jack blew out the candle, rolled himself round, and before many minutes were over was sound asleep, dreaming of steeplechase courses and xuns across countrj. MISS BREWSEE AEcIlIVES AT SrOKT LODGE. 63 CHAPTEE Vn. MISS BBEWSEE, AERITES AT SPORT LODGE. SroRT Lodge, the present residence of tlie young lady and her friend who, quite unconsciously, had by their arrival aroused so considerable an amount of curiosity, possessed the advantage of being situated on rising ground, some half-mile distant from the low-lying toAvn of Foxington, which it overlooked. From the modern plate-glass windows of the building field after field of green undulating pastures, unbroken by plough or vestige of arable land, were to be seen, while on all sides great up-standing bullfhiehes met the eye, composed of stiff, unyielding blackthorn, fenced in by stout wooden oxers ; for the country within a radius of a couple of miles of Foxington was renowned as the biggest in England, none but the best mounted and highest couraged horsemen daring to ride over it. Fortunately, however, gates were plentiful in the immediate neighbourhood, often indeed proving the only means of egress, straight going being ren- dered still more difficult by the presence of a canal, a railway, and an unjumpable brook. Sport Lodge was a square-built, old-fashioned, comfortable abode, the solid red bricks of which its walls were composed being mellowed by the hand of time and the warring of the elements into a subdued and harmonious tint, which contrasted pleasantly with the glossy leaves of the ivy cHnging to their surface. The house stood in its own grounds, consisting of a short carriage-drive, small ffower and kitchen gardens, and an extensive paddock. Inside, the rooms, though not exceed- ingly numerous, were spacious and airy, while the furniture, in spite of being many degrees removed from the lofty 64 THE RIGHT SOKT. standard of cultured sesthetes of tlie Oscar "Wilde school, waa neither glaringly vulgar nor obtrusively hideous, thanks to an abhorrence on the part of Mr. Keginald Rich to anything that might be considered the least loud. Therefore, qviet colours and small patterns predominated, much to both girls' satisfaction, when soon after their arrival they commenced a searching and exhaustive tour of inspection, accompanied by old Maggie, the latter, however, being more taken up by the state of the blankets, bedding, and kitchen utensils than with the taste displayed by the late tenant. The drawing-room, as might have been expected, came in for the principal share of abuse. ''Did you ever see anything so awful?" ejaculated Kate, though in her heart of hearts she felt conscious things might have been a very great deal worse. But half an hour's labour worked wonders. The girls hauled about the obnoxious articles and stowed them away in unobtrusive nooks, produced yards upon yards of pretty, bright-coloured chintz, with which they draped the mantel- piece, strewed books and knicknacks about the room, stuck up some photographs and Japanese fans on the walls, and in a very short time completely metaraorphozed the apartment, bestowing on it that air of refinement and comfort which feminine fingers alone know how to impart. "There!" exclaimed Kate, feeling all the satisfaction derived from successful efifort, ''we have not allowed tho grass to grow under our feet. No one can say, considering we only arrived this morning, that we have wasted our time." ' ' Certainly not, " replied Mary. ' ' Your activity and energy are something quite remarkable. At least they appear so to me. I do not know what I should do or how I should manage without you to goad me on. I feel positively certain, if left to myself, I should not accomplish as much in a week as you get through in a single day." "Oh yes you would, Mary. It's a mere question of strength. You happen to be the more delicate of the two ; besides which you are blest with a naturally calm, equable, and unexcitable disposition, which, I fear, I do not possess. MISS BREWSER ARRIVES AT SPORT LODGE. 65 Nothing ever puts you out ; I never remember seeing you in a rage in all my life, whereas I — well, a very slight cause suffices to upset my temper. I don't believe people can help themselves ; it's constitutional, and just depends under what conditions they are bcrn. You have the good luck to own a placid mother and father — you are placid also — if not, not. Now nothing worries me more than to see things left lying about day after day never tidied up or put in their places. ' We will do so-and-so sometime ' is a saying constantly heard, but one which always makes me angry. Sometime is no time in my estimation. Folks who are perpetually intending but who rarely perform delay and delay until at length, if by any chance they happen to put their purpose into execution, the day has gone by when pleasure can be derived from its fulfil- ment. They end by outgrowing all capacity of enjoyment, and the long-deferred intention, when finally realised, becomes but Dead Sea apples. If you wish to pluck fruit from a tree you must choose the moment when it happens to be ripe and your appetite good. Procrastination only serves to rot the one and take the keen edge off the other. At least so it seems to me." ''Eeally, Kate, you have mistaken your vocation, and ought to have been a popular preacher. "Why don't you become an exponent of woman's rights ? Would not such an occupation open up a field worthy of your talents ? " '' Certainly not ; I don't approve of that sort of thing. If a woman cannot obtain what she is pleased to call her rights by the help of soft looks, pretty ways, and feminine attractions, I very much doubt her being able to do so by stumping about the country, addressing crowded assemblies from heated plat- forms, and arraying her person in masculine and unbecoming garments. A woman's real strength Hes elsewhere, in my opinion." ' ' WeU, Kate, you relieve my mind of a considerable bur- den," said Mary playfuUy. But, with aU due deHcacy, I beg to mention that for the last five minutes, while you have been indulging in idle talk I have been pursuing the even tenor of my ways, and worked with a perseverance beyond all praise. There, Miss, what say you ? " 66 THE PwIGIIT SORT. And Mary proceeded, witli an almost unnecessary display of vigour, to hammer a tin-tack into the wall preparatory to hanging up a sj)orting print, representing Mr. Jorrocks endeavouring to coax his favourite steed over a diminutive obstacle, which work of art Kate, as a sportswoman, regarded with feelings of the most intense veneration, and insisted on its occuj^ying a prominent j)osition. ''You're a duck, Mary," she remarked, ''if only for the patient manner in which you listen to my nonsensical observa- tions." " The substantial form of Mr. Jorrocks looks beautiful," said Mary, in reply. " He exactly fills what otherwise would have been an ugly vacuum. And now to descend carefully from my exalted but not altogether secure position." Where- upon Mary cautiously placed one foot on the lower rung of the steps on which she was mounted, and returned to mother earth. "I wonder if any visitors are likely to call this after- noon," she said presently, looking out of the window in a speculative sort of way. " I ought to go and tidy myself up a bit in that case." "I should think it doubtful," said Kate. "Anyhow, we are ready for anything or anybody, from a pious ecclesiastical visitation to a regular influx of the aborigines. By-the-bye, I wonder why it is that wherever one goes the divines, male and female, are invariably the first to pay their respects ? Is it for our sins, for our m_oral welfare, or for the off-chance of an invitation to dinner ? The 2^1'oblem is one I have never yet succeeded in solving to my satisfaction. It will take some little time, I daresay, before jDeople know of our arrival, though, I sup]Dose, sooner or later a certain number will do us the honour of calling, the little fry first, and the big last, as is nearly always the case." "I suppose so, and perhaps we may have more visitors than we anticipate, for I thought the agent told you Foxing- ton was an extremely gay place during the winter months, and full of hunting gentlemen." " Oh ! so he did. But I don't much believe in agents." " Kate, you horribly sceptical young woman, I should MISS BREWSER ARRIVES AT SPORT LODGE. 67 like to know what you do believe in. Your incredulitj is something amazing, not to say preposterous." "I believe implicitly in a little person called Miss Mary "W^iitbread," was the laughing rejoinder. *'She at least inspires me with sentiments of profound esteem." *'And quite unworthily so. But now, Kate, if you can but be serious for two minutes together, I feel perfectly cer- tain that in a place of this sort there are sure to be any number of nice people about, people you will like." ''That dej)ends very much on what you call nice people. They are so difficult to define, and so exceedingly few and far between. My experience leads me to believe that the majority pf human beings are neither nice nor nasty, and that the utmost feeling they inspire is one of absolute indifference. They are too insipid to be loved, too vapid to b'e hated. I wonder where they all go to ? If we were either angels or murderers by nature, heaven and hell would be perfectly intelligible, but where is the intermediate place, suitable to the enormous mass of living souls, that never rise above or descend beyond the dead level of mediocrity ? — the mass, who are neither vicious nor virtuous, bad nor good, but who go through their lives in a commonplace, monotonous fashion, performing neither any exceedingly noble actions nor yet any very wicked ones ? Is there no heaven for such as these ? Must they either be imduly rewarded or equally unduly relegated to eternal punishment ? Oh ! Mary, I cannot understand it, but my mind rebels against both these alter- natives. Justice appears so deficient in such an arrange- ment." ' ' Hush, Kate ! I really wish you would not talk like that, or propound such extraordinary ideas. They are c|uite un- fitted to your age, and only make one feel uncomfortable." " Perhaps so. But what am I to do if such thoughts insist upon coming into my head ? They are not solicited, but enter uninvited." ' ' You are a strange girl, Kate, and far too clever for 3'our neighbours." ' ' Not at all ; I am afraid it is the other way about, and 68 THE RIGHT SORT. they are cleverer than I am. Do you kno^^, Mary, I think now-a-days people ought to be born either fools or geniuses. The competition is so enormous, and the intermediate stages so exceedingly unpleasant. To possess aspirations without the talent necessary to lead to their fulfilment is a most fatal gift. It is like the fox and the grapes. One yearns after something, only the fox displayed superior sense by retiring when he found the clusters beyond his reach, and in per- suading himself they were sour. Our grapes are not sour, but very sweet, if only we could reach them, which we never can. They dangle temptingly over our heads, but are not to be grasped. Therefore I say the blind, the dumb, and the insensate are happier than a person like myself, possessing just sufficient brains to recognise the full extent of her own deficiencies, and yet not enough to supply the remedy, or win renown in any walk of life." ' ' Ah ! "Win renown in any walk of life ! There speaks the bold, ambitious Brewser spirit. Kate, you ought to have been a man, like your uncle, and then you could have gone out into the world, and given full vent to your energies." *' I wish I had had the luck, that's all 1 " "Well, as the fates were unkind enough to determine otherwise, you must content yourself, at all events for the present, by winning renown in the hunting-field, and with that end in view how would it be if you were to go out and interview the excellent Stirrup, who else, I fear, may feel hurt at his mistress's non-appearance? " " Happy thought ! " exclaimed Kate, with one of the sud- den transitions natural to her, descending from the abstruse study of the psychological to more terrestrial subjects, ''and I think I will profit by the suggestion." So saying Kate fetched a neat little black felt hat from the peg on which it was hanging in the hall outside, stuck it jauntily on her pretty head, put on a pair of dogskin gloves a few sizes too large, but which she kept for similar visits to the one she now intended paying, and after a certain amount of fumbling succeeded in extracting several large lumps of BUgar from the recesses of her well-filled pocket, which MISS BEEWSER ARRIVES AT SPORT LODGE. 69 preliminaries terminated, she proceeded to take her depar- ture. Kate's entrance into the stables was the signal for various impatient neighs of welcome, while Stirrup, the stud-groom, who had been busying himself in the harness-room, imme- diately stepped forward to greet his young mistress with smiling alacrity. A cockney j^wr sang by birth, his features were somewhat hard and dour, yet they possessed that look of immistakable honesty which never fails to win con- fidence. Stirrup's hair was grizzled, and his face puckered into many wrinkles, but the keen eyes were as bright as ever, and the whole countenance full of shrewd common-sense. Short of stature, standing about five feet six inches in i^is boots, his legs possessed that peculiar curve which so frequently reveals the horsey individual. In fact, a man must have been the veriest tyro not at one glance to determine Mr. Stirrup's profession. ^'Good-morning, Miss Kate," he said, advancing to meet her, and touching a respectable black billycock by way of salutation. '' I'm afraid everything 'ere be rather in a muddle for the likes of you." '' Good-morning, Stirrup." she replied with a laugh. ''The ' liJces of me ' is not so particular as all that, I hope. It takes some little time to settle down. However, we shall be all right, I've no doubt, in a day or two, and I trust that, on the whole, you feel tolerably satisfied." ^^ Tolerably, thankee, Miss," with an emphasis on the "tolerably" which implied the very reverse. "There be one or two little matters I should wish to make so bould has to mention. There's them air 'arness-stands wants looking to just terrible. I don't know 'ow people managed afore us, but our 'arness won't 'ang on 'em no 'ow. Then the 'andle, it 'as dropped off the coach-'ouse door of its own accord, so to speak, for d'reckly I cum to turn it down it falls, which makes the door uncommon awkud ; and the bedsteads in the men's room hupstairs they be only fit for babbies to sleep in. "Wliy they bain't more than two feet across — quite ridiklous 70 . TilE RIGHT SOET. for grown-up people, let alone such, fine strapping young fellows as Dan and Tom." '' Yes, Stirrup, and what else ? " enquired Kate resignedly. ''Do the harness-stands, the coach-house handle, and the men's legitimate requirements comprise the lot? " "Certainly not. Miss," he returned with dignity. ''I'm only telling you of just what comes uppermost in my mind. I've not the smallest doubt but what by the end of the day a great many bother needfuls will crop up." " I've not the smallest doubt but that they will. Stirrup. I'm positively certain of it — at least, as certain as one can be of anything in this world." Stirrup looked at her and shook his head. " You allers love a joke. Miss Kate," he said, in an indul- gent, semi-protesting manner. Youmzist 'ave your larf what- ever 'appens. Ah!" — as he caught sight* of one of the understrappers endeavouring to raise the handle of the pump — " that reminds me that air machine be hawful bad to work. It took a couple on us to get the 'osses their water this fore- noon ; and them fine windys, too, be all for show. Not one of 'em can be made to hopen ; they be stuck quite fast. And the boiler in the wash'ouse it are wrong, not a drop of 'ot water to be got, and one of the gas-cocks won't turn proper, so that the gas escapes, and the smell is enuff topison the 'osses, and — " How long Stirrup, being once launched, might have added to this fresh list of grievances it is impossible to say. Kate's patience was fairly worn out. "That will do, that will do," she interrupted, making believe to stop her ears. " I shall never remember one half of what you have told me. Send for a man, a dozen men if needful, and get everything j)ut straight that you don't like. I don't suppose," she continued "that these stables have been occupied since last winter, but except a few small de- fects, even you. Stirrup, must admit them to be very nearly perfect." She was anxious, if possible, to coax him into some expres- eion of approbation, but Stirrup was equal to the occasion, end would not allow himself to be thus entrapped. MISS BIIEWSER AP.UIVES AT SrOr^T LODGE. 71 *' They will be well enough, in their way, Miss," came the cautious reply. ''I 'as seen better, and I 'as seen wus. For my part, I never swears by them there tiles, they be very dazzling to 'osses' eyes. Such-like new fangled fancies please some folks, but I am not one of those to run after every fresh craze that is started ; old-fashioned ways and old-fashioned hideas be more to my mind." " Well, well. Stirrup ! Let us have a look at the horses," said Kate, seeing it was useless attempting to argue the question fui'ther. Her stud, as before stated, consisted at the time of her arrival of three hunters, a pair of ponies, a hack, and a harness-horse. First and foremost came King Olaf, who considering himself neglected during Kate's colloquy with Stirrup, had all the time it lasted been violently pawing up the straw with his hoofs and endeavouring to poke his soft nose between the iron bars of the box. In colour he was a bright golden chestnut streaked with white, becoming more pronounced at the root of the tail, and testifying to the Bird- catcher blood which ran through his veins, while a white blaze down the forehead and three white stockings on the two hind and near forelegs rendered him, quite apart from his good looks, an animal not easily forgotten when once seen. Clean thoroughbred, by thp.t well-known sire Norseman, ere- while a winner of the St. Leger and other important races. King Olaf's pedigree defied the closest inspection. He stood about fifteen three — if anything perhaps a trifle under than over — but the deep girth, wide hips, great muscular thighs, and clean short legs, added to the beautiful compact frame, all gave evidence of an unusual degree of power. A better shaped or more symmetrical animal would be hard to fijid. King Olaf's forehand was simply perfect. A slender arching neck, strong yet supple, with a crest like iron, fijiely sloping shoulders, in which the muscles stood out like swelling balls, small pointed ears, always on the alert, a lean well set-on head, with large brown eyes, whose clear blue pupils seemed an index of the horse's character, and told both of courage and docility. The best judge in England would have found himself at a loss to pick a hole in him, and it was with 72 THE RIGHT SORT. natural pride that old Stirrup was wont to remark wlien called u]3on to display his favourite — *' There, I warrant he's about as good as they make 'em." And Stirrup was not far wrong, for King Olaf was one of those rare animals, few and far between, who did not know what it was to turn his head, whose gallant heart would take him anywhere his rider wished, over, through, or under, as the case might be, resolute as a prizefighter, bold, active, flippant, yet withal gentle and kind — a horse such as with the greatest good luck it falls to one's share to own but once in a lifetime. That Kate knew, and not only knew but thoroughly appre- ciated his merits was clear at a glance. A cordial under- standing existed between the pair. King Olaf treated his mistress, that sharp j^oung mistress whose clever tongue often made the golden youth of the period abashed and confused, quite sans ceremonie. He gobbled up the sugar with the greediest avidity, and then began rubbing his beautiful head against her shoulder, as if coaxing for more, but finding he had partaken of his share, he contented himself with calmly licking the buttons down the front of Kate's dress, an operation that did not benefit those articles very highly. '' You dear old greedy thing ! " exclaimed she, patting the glossy neck bent down before her, ^'j^ou have had all your sugar, and I must keep the rest for the Duckling and Grisette. What ! another piece, just one tiny one ? Oh, King Olaf, you are a sad glutton. You really are, only you ask so prettily, I can't resist." It was quite nice to see them together. Kate talked and cooed to the horse, and he listened with an air of intelligence almost human. ''I suppose he's all right?" continued she addressing Stirrup. "I hear the hounds meet somewhere pretty close to-morrow morning, and I should like if possible to go out , for an hour or two, just to have a look at them. I must begin to get into condition you know. It won't hurt Eling Olaf, will it, Stirrup ? We ought to produce our swagger MISS BREWSER ARRIVES AT SPORT LODGE. 73 horse when we make our first appearance in the Shires, so as to impress the natives favourably. Don't you think so? " " Most certainly, Miss," he said emphatically, " and wot's more, I don't mind wagering a shilling to a golden sovereign there baint many 'osses out as can 'old a candle to 'im. I've been a groom now pretty nigh forty-five years, and I've never seen the one yet that could beat 'im. No, no, I am not afraid of the 'Untingshire cracks, for all the talk there is about 'em." And Stirrup cast his eye over King Olaf with unmixed pride and satisfaction, glancing at Kate meanwhile in pure delight. ''Has he fed all right. Stirrup?" '' Fed ? Why, lor bless you, Miss, that ere hanimal would eat 'is very 'ead off. I never seed a finer grubber in my life ; he's a credit to 'is boats, that's what he is, and I only wish we 'ad more of the same sort in our stable. There's that Grysettynow" (the real name of the mare in question was Grisette, but not being an accomplished French scholar, Stirrup adopted a pronunciation of his own on the principle of phonetic spelling), ''she's a poor, delicate, fanciful crittur if you like. There baint a bit of stamina about 'er. She'll never make a good doer, she won't, and if you take my had- vice, Miss Kate, you'd get rid of 'er on the first hopportunity. She looks pretty well now she 'as done no work, and it is just possible some flat may take a fancy to 'er. There's lots o' these young sparks as don't know a 'oss from a cow." " You would not have me take one of ' these young sparks ' in, surely. Stirrup ? " Stirrup's eyes twinkled as he replied — " I would not 'av you take anyone in. Miss Kate, but all the same if you get the chance of parting with Gry-setty, you do as I say. You let 'er go. She'll stand no work, and by the end of the season will be a regular bag of skin and bones, a discredit to hus both. I often think, Miss," continued Stirrup loquaciously, "as 'ow 'osses 'ave wonderful charakturs. They vary just as much as 'uman beings. Some be brave and lion-'earted, like King Olaf, and others again is regular 74 THE jaciiT sort. co^vards. Look at that there Duckling for instance ! Do you mean to tell me he aint got just as much in that cunning little 'ead of 'is as arf the folks one comes across '? I'll be bound that if 'is brains was weighed against many of 'em he'd beat 'em 'oUow. He's awful hartful that 'oss is." "He knows a tiny bit too much, I suspect. Stirru^gD, eh? With all his good equalities he's terribly obstinate at times, and insists upon having his own way out hunting. In com- mon justice, however, I am bound to state that that way is usually the right way. There is nearly always some cause for the Duckling's actions. Why, as a proof of his clever- ness, only the other day when I rode him, seeing a low, inviting-looking hedge, I thought I would pop over it just for fun, when, to my indignation. Master Duckling declined in the most persistent manner. Well, do you know. Stirrup, there was luvre stretched all along the top, which I had not noticed, but which he had seen in the twinkling of an eye. Yes, the Duckling is a safe conveyance, and don't mean falling. "We have got used to each other's little peculiarities, and I have long since come to the conclusion that whenever a slight difference of opinion arises between us it is better to yield to his superior knowledge and defer my judgment to his." " You bain't much wrong either. Miss Kate. They all 'as their faults, but he 'as decidedly fewer than most of 'em." So saying Stirrup turned up the Duckling's clothing, and gave him an affectionate smack on the hind-quarters, which that animal promptly resented by whisking his tail from side to side and seizing hold of the manger between his strong teeth. Neither so handsome or quite so well bred as King Olaf, he looked all over a game ''varmint," wear-and-tear sort of hunter. Nor were his appearance and character at variance, for the Duckling, fortunately for his owner, was one of those invaluable creatures always to the fore, with an iron constitution, never sick or sorry, ever ready for his turn or to replace an invalid, placid, averse to needless exertion, a voracious feeder, and sound as a bell. He stood on the shortest and cleanest of legs, and was altogether a horse of a JJISS BEEAVPER AEEIYES AT SrOET LODGE. 75 good old-fasliioned stamp but rarely met with. He was now seven years of age, and, bar accidents, apj)eared likely to carry Kate in the hunting-field for twice that number more. If he had a fault it was that, unless in for a real good run, he sometimes inclined towards laziness, appearing to recognise the futility of any needless waste of vital power. But if hounds ran, then he would settle to his work in downrisfht earnest, prick his ears when he came to a fence, and jump as if he loved jumping for jumping's sake, not merely as a means to an end, to be accomplished with the smallest pos- sible amount of exertion. And if the run only lasted long enough to choke off the majority, the Duckling was pretty nearly certain to show to the front, for although other horses might possess superior speed in a short scurry, but very few were endowed with his extraordinary staging qualities. In- deed, the farther he travelled the better he seemed to go. Plough was indifferent to him, heavy ground he simply romped through. He went pegging along at the sarne^ steady, even pace up hill and doAvn, and contrived to get over the land in a truly wonderful manner. Such was the Duck- ling. Like many other good performers, if a slow beginner a sure finisher, and one who, his blood once fairly roused, proved himself uncommonly hard to beat across country — a thoroughly excellent, confidential, and sensible animal aU round. Many a good ride Kate had already enjoyed on the back of the stout, honest little beast, and although perhaps not quite so brilliant a performer as King Olaf, he nevertheless ran him very close in her affections. She liked each best in his turn, and never wholly succeeded in given one a decided preference over the other — a state of things which all hunting men and women will probably regard as highly satisfactory. Kate in the stables, with Stirrup to talk to, was in her element. She stood by watching him hog the manes of the two smart Welsh cobs, rejoicing in the names of Brandy and Soda, which she intended driving out to covert on the morrow. Anyhow, time passed so quickly that she was astonished when a sonorous gong was sounded with discordant thumps 76 THE EIGHT SORT. by a male domestic, summoning her to luneli in the most imperious m^anner. "How time flies to be sure!" she exclaimed. ''Why it only seems a few minutes since I came here. However, I suppose I must be off now. Well then, Stirrup, let me see. I think you quite understand your orders for to-morrow? The hounds meet at a place called Doddington, about six miles from here, at ten o'clock. AVe will start punctually at nine, so as to have plenty of time to rectify any errors, and r^hall drive the pony phaeton out. One of the helpers had better ride Grisette, and lead King Olaf on to covert. I should think that would be the best arrangement." '' Certainly, Miss," answered Stirrup. '' But I don't much 1. ke the idea of your going all alone, particular to start with, in a new country, and heverything strange. There's the Duckling, he's fit and well, and ready to jump out of 'is skin. It would do him good to go out for a 'our or so." ''Which means. Stirrup, I suppose," said Kate with a smile, "that you intend to accompany me ? " Whereupon she ran back hastily into the house, feeling she liad been keeping Mary Whitbread waiting an unconscionable time for her midday meal. "Humph!" ejaculated Stirrup, as he watched Kate's retreating form, and apparently gave vent in outward expres- sion to a train of inward reflections. ' ' Talk of swells, indeed ! Where is the pair as can show near 'er and King Olaf? Bless 'er dear 'art ! What a clever, bright crittur she be to be sure ! She ain't stuck up, or full of nimminy-pimminy ways, like most females. Why she talks to a poor old fellow like me exactly has if 'e was an hequal. Lor ! If she don't take the shine out of some of these 'ere nobs to-morrow, why my name ain't E. W. Stirrup, that's all." With which soliloquy Mr. Stirrup re-entered the harness- room, and before long was vigorously engaged in applying a chamois-leather to the brass mountings that Brandy and Soda v>ere destined to sport on the morrow. MRS. FORRESTEH ]\rAKES A RECONNAISSANCE. 77 CRAPTEE Vlli. MRS. FORRESTER MAKES A RECONNAISSANCE. Mrs. Forrester belongea to the active and energetic order of beings that does not allow the grass to grow under feet. Procrastination could not be included in the category of her shortcomings. Whenever any fresh arrivals appeared in the neighbourhood she immediately constituted it her duty to call upon them without loss of time. This mode of procedure had among the circle of her intimate friends become such an entirely understood arrangement that its various members regarded the lady in the light of a distinguished and per- spicuous ava7it-courier, in whose reports, bad or good, implicit confidence might be placed, and according to which the actions of the district were determined. An unfortunate couple, man and wife, had arrived at the Eest and be Thankful Hotel only so lately as last winter, with all the credentials conferred by youth, good-looks, and a large fortune ; but when, thanks to Mrs. Forrester's investi- gations, it became known the lady's antecedents were not exactly all that could be wished, the Foxington world, in a body, declined to leave that thin strip of pasteboard which leads to acquaintanceship, and felt grateful to its pioneer for having saved it from the vexations of a false position. Perfect trust was reposed in Mrs. Forrester's decisions. Her ultimatum was generally law, and saved much trouble, while the keen interest she took in everything that concerned the affairs of others rendered her self-imposed task far from an unpleasant one. The reward came in the shape of knowing more than her neighbours, of being able to impress them with a sense cf superior information, of having a finger in ^^ THE RIGHT SOllT. everybody's pie, and of finding herself in universal request. This feeling of importance flattered Mrs. Forrester's pride. She was fully alive to the value attached to her opinions, and spared neither time nor trouble in pursuit of gossip where- with to gratify or astound her numerous acquaintance. Left a widow in middle life, and possessing a competence which, though not large, was sufticiejit to enable her to live in tolerable comfort, her tastes being both frugal and simj)le, Mrs. Forrester, some ten or fifteen years ago, ha^ purchased a small property at a proj^itious moment, when land happeiicd to have considerably deteriorated in vcdue. This domain, consisting of a dwelling-house and a couple of hundred acres, was well situated within two miles of the town, and extremely handy for the larger portion of the meets. The land Mrs. Forrester farmed herself, and there was no better judge of stock, or more judicious buyer and seller of beasts, in the whole country round. The 'cutest grazier could not show more favourable accounts, or turn a larger profit in a shorter time. She dabbled in science and chemistry, and thoroughly understood the importance of supptying bone -forming and fatty materials where scantily provided by Nature. She believed in the possibility of improving upon that great mis- tress, and thereby scored over a large number of less en- lightened brethren. Moreover she held the courage of her opinions, and did not hesitate now and again to try experi- ments which the easy-going, half- educated farmers regarded as the height of lunacy, but which not unfrequently ended by carrying conviction to the narrow-grooved agricultural mind. With much practical knowledge and energetic supervision, Mrs. Forrester was one of the fortunate few who made the cultivation of their native soil pay its working expenses. No one, having once made the lady's acquaintance, could fail to perceive that she possessed striking orighiality of character. Although between fifty and sixty years old, she still retained traces of having been in her j^outh a singularly good-looking girl, tkough now spare in figure, and consequently deficient in the comeliness that often improves middle-aged women. MllS. rORRESTER AIAKES A RECONXAlSSAKCE 7.0 All the f eatuies were good, in sj^ite of the cheeks being bronzed and wrinkled, and the complexion dyed to a deep saffron by the combined effects of sim and wind and rain, though it was easy to see at a glance that she gained nothing from borrowed plumes, and utterly disdained such female frivolities as fashion- able di-esses and useless finery. Her clothes fulfilled the primitive mission of covering the human body with regard to warmth and comfort rather than to effect. She wore no frills, no furbelows, no such abominations as a dress-improver. False hair, false busts, false fronts, false teeth, were to her things unknown. Nevertheless, the neat head, with its cover- ing of dark glossy hair, as yet untouched by the hand of time, the quick intelligent eye, the oval-shaped face, small mouth, and delicately arched nose, all bespoke a person of gentle birth ; while neither exposure tor the elements nor utter in- difference to outward appearance had been able wholly to efface those good looks with which the Creator had at some period or another undoubtedly endowed Mrs. Forrester. The most startling thing about her was her voice. Deep in tone as that of any man, clear and sonorous, it yet possessed a brusqueness which strangely impressed the unaccustomed listener. To all intents and purposes it might have ema- nated from the deepest recesses of the ground, it sounded so sepulchral. Mrs. Forrester's ordinary attire consisted of a short and perfectly plain dark cloth petticoat, guiltless of trimming or superfluous adornment, beneath which appeared a pair of stout, broad-soled, square-toed, hob-nailed shooting boots, above which again, it was whispered, a masculine gar- ment that shall be nameless was donned, which the obser- vant professed many a time to have seen. Anyhow, under- petticoats were evidently not patronised, else why that dual suggestion conveyed to the mind ? The upper portion of Mi^s. Forrester's attire was composed of a loose cutaway jacket, also made of cloth, opening over a checked flannel waistcoat, varied, on grand occasions, by a spotted bird's- eye ; a white silk tie, held in its place by a silver horse- Bhoe pin or gold fox's head, a pair of stout dog-skin gloves — that is to say when gloves were worn at all, which was 80 THE RIGHT SORT. the exception rather than the rule— and a black felt pot hat, under whose brim the abundant hair was rolled away on either side the face in the good old-fashioned style, finished off at the back by a velvet bow, the only piece of finery in which Mrs. Forrester rejoiced, if finery indeed such a brown, rusty, greasy adjunct could rightly be considered. The whole constituted a most convenient costume, easily modified for equestrian purposes by the substitution of a riding-skirt for the ordinary walking one, and of a pair of Wellingtons in place of the shooting boots. Mrs. Forrester's gait was highly characteristic, displaying a sideways roll, half-way between the heavy dragoon and the jockey. So closely, indeed, did it resemble the lords of creation that it was extremely difficult at a slight distance to determine to which sex she actually belonged. In fact those who put her down as forming one of the masculine community could easily Le pardoned so natural an error. Morally Mrs. Forrester pos- sessed undoubted ability. She had great powers of obser- vation, a keen appreciation of the ludicrous, an innate love of fun, coupled with a wonderful insight into the motives actuating mankind, which prompted her on all occasions to turn the ordinary transactions of everyday life into a joke, or at least to perceive their facetious element. Intelli- gent, well-informed, clever, amusing, and above all, unlike the commonplace herd of human beings, no wonder Mrs. Forrester was considered excellent company, and gladly wel- comed by her fellow creatures in spite of the humorous pro- pensity which prompted her to concoct all sorts of tales at their expense. True this versatility of speech occasionally brought her into trouble ; nevertheless she was so thoroughly jolly, kind-hearted, and good-natured with it all that people forgave her little peculiarities, pocketed pride, and laughec[ at the exaggerated accounts of their own doings and sayings which were freely circulated throughout the county. Mrs, Forrester had earned the not unenviable reputation of being '^ sl character," and characters are generally privileged individuals who can say and do things not allowed the rest of the world. Her father, in her youth, had kept a MKS. FOREESTER MAKES A RECONNAISSANCE. 81 pack of foxhounds. Mrs. Forrester, therefore, had heeu brought up in a sporting coterie, and -^as ]3assionately fond of hunting. No one in the whole county, not excepting the huntsman himseK, was so thoroughly conversant with the run of a fox, or the difficulties connected with his successful pursuit. Often and often it ha]3pened that when the officials were at their wits' ends which way to turn, and were on the eve of abandoning the chase in despair, a quiet hint from Mrs. Forrester gave a clue to the direction i'- ^hich the hunted animal had most probably effected an escape. -She not only knew every hound by name, but was convers'aiit with their respective merits. She could tell how Graylad was the fore- most in Sir Beauchamp Lenard's pack, how Garruloiis ran mute, how Prettylass suffered from bad feet. Finder from a weakly constitution, and how Goliath could live ^hrouo-h the longest and the most tiring day without exhibiting any symp- toms of weariness. She knew them all, and loved them all, as if they had been her childi^en or she their kennel huntsman. In the saddle Mrs. Forrester was absolutely at home, and there were but few men who even now, in her declinino- o years, when she took it into her head to ride straight, could beat the gallant old lady. They tell a story still of how some few winters ago the whole field came down to the cele- brated Grangeton brook. It might not have measured more than about twelve to fourteen feet across, but the banks were steep and crumbling, the bottom treacherously muddy, and the water as it gurgled swiftly by looked coldly dark and for- bidding. For an hour or more the assembled company had been walking after a fox, during which horses and riders had lost much of their matutinal ardour, without indulging in the excitement which often stands in good stead, when all of a sudden the hounds splashed through the brook and picked up the soent on the opposite side with renewed zest. Heads down, sterns up, they streamed away over the big grass field of ridge and fuiTow. A moment's hesitation ensued ; then the huntsman, closely followed by two or three of the more adventurous spirits, endeavoured to ford the stream by jump- ing in and clambering up the rotten bank on the other side, o 82 THE KIGHT SORT. it was so hoggj, However, and they rescued tliemselves with such extreme difficulty, that upon one of their number floundering into a hole, and horse and rider disappearing bodily into the water, those pressing on from behind, after witnessing the disaster, declared the attempt to be fraught with so much danger as to render it positively unsafe, if not to themselves, at all events to their steeds. In fact the occa- sion was one when the risk to animals became unusually prominent. While standing deliberating on the whereabouts of the nearest bridge, and racked by that uncertainty as to whether to stake all and proceed, or to hazard nothing and retire which every fox-hunter doubtless has experienced during his career, suddenly, and to the inexpressible astonish- ment of the beholders, no less a person than Mrs. Forrester was seen to resolutely take her horse by the head, cram him along in a manner not to be denied, and charge down at the bottomless gulf. A moment of breathless anxiety followed as the animal reached the brink, and for a second paused in his stride ; but he happened to be a particularly good clever hunter, who thoroughly understood his work, and in less time than it takes to tell he landed on the opposite side with a bit of a scramble, owing to a portion of the bank giving way, but still without mishap. A murmur of applause ran through the ranks of the spectators. "Bravo! bravo!" they cried with one accord. And now, ashamed to be outdone by a woman, and an aged one to boot, a noble sportsman, inspired with fresh courage, endeavoured to follow Mrs. Forrester's example, but alas ! the undermined earth once more gave way, and his horse having jumped extremely short, was pre- cipitated into the cold ungracious element, while the aristo- cratic rider, after executing a neat somersault, landed on terra firma on the crown of his head, thereby completely annihila- ting a smart new Lincoln and Bennett. These catastrophes overcame the field. Helter-skelter, men, women, and children, accompanied by a trailing hound or two, galloped off in all haste to the bridge. For the rest of that day, and for many a day to come, Mrs. Forrester's gallant feat was the theme of every tongue. To her was accorded that admiration MES. rOEKESTER MAKES A RECONNAISSANCE. 83 and that meed of applause which courage, accompanied by success, invariably elicits. With fine hands, a strong if not a graceful seat, and aided by all sorts of curious combinations in the way of bits, nose- bands, gags, and martingales, she could master animals which none of her own, and but few of the sterner sex, were capable of managing. She consequently bought at a low figure, never by any chance giving long prices for her horses, and, as was generally the case, they improved under her tuition, and in the coiu-se of a few months became decently tractable, she was enabled to pass them on at a consider- able profit. No one could gainsay the fact, seeing the risk and trouble incurred, that that profit was fairly Mrs. For- rester's due, and honourably gained by her own exertions. She was on terms of the closest intimacy with every dealer, farmer, and breeder of horses in the whole country round, and by frequently introducing good customers, whose purses were oftentimes longer and more fully stocked than their heads, secured their hearty good-will, which at odd times was displayed by the propitiatory gift of an ailing, vicious, or unsound quadruped, which donation the lady invariably accepted on the assumption that lead was cheap, and that anyhow these afflicted animals formed an interesting subject on which to pursue scientific experiments not yet thoroughly tested by the Veterinary College. Now and again, thajaks to her really marvellous knowledge of horseflesh, and to the virtue of innumerable recipes accumulated during many years, she succeeded in effecting extraordinary cures. Then Mrs. Forrester's triumph was complete. When she had conquered some obstinate spavin, patched up a ricketty back- sinew, or doctored satisfactorily any long-standing complaint through remedies peculiarly her own, she experienced a sen- sation of genuine pleasure. So great, indeed, was the respect in which her healing powers were held by the simple country folks, that they were wont to aver Mrs. Forrester was worth all the skilled practitioners put together. It therefore was not unnatural if these gentlemen viewed so formidable a rival with envy and suspicion, declaring her to be a person of 84 THE EIGHT SORT. inferior experience, professing to know more tlian slie really did. Every morning of lier life regularly when the clock struck six, in the depth of winter or the height of summer, Mrs. Forrester rose from her bed and spent the hours before breakfast in going the round of the farm, inspecting the stock, examining the hedges, and cross-questioning the men ; after- wards she retired into an inner sanctum, a sort of half laboratory, half carpenter's shop, on whose shelves were carefully stowed away the lotions, draughts, and cunning compounds wherewith she sustained her reputation. On non- hunting dsijs she emploj'-ed herself by nailing, hammering, planing, sawing, mending, and manufacturing the various articles in use on the premises. Sometimes she appeared for a day or two with her arm in a sling or fingers bandaged up, due to some such untimely accident as the slip of a chisel, the shutting of a knife, or splintering of a bit of wood. In a virgin country where man must depend upon his own exer- tions to supply his daily wants, such a woman as Mrs. Forrester would have been regarded as a valuable auxiliary — a helpmate who could turn her hand to anything ; but among an enervated, over-civilised population, her accomplishments often failed to be appreciated at their full value, calling forth ridicule rather than respect, while the verdict of the public was ''A clever but original old lady, who ought to have been a man." Public opinion, however, did not disturb the even tenor of her waj'S. She was made of too strong metal to be wafted backwards and forwards like a feather by every puff of wind. She had her own ideaa, and stuck to them through thick and thin. On the afternoon of the day following Kate Browser's arrival at Sport " Lodge, Mrs. Forrester determined on a reconnaissance in force. She therefore ordered out her dog- cart, into which was harnessed an antiquated hunter who rejoiced in the somewhat singular name of Hesurrection. He had been snatched from the very jaws of death by his present mistress, who during an obstinate and well-nigh fatal attack of tetanus had treated him with frequent injections into the veins of nitrate of amyll, and thus christened the patient in MRS. FOEKESTER MAKES A RECOXXAISSANCE. 85 memory of the event. Mrs. Forrester mounted on to the box- seat, took the reins in her hand, gave the whip a j)layful flourish, and started, with the intention of calling upon Miss Browser before anyone else had done so, in order to be able to report as usual. Eeady as she invariably was to make new acquaintances, the two girls, by their youth and isolated position, inspired her with a more than customary interest, rendering her intent on forming an opinion as to their merits as quickly as possible. She drove steadily along until she came to Foxington town, where she encountered her particular friend, Mr. McGrath, who, not yet entirely recovered from the effects of the pigskin, had declined to rise at the prepos- terously early hour of half -past six o'clock in order to jog close upon sixteen miles to covert, and was therefore wiling away the afternoon by strolling gently up and down the High Street, flattening his nose disconsolately against the shop "windows, and smiling fraternally at every decent-looking young woman he happened to run against in the course of his peregrinations. Mrs. Forrester's arrival was a perfect godsend to the idle, ennuied Hibernian. He made such frantic gestures that in an instant she, nothing loth, brought the vehicle to a standstill. " Hulloa ! " she said in her friendly unceremonious fashion. *' What are you doing here all by yourself, like a lost sheep ? Where are the others? Gone hunting?" as Mr. McGrath nodded assent. ''Pray why did you not go too? Nothing amiss with the stud. I hope ? It's too early in the day to begin with invalids." '^ No, no, the stud is right enough," answered Mr. McGrath with a shake of the head. "Faith, but I wish the master could say the same. He's ver}'- bad." " Bad? Why, what's the matter, man ? You look in the rudest of health." "Ah ! Looks are deceptive. It always was my fate to appear Lest when I suffered most. I'm in great pain, I can assure you." " I'm sorry to hear it. But why so mysterious ? What is this malad}^ from which you are suffering thus terribly? I declare you have roused my curiosity." 86 THE RIGHT SORT. ''An injured, al^rased, and inflamed cuticle," replied Mr. McGrath with perfect gravity, "which, however slight it may sound, renders horse-exercise an extremely unpleasant mode of locomotion. Now don't laugh. 'Pon my life it's no laughing matter," he added something querulously, as the lady's sides shook with mirth. '^ You're exactly like all men," she said, looking at him in friendly contempt. ''When the least thing goes wrong, you've no more pluck than a barn-fowl. A prick of a pin is enough to make you think you're going to die. Men are so awfully frightened about their precious selves. They haven't half the courage of the women." "Don't kick a poor fellow when he's down, there's a dear good soul. I caiae to you to be cheered, not to be lectured on the shortcomings of my sex. Glad ! but if it's your own superiority you wish to prove by the argument, I am willing to admit it. There aint many people in this world like Mrs. Forrester." "You are incorrigible, Terry," she said with a conciliatory smile. " Put oome now, since you say you are suffering such agonies, aIIdw me to propose a remedy. Have you ever tried a mixture of vinegar and glycerine in cases of a similar distressing nature ? Three parts vinegar to one of glj^cerine. It's a recipe of my own, and a most efficacious one, only you must not mind if it smarts a bit at the first application. You must endeavour to bear the pain heroically. I constantly use the mixtui^e in cases of cuts and sprains among the gees, and find it very successful." " Thanks. I promise to try the prescription this evening, and shall hope to derive such benefit from its use as to enable me to turn out to-morrow with the Critchley at Doddington. I see they don't muster until ten o'clock, which, thank good- ness, is a slightly more reasonable hour. These early meets are positively deadly, and play the bear with my delicate constitution." " Your delicate constitution suffers from late nights, big cheroots, and black bottles, my friend, not from early rising. I declare I've no patience with you young men. You begii^ MES. FORRESTER MAKES A RECONNAISSANCE. 87 by setting tlie fundamental laws of nature at defiance, burning the candle at both, ends, expending the vital forces without supplying any fuel to the furnace, and then you wonder that the fire is feeble, and abuse your constitutions. Just as if they were to blame, indeed ! If you were only taught a few scientific truths in your youth, and the most elementary principles of physiology, you would know very differently, and learn that nine times out of ten you have only yourselves to thank for your ailments. Abjure smoke and turn teetotal- lers, and your health would soon improve. ''You are in a very severe mood, Mrs. Forrester. I with- di*aw my luckless remark." "No need to do that. And what's more, a few home truths do you men a lot of good now and then. Thimgs are made far too pleasant for you in these days." ''Mrs. Forrester, I wonder whether you would condescend to answer a question that has troubled my mind for long? " asked Terry somewhat irrelevantly. "That depends entirely on what it is. I make no rash promises." * ' Well, since you entertain so profound a contempt for my unfortunate sex, how did you ever bring yourself to commit matrimony?" "Because my sentiments have grown with age and expe- rience, and because, being a woman, in my youth. I possessed a woman's foibles, and was not proof against the voice of the charmer. Because," and her voice trembled ever so slightly, "I was not happy at home, and I liked Colonel Forrester better than I did anyone else. My mother struck me once in a fit of passion, and he took my part. I felt grateful to him, and when he asked me to be bis wife I gave my consent. Now," with a change from grave to gay, now, Mr. Curious, you know all about it, and I hope you feel satisfied." "Forgive me, Mrs. Forrester," he said, if I have done anything to recall unpleasant memories." Somehow he felt sorry for having asked the question. "Terry," she replied bending forward and laying her hand on his shoulder, while a kindly expression swept across beip 88 THE RIGHT SORT. weatlierbeaten face, ^'I daresay there are episodes in tliG lives of most of tis whicli we do not care to dwell upon, and an old sore is liard to h.eal. You are a goodhearted creature,, and would never wound anyone intentionally. If I had had children of my own, if I had been a happy woman, I might have been very different. Do not let us talk of it. And now I really must be getting on, or the chances are I shall have had my journey for nothing and find my young lady out." ' ' Your young lady ? Pray who do you intend honouring with a call?" " I gave you credit for more discernment. Why, slow pate ! Miss Brewser, of course. Who else do you suppose ? That reminds me ; did you ever give that gay friend of yours my message, or did you forget it altogether? " ''No, not I. I not only delivered it in full, but embellished it by various little additions of my own. There's nothing like serving things up spicy when you are about it. A little exaggeration does no harm." ''Well!" ejaculated the lady, forgetting her hurry, and administering a soothing tap to Eesurrection with the butt end of the whip. ' ' This is interesting. What did the great Colonel say to our plan ? " "Faith ! I hardly know. Jack's a rum chap in some ways. He takes ideas of honour and so forth into his head every now and then, and one might just as well talk to a pig as to try and dislodge them. You can't get at him either when he's in a mood of this sort, for he declines to give out his opinions. Bedad ! but we had real sport last night. Fuller did the gentleman ; offered Jack first innings, and refused to spoil the market, just as if he had a chance against Jack, indeed ! How- ever, nothing would satisfy him iintil he succeeded in getting up a bet on the subject. You know his mania for gambling in every shape or form." "But about this bet, Terry. What sort of bet did he make ?" said Mrs. Forrester, pricking up her ears at the prospect of a bit of gossip. "Who did he bet with ?" " Why, with Jack. To tell the truth, the latter seemed so annoyed altogether by the conversation and by our recom- MRS. FORRESTER MAKES A RECONNAISSANCE. 89 mendations he should marry the heiress, that I verily believe he hardly knew the nature of the bet, but Fuller booked it fast enough. Ten to one on the Honourable ; it's down in black and white." " Well, I wish Jack success, I am sure. Eeady money is sadly need.'^d in that quarter, and an infusion of wealth into the family would be cordially welcomed." ** Yes. He went and lost a lot to that devil Fuller only last night, worse luck." ''You don't say so? I should have thought after aU that has come and gone he would have had a little more sense. Well, we must try^ and precipitate matters if we can. I tell you what, Terry," in a confidential whisper. ''You and I will bring the young couple together and give them a help- ing hand. Friends are often very useful on these occasions. Jack is a real nice fellow with all his faults, and I know no one I would sooner do a good turn to ; therefore I'll go this minute and see what can be done to pave the way. Ta-ta, Terry. Hope to find you out to-morrow with a renovated epidermis. Don't forget, three parts vinegar to one of glycerine." "Shan't I see you again before then ? " he asked wistfully, thinking how very hard it was to kill time in the absence of companions when left to his own devices. ' ' You won't spend all the afternoon with Miss Kilmansegg, surely ? " "Meaning to say I had better devote a portion of it to Mr. Terence McGrath, eh ? Well, if you feel sufficiently active to step out to my place about tea-time, you shall be treated to a cup of that comparatively harmless beverage, and hear my report in full. There, is your discontent appeased? " "Entoirely. I feel now I have something to live for — • sometliing to look forward to." " So much the better," came the rejoinder. " It's a thou- sand pities you do not cultivate some legitimate ambition in life instead of wasting your abilities and frittering your days away. There's good stuff in you, Terry, only circumstances have done their best to spoil it. Au revoir." 90 THE RIGHT SORT. CHAPTER IX. A SLIGHT BEBTJFF. With this parting salutation Mrs. Forrester once more coaxed the docile Resurrection into a trot^ and without any further interruption to her progress proceeded to Sport Lodge, driving up to the door in her handsomest style. To ring the bell and enquire if Miss Browser were within was hut a second's work. It was, however, with no small satisfaction she found the interrogation answered in the affirmative. So leaving Kesurrection in charge of the small hoy who officiated as carriage -groom, and taking care to adjust a large rug over the animal's attenuated quarters, she entered the house, and was promptly ushered into the drawing-room. Mrs. Eorrester's eye was more accustomed to horseflesh and cattle than to elegant furniture ; nevertheless even she perceived a considerable improvement had been effected since Mr. Eeginald Kich's tenancy. Only a few seconds, however, were accorded her in which to make observations, for Kate almost immediately appeared, and advancing with both hands outstretched, and every sign of the liveliest pleasure, said — *'This is indeed good of you, Mrs. Forrester, to come and see me. I know you quite well from repute, and have so often read of your doings in the Field and sporting papers that I feel as if we were already acquainted. Now Mrs. Forrester, free as she was from feminine vanity, had still her weak spots, and the artless and evidently sincere flattery of Kate's [introductory speech flew straight to one of them. Had she been told she possessed good eyes, a pretty foot, or becoming headgear, sh6 would have ].aughed the idea A SLIGHT REBUFF. 91 to scorn, and it would have made no more impression upon her than uj)on a dried-up old piece of shoe-leather ; but to be told that she was a celebrity, that outside people knew of her exploits in the hunting-field, and admii'ed and respected her, was a different thing altogether. She looked into Kate's fresh, honest, smiling face, and said to herself — . '' Humph ! You'll do ; you're a nice sort of girl — not one of the stuck-up, airified creatures I abominate." She did not give outward expression to the thought, being far removed from the army of gushers, but answered instead in a remarkably gracious manner — ''You make me blush, Miss Browser," though such an occurrence was a distinct impossibility, " and it is my turn to feel flattered by so kind a reception. My renown, if renown indeed I have, is but of a very humble order. However, I predict that you and I will be good friends. You hunt, of course?" ''Yes, in a feeble, inexperienced sort of way. I feel quite bashful in coming to the shires." "Ah! no matter. You will be one of us — one of our innermost circle, so to speak." "That, I fear, is an honour to which I am scarcely quali- fied to aspire," retm^ned Kate politely. "You see, I am really new to the work, having only hunted regularly for two seasons, and that in the unfashionable provinces, but I have ridden all my life, and always loved horses. And now please tell me something of the people I am likely to meet in this neighbourhood, so that I may not appear an absolute ignora- mus. Are they very formidable ?" "You must judge for j^ourself. It depends a good deal upon whether you are easily frightened. I may as well teU you, however, that as a rule the folks here are not particularly sociable, especially towards strangers. Most of them fancy themselves a good deal, and think it confers distinction to be extremely exclusive. Our big-wigs, the Earl and Countess of Huntingshire, are of a totally different order. People who 9,re somebodies have nearly always pleasant manners. It's 02 THE EIGHT SORT. ' only the small fry that consider airs and graces comme il faut. Our magnates generally go abroad about this season of the year on account of her ladyship's health. She is very delicate — suffers from a pulmonary complaint. This winter, however, I am told they intend remaining if possible. If they do so, you will probably meet the only daughter. Lady Anne Birkett, a nice unaffected sort of girl, and a universal favourite. She is passionately fond of hunting, but only possessing one old screw, does not get out very often. After the Huntingshires come the Stapletons of Stapleton Hall. They give out that they are descended in direct male line from the Stapleton who came over to England at the time of the Conquest, and in consequence seem to fancy themselves higher and greater than the rest of the world. Just as if God's creatures were not alike, and had not each two eyes, a nose, and a mouth ! It's such rubbish, when the only trouble they have taken is that of being born into the world with a golden spoon in their aristocratic mouths. About once a year they ask some few of us to a duty dinner, which we attend from pure motives of curiosity. On other occasions we remain uninvited, for the Stapletons, male and female, are renowned for thoroughly understanding the mutton-chop for the beefsteak style of entertainment." '' What is that?" said Kate, with pardonable curiosity. '' Have you never heard of it, my dear ? Well, after all, it is only another name for the quid pro quo principle so thoroughly in vogue in modern society — that elementary law of exchange and barter which even the savages of Southern Africa appreciate, and which seems inherent to the genus homo. What I give I expect to receive, what I receive I expect I shall have to give — a perfect system of reciprocity well calculated to annihilate all real generosity or kindliness of heart. Do you not understand this simple rule ? " " I call it a disgusting theory, '^^ replied Kate warmly. " One that does away with our faith in human nature, and teaches the impossibility of caring for our fellow creatures for what they are, instead of for what they have got. I hate such worldliness and despise it thoroughly." A SLIGHT EEBUFF. 93 " So you may, so may I ; but all the same it's human nature. Half society is composed of mean, grovelling- parasites, who prey upon the other portion. How can you expect such creatures to cfive anything, unless they get hack in return ? They are always trying to crawl higher and higher out of their proper sphere. Those whom they might be friendly with they profess to despise, and those whom they would be friendly with despise tliem. But," she added, suddenly remembering it might be unwise to run down her neighboui s to a comparative stranger, even though that stranger was apparently a kindred spirit, *'l ought not to influence your opinions beforehand. You will probably form them fast enough for yourself." *' I have done that already," said Kate, '' and feel far from prepossessed by your account. Then, after a slight pause, she added with natural curiosity, " But tell me, have you many good lady riders ? Many be- sides yourself I mean ? " " Dear me, yes. We are overburdened with women. Not ones," thinking the speech might be taken in an uncompli- mentary sense, "who can ride, but ones who know nothing about it. Last year we had a professional beauty. Some- body asked her if she could hunt ? ' Hunt ? oh, dear, jes. Extremely fond of it ! ' Well, Captain Fuller, for he was the offender, mounted her on his best horse, with strict injunc- tions to follow him. The lady appeared exquisitely got up, little golden curls peeping out from beneath her hat, pearl brooch, diamond earrings, jewelled whip, and half a packet of violet powder upon her fair face. Everyone was on the qui vive to see the famous Mrs. X's performances. Well, my dear, the very first jump settled her. It was quite a little place, but too big for the beauty, who flew from the saddle, and executed a remarkably neat voluntary under the very eyes of the field. Alas ! however, the bodice happened to bo tight, the lady plump, and buttons rolled in every direction. A dozen men rushed to the fair one's assistance, who on her return to town spread wonderful reports of her own prowess in the hunting-field. This is only a specimen of a portion l»i 94 THE RIGHT SORl. liiose wlio come out. Of course we have some ladies who go really well, and show a lot of the men the way. There's a Miss Palliser, for instance, who rides uncommonly hard ; she is very tall and very thin, sits bolt upright in the saddle, and looks severely out at the world from between her animal's ears. Her pluck is undeniable, but she bustles and shoves at the gates, cuts in, and jumps upon people at the fences in such a manner that she is far from, popular ; nevertheless, in every good run she is always to the fore. The young men make forcible remarks ; but there ! very few care to see a woman's skirt fluttering in the distance. It conveys an uncomfortable suggestion of inferiority, not to say of cowardice. Then we have Mrs. Paget and Lady Beckley, Lady Anne Birkett, and Mrs. Phipps, wife of the Poxington dealer. Altogether not more than half a dozen who really follow hounds. You see it is a good big country for a lady to get over." "I suppose so. It certainly looked formidable enough coming along even in the train. I must confess a good many of the ditches struck me as being uncommonly wide." ''They take a bit of doing certainly, but it is wonderful how soon the horses get accustomed to them. You asked me for my advice just now. Miss Browser, so I give it. What- ever other mistakes you may co:nmit, always remember to go a good pace at your fences ; tlie best horse alive can't clear width without the necessary impetus." "Thanks very much for the hint," said Kate gratefully, '* and I will endeavour to bear it in mind. Two of my horses inspire me with entire confidence, but the third is quite untried. However, no doubt I shall find out her capabilities before long. What I fear most is my total ignorance of the country, even to finding the way about. I wonder whether any very — veri/ — very good-natured individual mi^ht be in- duced to take compassion upon an unprotected female, and constitute himself her pilot for a few daj^s, just till the novelty wears off and she is able to get on alone ? I begin to feel quite nervous." "You need'nt. You will find plenty of candidates ready A SLIGHT REBUFF. 95 to apply for the vacant situation, and the principal difficulty may consist in making a judicious choice. Oddly enough when a women elects to follow any particular man, he is always pleased, and seems to think her doing so sheds a sort of reflected glory upon himself. He accepts the risk of being jumped upon with equanimity for the sake of the distinction. Besides, the pilotee can always see what he is doing, how hard he rides, how well he goes. However, to return to oiu' subject, if you want to go real downright hard, and are sure of your horses, you can't possibly do better than follow Colonel Clinker. No one in these parts is a patch to him. Captain Fuller, too, though not so brilliant, is a good steady man with hounds, who knows what he is about, and who never takes more out of his nags than is necessary. On the whole, I would reckon him. a safer escort for a lady. He is always well in front, and the Colonel is sometimes a trifle overdaring. The three brothers Johnson .are also reliable pilots, and sure to turn up at the end of every gallop. On the other hand, if you just want to ride about and cofi^ee- house, and, like many young ladies, consider the hunting-field a fine arena for flirtation, jom cannot do better than stick to Mr. McGrrath. He has lots to say for himseK, and is a most amusing companion." ''I don't want an amusing companion," answered Kate, feeling as if Mrs. Forrester had somewhat underrated her powers of equitation, '^ and I despise people who go out hunting in order to flirt. Its ridiculous to begin with, and wholly unsuitable to the occasion. Such eccentricities of con- duct are better indulged in in private, and not under the critical gaze of some one or two hundred horsemen and women. My ambition soars higher, even indeed to trying to follow this Colonel Clinker of whom you speak, although probably at a respectful distance." '* Bravo! The ladies are all fond of Jack. He's a sad dog in his way." ' ' Do you mean that he is nice ? " '* Well, most people think so, but you had better judge for yoiu-seif . I almost wonder, Miss Brewser, that you have 96 THE RIGHT SORT. never made Colonel Clinker's acquaintance at some of the numerous race-meetings. He's about the best gentleman- jock of the clay." ''You don't mean to say he is the eelehrated Colonel Clinker," exclaimed Kate, vivaciously. She felt greatly im- pressed by the fact, for during the perusal of those ^'porting papers which formed part of her daily literature slie had constantly read of this accomplished gentleman's successes, and was prej)ared to esteem and admire him accordingly. "I had no idea of that." ''Ah, I thought it strange his name seemed to awake no answering chord. But, my dear young lady, if you are still bent on following the Honble. Jack out hunting, allow me to whisper one word of caution." "What is it?" said Kate, thinking Mrs. Forrester's warning would probably prove a recommendation not to be too foolhardy or adventurous. "Oh! nothing," replied the artful old lady, "at least nothing very particular, only don't you go and be falling in love with him, that's all. Jack's a terribly fascinating fellow, good looking, pleasant, well-bred — just the sort of man girl*) take a fancy to, but he can't afford to marry, more's the pity." "Really Mrs. Forrester, I am exceedingly obliged to you, but the state of Colonel Clinker's finances is not likely to affect me in the slightest. I am not at all matrimonially inclined, neither am I in the habit of losing my heart so easily to every chance individual I happen to come across." "I did not for an instant intend to convey so erroneous an idea to your mind, but you know what young men are, and I thought it only fair to give a quiet hint, taking the circum- stances into consideration." " Thank you, but I am not aware that they demand any particular circumspection ; impecunious gentlemen are common enough. I suppose there are no unusual features in the present case ? " " Not exactly ; but when a certain lady becomes the subject of a bet amongst men, it is only fitting and proper that that A SLIC4nT REBUFF. 97 lady, especially if sL.e be a stranger, should be informed of the occurrence." "And do you mean to declare men have been betting about ME ? " asked Kate, with flashing eyes. " Has my name been bandied about abeady ? " '' Don't be vexed, my dear," said Mrs. Forrester soothingly, beginning to feel a little alarmed at the commotion which she herseK had raised. ''Very likely the whole thing was intended as a joke. Very likely my informant may have been wrong. The affair came to my ears quite casually." "I call it odious, horrible, and unmanly of them," con- tinued Kate angrily. ''It is not nice, certainly," murmured the other, sjTnpa- thetically, for she always made it a rule to go with tho stream. '' Nice ? I should think it wasn't indeed. People in these parts seem to have funny manners." '' I don't suppose they are worse than they are anywhere else," replied Mrs. Forrester sedately, considering it incum- bent upon her to defend the absent. '' Perhaps you will be good enough to inform me of the exact nature of this said bet," returned Kate, with increasing dignity. '*I object to semi-confidences. They go too far in one way, and not far enough in another." Mrs. Forrester began to xhink that this seemingly pleasant young lady might, under certain conditions, prove more for- midable than she had anticipated. She therefore concluded that the moment had arrived to try the effect of more eon- ciliatory overtures. '' Tell me what has been said," demanded Kate sternly. ''My dear, you take this matter too seriously altogether. No importance should be attached to such a trifle. Even if Captain Fuller did bet ten to one that Jack Clinker would propose and be accepted, you surely can afford to smile at so foolish a wager. No one can make you marry a man against your will." "No, thank goodness!" exclaimed Kate fervently; then selling her white teeth with a vicious expression, she added, 98 THE EIGHT SORT. ' ' According to my present way of thinking, nothing Bhall ever induce me to marry at «//." •' Ah ! you will change that opinion some of these dayji." '' I know I never shall. ^^ ''Then it is needless for me to warn you against tha fascinations of my friend Jack. Needless to tell you what a desperate flirt he is." *' Quite needless. Your friend Jack,''^ placing a marked emphasis on the words, ''is nothing to me or I to him. All I desire is that we may remain complete strangers one to the other. Any wish on my part to make his acquaintance has completely disappeared. I ignorantly fancied him a sort of hero, a veritable ' admirable Crichton,' but my ideas have undergone a most complete transformation." "And yet I assui'e you no better fellow lives on the face of this earth." " In which case I prefer less immaculate beings. They are more to my mind." " Upon my word, you carry resentment too far. It's; ridiculous that you and he should be at loggerheads, all about nothing too." "That depends on what you call nothing. / call Colonel Clinker's oifence a most serious one, and one which few women in my position would forgive. Why should he want to bet about my marrying him ? Simply because he fancies; me to be rich, and because — as you yourself admitted just; now — he is out at elbows. Do you call that gentlemanly- conduct, pray?" "Poor Jack! you have evidently taken him en horreur, as the French put it, and nothing I can say or do will suffice to convince you of his good qualities. Perhaps some of these days you may find cause to alter your opinions, and to view what at most can only be regarded as a slight and natural indiscretion with gi-eater indulgence." Kate felt aggra\rated by the above remarks. "Perhaps," sha eohoed scornfully. "Mutability is the law of nature and the prerogative of women ; {atill we shall Bee. I doubt your ;^\j¥^(iiction ever coming: true. A SLIGHT REBUFF. 99 ''*■ One would not think every winter, when the trees to all in- tents and purposes are dead, that they will blossom once more into life, sending forth vigorous young shoots, and yet they do. It strikes me, Miss Browser," fixing a keen, inquiring glance upon the girl, "that your heart is not unlike the trees, i.e. enjopng a wintry sleep, from which it will awaken sooner or later. I am an old woman, and have studied the frailties of my sex." '* Nevertheless, Mrs. Forrester, for once your deductions are wrong. IsLy heart is enjojing no wintry sleep, but simply reposes in its normal condition. But come, we are degenerating into nonsense." ''A signal for me to be going," replied Mrs. Forrester, looking at her watch, ' ' particularly as I have an appointment with Mr. Phipps, the dealer, on my way back through the town. I hope, my dear, we part amicably, and that you will not bear maKce for what I almost fear has proved an officious and unwelcome act on my side. At least give me credit for good intentions, and believe I meant only kindly. And if — " hesitating slightly, ** you would be good enough to keep tke subject under discussion an entire secret, it wil confer a great obligation." Kate Brewser drew herself up to her full height, and cast a bold steady glance u^ion her companion. '' Mrs. Forrester," she said proudly, ''I am not in the habit of repeating confidence-s or retailing gossip. You need fear nothing from me ; besides, I am not likely to circulate a story so galling to my pride." Mrs. Forrester brightened considerably at this speech, although for once in her life she felt as if she had received a severe snubbing. Fond as she was of meddling in other people's affaii^s, she had been the least little bit afraid of her own handiwork. It was a relief to think she could trust Kate, and that she was not likely to bring her into trouble. She began to respect the girl. Evidently site had more in her than she had given her credit for, and was very far removed from the ordinary run of young ladies she was in the habit of encountering. 100 THE lUGHT SORT. ''After all," slie said, trying the effect of conciliatory diplomacy, ' ' after all nothing is easier in this world than to avoid peoiole one dislikes. Colonel Clinker need never trou- ble you much," whereupon Mrs. Forrester rose from her seat, thinking it better to let well alone, and shook Kate by ^he hand with every appearance of cordiality. '' Good-bye, my dear," she said, " I shall come and see you again before long. You and I will be good friends I 'pve- dict, in spite of our unfortunate little discussion." " Don't blame yourself in any way, Mrs. Forrester. On the contrary, I feel very grateful to you for your communica- tion. I might have jumped down this gentleman's throat in my foolish admiration for his powers of equitation, and now — why now — forewarned is forearmed." '' That's all right," responded the other cheerfully. '' All's well that ends well, and I should hate to make mischief between my fellow-creatures." With which benevolent and highly laudable sentiment she effected an escape while the moment appeared propitious. For five whole minutes did ^Resurrection pursue the even tenor of his ways undisturbed. His mistress seemed pre- occupied, her brow clouded by abstruse thought. Gradually, however, it cleared. Mrs. Forrester was herself again, and the whip descended with a sharp click of reprimand on the quadruped's lean sides in reproof for his previous neglect of duty. '^ Yes, of course ! " said the lady half aloud, speaking like one who had successfully severed a Gordian knot. " Every- thing is certain to come right. The great secret of over- coming a woman's heart is to inspire it with interest. Love, pity, hatred, contempt, no matter what the sentiment, so long as it is not indifference. Now after I am gone, this Miss Browser will sit down and go over every word I have said. She'll begin by detesting Jack with all her might, and fly out at the mere recollection of him, but in a little while she'll cool down, and then she'll set to work and wonder what he's like, whether he's really such a bad lot, why he takes sc kindly to flirtation, what the ladies see in him and so forth. A SLIGHT EEBUFF. 101 He will engage her thoughts if nothing else, and that's half the battle. Pique and wounded pride can be trusted to do the rest. Sorrte horses must be driven by the law of contrary, and some women are exactly the same. Ask them to do a thing and they refuse, ask them 7iot to do it and it is done directly. If Miss Brews er is warned not to fall in love with Colonel Clinker, I bet she's head over ears in no time. Ha, ha, ha I Jack, my boy ! I promised Terry to do you a good turn when I could, and I flatter myself I have advanced your cause not a little. To-day's work has set the ball rolling in earnest." "Which might be true enough ; but whether Mrs. Forrester was justified in all her surmises seems open to question. She herself, however, was supremely satisfied at the delicate and discriminating manner in which she considered affairs had been conducted. She had recovered from the effects of Kate's sarcasms and possessed a sanguine disposition. Meanwhile Mr. McGrrath was ensconced in Mrs. Forrester's drawing-room, studying Youatt on the horse, and impatiently awaiting the lady's arrival. The sound of carriage wheels produced a thrill of welcome expectation. "Well," he exclaimed interrogatively, advancing to meet Mrs. Forrester at the front door, '' what's she like ?" " She'll do," came the decided reply. '' Quite a good sort, but rather high-mettled, wants riding on the snaffle, with a Funning martingale. The least touch of the curb makes her chuck her head about like an unbroken colt. She's spirited, but very light in the mouth, and requires delicate handling." From which refined remarks Mr. IVIcGrath gathered Mrs. Forrester was unusually impressed in Miss Browser's favour. ''Humph I A high stepper, is she? proud I suppose, and stuck up?" "Not the least. She's very unaffected, but I fancy has a bit of a temper. However, she has got plenty of brains as well, and I would not give the snuff of a candle for a woman who does not possess the two combined." " I prefer the brains without the temper." " You don't know what you're talking about. You require 103 THE RIGHT SORT. the one to s'^reeten the other, certainly, but the dish loses piquancy if too uniformly seasoned." And then the two friends retired to the drawing-room, where over a cup of strong Souchong they discussed the results of the visit in all its bearings. " I'm afraid she'll never take to Jack," prophesied Mr. McGrrath in tones of dismal foreboding, after he had listened to a p)artial unfolding of the tale. ' ' She'll never forgive him if she hears of that unfortunate bet." ''Nonsense, Terry," said Mrs. Forrester, with a severe glance of reprimand. " You're a regular ignoramus, and understand no more about women and women's ways, despite jout thirty odd years, than a baby, probably not so much. Now listen to me. I know quite well what I am about. I have studied the psychological side of the feminine character, and I tell you girls like Miss Browser, with plenty of dash and spirit, cannot be dealt with as the ordinary run of women. They require peculiar and judicious treatment. You leave it to me." AVhat would Mrs. Forrester have said in justification of her *' peculiar and judicious treatment " could she at that moment have seen the girl of " dash and spirit" crying her heart out with mortification and the effects of wounded pride ? Would she have been quite so confident in the success of her under- taking, or so satisfied with the result of her labours ? Might she not have* realised that sometimes "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folJy to be wise," and that there is such a thing in the world as carryinc: even fi'iendship too far f Kate makes her deijut in the shires. 103 ClLAPTEli X, KATE MAKES HER DEBUT IN THE SHIEES. The next morning Kate "^as up betimes. Slie had only spoken the truth when she confessed to a certain feeling of nervousness at making her first appearance in the hunting- ground of so crack a county as Huntingshire, and it was this sensation, which prompted a more than ordinary solicitude as to the correctness of her equestrian attire. She was deter- mined that it at least should come up to the most critical standard and be pronounced well-nigh faultless, for two seasons' experience had sufficed to teach how the smallest deviation from existing fashions would surely be remarked by sharp and condemnatory feminine eyes, whose acute glances delighted rather in censure than in praise. From the men Kate feared nothing, but of her own sex she often avowed herself to be honestly afraid. Therefore she took unusual pains on this particular morning, devoting quite an extra haK-hour to the exigencies of the toilette. But on looking into the glass, and scrutinising with friendly partiality the image therein reflected, a faint smile of satis- faction played around the corners of her mouth, for she could not help noticing how admirably the plain, close-fitting habit, dark-brown in colour, set off her trim figure to advan- tage, or how smart and natty the general effect proved. ''Thank goodness! " she exclaimed, with a sigh of reKef, not wholly devoid of elation. ''My new habit is a success. Without a wrinkle anywhere, and fits like a glove. Well, they won't be able to pick holes in my clothes to-day, how- ever hard they may try ! ' ' Now as no woman living, whether strong-minded or the 104 THE RIGHT SORT. reverse, is utterly indifferent to outward appearances, the consciousness of being well-dressed and properly '^got up," as the saying is, endowed Kate with, comfort and fortitude, and restored her self-possession to a degree which, under less favourable circumstances, might have been lacking. " What an age you've been, Kate ! " exclaimed Mary, on that young lady making her appearance. " I feel half in- clined to preach you a lecture on the evils of unpunctuality. Do you know what the time is ? " " The clocks are wrong," said she with, a smile, ''and my white tie proved more than usually obstinate. However, now let's be off." The morning was brigbt and cloudless, with a clear pale blue sky, brilliant sun, and gentle breeze, which, «ave for an occasional sharpness, might have recalled the departed sum- mer, and as the two girls drove merrily along, at a good smart nine-miles-an-hour trot — for Brandy and Soda were no lag- gards when once fairly started — their spirits rose. The ex- hilarating sensation of being borne swiftly through the air sent the colour to their cheeks and the light to their eyes. Before long their excitement increased on seeing strings of grooms and second horsemen, the latter leading riderless animals at a slow jog-trot out to covert. At this spectacle Kate's doubts about finding the way were finally set at rest. The road after a bit led through some huge grass-fieldu, larger than any she had ever seen before, at each end of which were placed five-barred gates, to prevent the cattle from straying away, and opening these kept old Stirrup pretty ■well employed, forcing him to clamber in and out of the vehicle with an agility rather trying to his aged bones, and still more so to his new boots, fortunately the mud was not deep, and inflicted no serious injury, otherwise Stirrup's pride would have been greatly hurt, for he, like his mistress, was bent on putting his best foot foremost, and on uj)holding the credit of the establishment to the utmost of his feeble ability. To that end, ever since the small hours of the morn- ing he had been busily engaged with a chamois-leather in furl>ishing up the brass buttons on his coat and the various KATE MAKES HER DEBUT IN THE SHIRES. 105 bits and buckles adorning the horses, l^o effort on bis part bad been "W'anting to insure tbe fulfibnent of bis aspirations, i.e. that Kate should burst like some bright new star upon tbe hunting world of Foxington. All his hopes and ambition were centred in her and the stud entrusted to his care. Talk of horses, indeed. "Where was the pair could be shown against King Olaf and the Duckling? while if it came to riding, he flattered himseK he knew somebody who could hold her own with the best of them ! So mused Stirrup as he triumphantly surveyed Kate's back-hair from the hinder seat of the pony phaeton, and thought bow impossible it was tor anyone to compare with this incomparable mistress of his. Poor old Stirrup. Doubtless he entertained many delusions ; but they were mostly of so pleasing and innocent a nature that the man must have been very hard-hearted who endea- voured to rob him of a single one. Happy are those who at the age of sixty believe in something and somebody. Doddington, the place of meeting, proved an old-fashioned farmhouse, standing in a good big enclosure, which offered ample accommodation to hounds, huntsmen, and the multitude at large. As the two girls drove up, a pretty sight met their eyes. The sun was shining down quite pleasantly and warmly on the solid grey stones of the picturesque building, lighting up with glorious tints the fading russet leaves of a large Yir- ginian creeper, which entirely covered the porch. It glinted off the quaint latticed windows in scintillating rays, whose brilliancy almost blinded the spectator, and flickered lovingly on the purple asters, red sweet-williams, and golden sun- flowers, drooping slowly in the autumnal air. Overhead the pale sky rose like a fathomless vault flecked with delicate streaks of snowy cloud, against which the tall old elms stretched their straight branches, while numberless rooks cawed and fluttered amongst the topmost twigs, circling round and round their home in a state of manifest anxiety, caused by the appearance of such unaccustomed intruders. On the green grass, lay, stood, and lounged the white-and- tan beauties, with their noble heads, thoughtful brows, and 106 THE EIGHT SORT. great darlc -wistful eyes, the elders taking their ease at full length, like sensible creatures, as if cognizant of the work in store ; the youngsters, walking and sniffing, rolling, plajdng, bounding, gambolling, like so many children loosed from school, giving vent now and again to an occasional yelp when reminded by the crack of the whip that there were certain limits not lightly to be overstepped. In their midst, motionless, save for the glances of his quick, far-seeing eye, sat tlie huntsman, mounted on a grand chestnut horse, a magnificent specimen of the weight-earning English hunter. Dressed in a scarlet coat and a black velvet cap, he looked a thorough workman from top to toe. That he loved his hounds, and they him, was clear at a glance. Every time they tried with upturned jowl and waving stern to leap to his side, Will Steadall's otherwise somewhat grave countenance relaxed into a smile, and with a word of caress he tossed each one in turn a morsel of biscuit. Eor thirteen years — years in the commencement full of toil and trouble — had he carried the horn in the Critehley country, and thanks alone to his steady handling, judicious treatment, and unwearied care, the pack now occupied the proud position of being con- sidered about the best in England, while every winter the fields increased numerically, until at length the old frequenters of the hunt exclaimed violently against these monster gather- ings, the result of success and fashion. The Critehley, how- ever, had not always been thus favoured, for when Will JSteadall llrst took them in hand he found the hounds a wild, ragged, riotous lot, unequal and uneven, without the smallest idea of discipline, and wont to run a hare almost as readily as they would a fox. But since those days things had mightily changed and improved, and the last season or two the sport shown by the Critehley had, even by envious competitors, been admitted truly exceptional. Therefore people flocked to their meets by the score. To-day Will Stead all waited as usual for the master to give the signal for an onward move. Meantime, folks con- tinued to arrive singly and in groups. Scattered about in various directions were dismounted grooms buckling up KATE MAKES HER DEBUT IX THE SHIRES. 107 straps, altering- stirrups, finally adjusting' girths, loosening nosebands, and straightening manes, while in most cases a redcoated runner or astute rustic stood near at hand eagerly- pressing his services, in the hopes of gaining an odd coin or so therewith to enable him to retire promptly to the nearest public and expend the donation in a drop of '' something comforting." Carts, gigs, pony-chaises, waggonettes, Vic- torias bearing j)retty fur- wrapped women, and barouches with haughty matrons, all served, despite the somewhat early hour, to swell the crowd and block the only available means of approach and egress. The hospitable owner of the farm, who was a staunch supporter of fox-hunting, aided by sundry labourers, was engaged in passing round among the company tra^^s of bread and cheese, supplemented by huge jugs of frothy bepv, which he kindly pressed upon not un- willing friends inul neighbours, while, sher-iy decanter in hand, he begged numerous gentlemen of his acquaintance to partake of a glass, if only " for the good of the house." Alto- gether it formed a bright, pleasant, bustling, active scene, such as we nowhere meet with out of the mother country, in whose sons and daughters love of sport appears almost universal. And now a move was apparently imminent. Stirrup, therefore, led King Olaf forth from the outer shed, where he had already excited considerable admiration, greatly to the worthy man's gratification. Handing the ribbons over to Mary AYhitbread, and telling her to Iceep the ponies out as long as she felt, inclined and was enjoying herself, Kate, casting aside her ulster, lightly sprang into the saddle, and gently took up the reins, while Stirrup proceeded to adjust her skirt satisfactorily and place her feet in the elastic straps. All being at length arranged, he clambered up on to the Duckling. When they saw the hounds, and began to under- stand winter had come round once more, bringing with it the delights of the chase, both horses pricked their ears, snorted, and manifested every sign of lively pleasure. King Olaf bent his head, arched his beautiful neck, which shone like burnished gold in the sunshine, and ^^^'^ed the ground impetuo\isly, as if eager to be off without further delay, 108 THE RIGHT SORT. wliile Kate, sitting firm and square, with, true balance, left shoulder forwards, hands down, elbows in, and uprigh* carriage, remained perfectly still, seeming careless enough, but prepared for any little vagaries which King Olaf , in the exuberance of his heart or heels, might be prepared to give vent to. These two were finely suited, and no strangers one to the other, and Kate knew full well that, with light mouth and high courage, all King Olaf required was quiet handling on her part. He did not like being pulled at ; he wanted leave to go! And when hounds ran, go he could, without mistake or even temporary hesitation. On horseback the girl felt in her natural sphere. At crowded parties, in mixed assemblies, among a large con- course of people, a curious sense of loneliness, of unsatisfied longing, constantly overtook her, while each advancing year rendered the frivolity and the insincerity of the world of fashion still more apparent. But in the saddle such feelings knew no place. They vanished as if by magic, leaving her supremely happy. She thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of power and management — the springy movements, the play of the bit, the life, the stir, the action, the excitement, and above all, the independence conferred by horse exercise. She loved horses, often declaring she preferred them to human beings, and what's more, knew that she could ride, perhaps not so well as Mrs. Forrester {she was an artiste), but certainly infinitely better than the majority of women. Without undue vanity, she could not help being aware of the fact she possessed "good hands," a gift ap]3arently inherent, and rarely acquired, though one without which no individual can be considered a horseman, in the true sense of the word, for good hands go farther than any other qualification to establish that cordial entente between man and beast — that secret affinity which can afford to defy danger and triumj)h over every obstacle. Kate now looked about her in the hope of discovering her acquaintance of the day before ; but Mrs. • Forrester, too old and cunning a sportswoman not to save her horse every possible inch, invariably ascertained from the master before- KATE MAKES HER DEBUT IN THE STATUES. 109 hand the covert first to be called upon, and seldom put in an appearance until the hounds had reached their destination. Coffee-housing at the meet, however agreeable and amusing, she considered of comparatively smaller value than an addi- tional quarter of an hour in the stable given to her animal. The selling of horses was a legitimate business, and only to be conducted under the most favourable circumstances ; there- fore anything that conduced in the smallest degree to any adverse conditions was to be utterly and entirely condemned. The young thoroughbreds she generally rode were nearly always impetuous and excitable, and it answered Mrs. For- rester's purpose better, and appeared sounder wisdom, not to send them on to covert in company, when loquacious indivi- duals of an inquiring turn of mind were apt to find out more about them than was desirable, but rather to 'jog them on quietly herself, and turn up just when the fox had broken away, and people were too greatly occupied with their own affairs to bestow much attention on their neighbours. Such were the tactics pursued by Mrs. Forrester — tactics which fully accounted for her non-appearance at the meet. Meantime Kate could not remain unconscious of the exceed- ingly rude way in which some of the ladies present stared at her, just as if she had been a savage beast at a show ; but although such conduct appeared extremely underbred, she was too happy and too light-hearted to allow it to disturb her serenity. Although warned to a certain extent by Mrs. For- rester of the exclusiveness of a particular clique, she had failed to understand how it regarded every fresh arrival with suspicion, as an " outsider," and how only after years had gone by could she hope to be incorporated as ' ' one of them- selves," or as belonging to the class denominated by it '-'the right sort." In fact, it took this coterie about five years to make up its fastidious mind whether the stranger were worthy the honour of being called upon, yet another five before anything like intimacy could take place, but by the end of fifteen it suddenly awoke to the fact that Mr. or Mrs. JSo-and-So was an exceedingly pleasant person, and very much improved since his or her first entry into the county. 110 THE EIGHT SORT. ;Sucli were Huntingsliire manners, and only Kate's igno- rance induced lier to ascribe to them an unusual degree of incivility. If tliey summed lier up, she in her quiet, little way could do the same, and she pronounced the men cold and self-satisfied, the women rude as only ladies can he. These were her first impressions, subject to some modifications. But now at length a move was really made, and as they jogged on in one long procession — carriages, equestrians, and foot-people all interspersed — Kate's faculties were fully engaged in restraining the ardour which j)^^inpted King Olaf, with a squeal of delight, to bound up, all fours at a time, into the air, and then edge nearer and nearer to the hounds, until every moment he was in danger of treading upon them, as first one and then another dallied by the road- side, unheedf ul of the angry admonitions bestowed by the two whips on their procrastinating tendencies. Although the company assembled was so large, cub-hunting, not the legiti- mate chase, still remained the order of the day, and far too well did Will Steadall understand his business to allow for one moment of its being otherwise, or (despite various sug- gestive hints) countenancing the smallest deviation from the lawful work of the day — namely, the slaughter of the juveniles. As usual on such occasions, particularly at the commence- ment of the season, the keenness displayed by the field, and the impatience to indulge its jumping proclivities, was something quite remarkable. Nearly every other man appeared possessed with the insane idea of showing off his own or animal's capabilities. Several cock fences proved too enticing to be resisted by a certain portion of the community, whom Will Steadall eyed with an air of imdisguised contempt. " They call themselves sportsmen, indeed!" he exclaimed in disgust. "Why, these young sparks would just as soon jump on a 'ound as look at him. They're nothing but a combination of swagger and ignorance, and I declare I've no patience wi' em." Yery shortly afterwards the hounds were put into covert, and before many minutes had gone by the music of their tongues made itself heard, ringing out on the still air as they KATE MAKES HER DEBUT IX THE SHIRES. Ill rattled the cubs up and down, and crashed through the stiff undergrowth in a steadj^, resolute fashion which left Eej^nard but little leisure, and filled the parent foxes with anxious forebodings anent the future of their young. Every now and again, with bewildered mien, heaving sides, and hanging tongue, a youthful and inexperienced hound leapt out of covert, gazing around in a state of vague uncertainty, until sharply admonished by the whip. Then a sudden stillhess would ensue, brolcen only by a faint, tremulous whine, until once more, m s one by on a they took up the scent, the hounds burst forth into a joyous chorus of sound, and the horses turned with the weU-loved voices Like the practised hunters most of them were, while the young ones, mad with excite- ment, danced about on their hind legs or snatched impatiently at the restraining bit. It was quite an hour or more before a well-grown cub, deserted by his companions and goaded by a courage probably born of despair, ventured to face the open. In an instant a deafening noise ensued, and horsemen by the score galloped frantically in the wake of the retreating animal. A few seconds elapsed before Will Steadall emerged from the centre of the covert, vociferously blowing his horn. One glance sufficed for his practised eye to take in the situation. Horse- men to the rear, horsemen to the front, horsemen on the roads, horsemen on every side, horsemen determined on leading the way, with or without huntsman and hounds. ^'Hold hard, gentlemen, 'pleme,^'' screamed Will Steadall indignantly. ''You can't hunt without any 'ounds. Give 'em a chance, now do. You're only a-spoiling of your own Bport. There ain't a bit of use in hurryiiig, not a bit." But he might as well have whistled to the four winds as to have attempted to restrain a Critchley crowd in its matutinal ardour. No general upon the face of tlie earth could have n; :;:•-] railed it into order after a sinniner's inter- regnum, with a fox viewed away, and two or tliree convenient gates in close proximity. Therefore Will Steadall gathered his favourites together as quickly as possible, leaving the whips to collect the missing hounds, and with the dash for 112 THE RIGHT SORT. wliichlie was renowned, got them out of covert without delay. Meantime the hustling, jostling multitude charged the nearest gate in a body, jamming through it with hot haste, regard- less of oaths, abjurations, and lilcking horses, and Kate, hardly realising what she was about, found herself en- gulphed in this moving mass of equestrians, all eager to push through the narrow opening simultaneously, and all selfishly bent on the advancement of Number one. Not until the crush subsided, and people began to scatter in a huge grass-field, did she perceive the hounds, 'with Will Steadall in close attendance, streaming away immediately in front. Then for the first time that day she was able to give King Olaf his head, without fear of treading on the heels of those in the van, and could let him sweep along at his will over the rolling ridge and furrow, which, with short, quick, active strides, he seemed to skim like a swallow. Kate's heart rose within her, and already the excitement of anticipated pleasure danced in her grey eyes. They were coming to a fence — her first one — for half through fear of making a fool of herself and half through an innate caution which prompted her to regulate her actions in a strange country by those of the majority, she had hitherto virtuously refrained from jumping, and gone sedately through the gates, in spite of an intense desire to follow the example of the larkers. But now she must do one of two things. She must either go straight ahead, and, like the leading horsemen, take the fence boldly, or else she must cast in her lot with a large section of the field, who immediately instituted a manoeuvre in apparently an opposite direction to that in which the hounds were run- ning. Kate's mind was made up instantly. The obstacle now facing her was a hedge of ordinary size, rendered dangerous, however, by the presence of a wide and extremely blind ditch on the taking oif side, into which a couple of horses had already blundered, pitching their riders over their heads. Kate, however, was still too young, and her nerve too good, to be deterred by such trivial misfortunes. King Olaf and liis mistress were apparently in entire unison, for no sooner did he catch sight of the fence than he cocked his KATE ^lAKES HER DEBUT JN THE SHIRES. 113 small veined ears, laid liold of the bit, and quickening Ha pace went at tlie obstacle with a determination not to be denied. Kate loved jumping as well as he did; she there- fore kept his head straight, and in the last stride or two juRt steadied him a wee bit. The horse took off beautifully, and the next instant landed far into the field beyond, having cleared the hedge like a stag. "By Jove! Did jou see that? 'WTiat a nailing good fencer to be sure ! " observed the Honble. Jack to his imme- diate companion, Captain Fuller, as galloping side by side they endeavoured to regain the ground lost by a bad start. ''There aren't many horses out to-day know their business better, I'll wager a sovereign." '' I dare say not, he's a nicish horse ; and what's more, the girl can ride a bit. It's Miss Brewser, I believe," responded the other, somewhat incoherently, for his arms were being almost pulled out of their sockets by the long raking animal he bestrode. "Who-ay! Bessie lass — take it easy now," as she yawed her head in the most unmerciful manner. ** No need to tire both of us out so early in the day." " Miss Brewser, did jom say ? She's not half a bad-look- ing girl either. I declare she rode at that fence in regular steeplechase form — both hands steady on the reins, and never raised them an inch. It's not often one sees a woman do that, and I began to wonder who this new Diana was." '• Fancy your doing such a thing ! Why, she's your heiress CHnker." '' Not my heiress more than anybody else's," he replied with a frown. ''I wish aU you feUows would di^op that stupid chaff. It's not fair to the girl, more especially to a nice one, as this Miss Brewser seems to be." Captain FuUer, feeling he had imprudently started a vexed question, made no answer, but allowed Bessie to snatch at him with a trifle greater freedom, whereby she soon distanced the Colonel's more sedate and comfortable mount. During the above short colloquy hounds had continued to run fairly well ; but alas ! cubs as a rule lack the stamina of their parents, and quickly yield up their lives to a clamorous 114 THE RIGHT SORT. and bloodtliirsty pack. Already the liunted fox began to twist and turn in every direction, rendering it clear that thia merry little spin was destined to be of very short duration, brief as sweet. Having just flown a flight of rails, to her own and King Olaf's intense satisfaction, Kate was sailing away, well in front, with Miss Palliser only a few lengths behind. But that lady's ambitious soul brooked no opposi- tion, and the sight of a rival's skirt fluttering anywhere in her vicinity fiJled it with envy and malice. She urged her big bay onwards by every means in her power, but though a good stout game horse he was no match in point of speed for King Olaf. The chestnut could gallop away from him with the greatest ease, as Miss Palliser quickly discovered, to her no small mortification ; while Kate, quite unconscious of having roused any inimical sentiments, joyously pursued her way. But just when horses and riders were really warming to their work, and the glorious excitement of the chase sent a glow through their frames, Eeynard's heart failed him, and he made a last convulsive effort to retrace his footsteps and return to the shelter of the friendly covert he had so recently and so rashly forsaken. At first this stratagem appeared likely to be successful, but when within a hundred yards of the desired haven the foremost hound — old Caroline — ran at him with a rush, seized him in her long sharp teeth, and rolled him over in the yellow eadish which doubtless had often been witness to his infantine gambols. Poor cub ! If his life had been short, his death at least was a swift and merciful one. Out of harm's way, fat fowls, early Iambs, and young rabbits would henceforth be indiflerent to him, while the sharp teeth of old Caroline were surely less torturing than those of a trap. In a second Will Steadall was on his feet, suiTOunded by the hounds. '' Who-oop leu leu, pull him! leu leu, pull him! " he cried in tones of encouragement to the young ones, as they tore at Reynard's remains and fought for some choice morsel. ''Down, Prudence! have a care, Christobel ! " While the usual obsequies were being per- formed, the field came galloping in from all sides, highly delighted with so satisfactory a kill in the open and the part KATE MAXES HER DEBUT IN THE SHIRES. 115 G.icli incTividiial had played. ''Nice little spin," tliey said one to the other, though most of them had arrived nearly a quarter of an hour after time, and could have seen but little of it. "Looks like a good scent." So they stood and chatted amicably, while the hounds lay down on the grass and rested for a few minutes after their recent exertions, the day being warm and sun somewhat overpowering, and decidedly antagonistic to active exercise. Meantime Kate, who had been wondering what had become of Stirrup, now spied him among the crowd, and beckoned him to come to her side. She could contain her elation no longer, and felt she must impart it to someone ; therefore, who better and more sympathetic than he ? " Oh, Stirrup!" she said in a triumphant whisper, ''we've had such fun ! I'm so glad we came, aren't you-? I've broken the ice, too, and taken my first fence in good style. I wish you could have seen Ejng Olaf . He covered himself with glory, and jumped it most beautifully, though two horses came to grief right under his nose." " I seed 'im, Miss," returned Stirrup in tones of unqualified approval. " 'Ow other 'osses misbehaves of 'emselves make no odds to ^im. Ee don't mean falling, not ee. Why lor bless you, Miss Kate, ee jumped that ere 'edge with at least a yard to spare. There was not another 'oss cleared it in the same form. I seed two of them young swells looking at 'im, as much as to say, ' Ee's a good un, ee is.' King Holaf will hopen some of their eyes afore long, I'll be bound, for all liie airs and graces they gives 'emselves, just as if they were better nor other folks. Lor, Miss Kate," he continued in a confidential undertone, " but the way some of these fine gents shirk is something hawful. Ko one would believe it as 'ad not seen it with 'is own eyes. Why, there aint a 'arf nor yet a quarter as rides a yard. It's all show and purtence. They likes to dress 'emselves up and jog about in company, and that's pretty nigh all they do do, except talk. Bless my 'art, once the danger is at an end, they can talk a cat's 'ead off. Mahogany sportsmen, I calls 'em. Does all their 'unting with a good bottle of wine, and their legs 116 THE EIGHT SORT. under tlie table, but werry little when tbey are either side of a 'oss. Kate laughed. '' What do you imagine the next move is likely to be ? " she asked. ^' They is pretty shure to 'ang about 'ere for another 'our or so. There be two or three more cubs left in covert, and the 'untsman will roust 'em up a bit more afore ee leaves 'em alone. Maybe its 'is last chance this season." "In that case. Stirrup, it seems almost a pity to keep the Duckling out longer. He has just had a nice morning's exercise, and I shall want to ride him myself the day after to-morrow in all probability." " And 'ow about you. Miss Kate ? I don't like leaving you all alone. There's them there gates to open, and some of 'em be uncommon awkerd for a, lady to lift." " No matter ! Depend upon it I shall manage somehow,'* she answered confidently. "Perhaps I may ride home in company ; and if the worst comes to the worst I can always get off and walk." " Now look ee 'ere, Miss Kate, dear, if I goes away and leaves you by yourself, don't ee go riding so forrard. The ditches is just hawful blind this time of year, and the werry best of 'osses is liable to make mistakes. Bear the saying in mind, 'Afore Christmas old 'ard, after Christmas ride 'ard.* So do be careful ; and if I might make so bold as to advise, don't keep King Holaf out werry late. Eemember it's 'is first day, and ee'll be wanted later on. An excitable animal like 'im takes a lot out o' hisself." With which parting admonitions as to the welfare of the two beings he loved best on earth, old Stirrup somewhat reluctantly turned the Duckling's head towards home. He had a vague, confused idea that, in spite of her command, he was not acting rightly in leaving his mistress unprotected to find her way back alone in a new county, where she herself was quite a stranger. Orders were orders, however, and had to be obeyed. AVhen Kate said a thing Stirrup knew she expected that thing to be done, and resistance beyond a certain point was unavailing. FEMALE CiUTICISM. 117 CHAPTER XI. FEMALE CRETICISM. MEAKTTniLE Mrs. Paget and Miss Palliser, standing almost within earshot, had been engaged in an animated exchange of ideas, of which Kate Browser, happily for her, was the uncon- scious object. '' What do you think of our new lady ? " asked Mrs. Paget confidentially, edgi::g up to her friend, and setting the ball rolling. " Is she likely to prove an acquisition ? " *' This Miss Browser I suppose you mean ? " returned Miss Palliser, with an animation so simple a question seemed hardly calculated to provoke. " Yes, this Miss Browser. This wonderful heiress every one is talking about, and who, they seem to say, will turn all the heads of the Foxington bachelors ? " ''The Foxington bachelors, in that case, cannot possess any very great modicum of brains to turn,^'' said Miss Palliser sarcastically. * ' Are they in the habit of running after every strange young person who enters the country? " "Ah, my dear, that's exactly it. / call her position a most questionable one. Two girls, without any chaperone or female escort, setting up for themselves in this independent manner, hardly seem, to my mind, q^uite — quite the thing." " Who are they ? Does any one knoYr anything about their antecedents?" "Miss Browser is Scotch, I believe. Beyond that I can say little." '' She may not even be respectable,'''' said Miss Palliser, with an air of extreme propriety. " I wonder whether people intend to call ? " 118 THE RIGHT SOPwT. ^' Mrs. Forrester Las done so already." ''Just like her, and at lier age I dare say it can't signify mucli one way or the other ; but jou and I, my dear, really ought to be more circumspect." Miss Palliser had reached the borderland when ten years more or less are not supposed to make much difference ; never- theless she still considered her reputation a pearl of spotless price, to be kept from contamination just as carefully as in the days of her girlhood. In fact, from her manner and con- versation she appeared quite oblivious of the fact that that sunny period had long ago been left behind. '' I suppose the men are sure to make up to her," continued Mrs. Paget. ''My dear," and Miss Palliser fixed a severe glance upon her friend, " ivheneYev and ivhere\eT in this world the slightest soupgon of impropriety exists, the smallest sj^mptom of some- thing wrong, there you may be sure the men will alwaj'-s flock. They have no morals, no principle, no resolution. The faster and the worse style this Miss Browser is the better they will probably like her, and the more they will run after her. Nowadays virtue is not appreciated " And certainly, if represented by Miss Palliser, it could be easily believed, for a sourer, more malignant-looking, and uglier woman it would be difficult to imagine. From the moment King Olaf had shown his superiority she had sworn eternal enmity against Kate. Personally she knew nothing in the girl's dis- favour, but the nipre fact that she had proved herself capable of holding her own in the hunting-field was sufficient to render her an object of envy and detestation. "I'll tell you one thing," whispered Miss Palliser mys- teriously. "Yes," said Mrs. Paget, all attention. " Wliat is it ? " "Wh}^, she can't ride one little bit; she came at a tiny flying fence just now a hundred miles an hour without the smallest control over her horse, and all but knocked me over." This was untrue, and Miss Palliser knew it, seeing that when Kate had jumped the fence in question she (Miss Palliser) had happened to be quite a couple of leng-ths in FDMALE CliITlCI.^3:i. 119 the rear, "but it answered her purpose just as well as any other statement, and served to establish a casus helli. '' She's plucky, " observed Mrs. Paget, actuated by a higher sense of justice. ''Plucky ! So's the bird that dashes itself against the iron railings of its cage ; so's the dog that threatens to bite you when his bone is withdrawn, and the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air. Plucky, indeed! I tell you she's as ignorant as a babe in swaddling clothes ; I doubt even if she knows how to stick on, let alone set a horse at a fence. People like that ought to stay at home, and not come out hunting. They are a perfect nuisance, and positively dan- gerous. As for judgment, she has not a scraj), and from her manner is not likely to acc^uire it. No, no, depend uj)on it the kindest thing we can wish Miss Brewser is that she may get a rattling good fall, the sooner the better, which will either teach her caution or lay her up for the rest of the season." ' •' Oh, I dare say she knows nothing about riding. How should she, poor thing?" remarked Mrs. Paget compassion- ately, who, being younger than Miss Palliser, was inclined to look upon Kate's shortcomings more leniently than the elder lady. ''Nobody, to my knowledge, has ever heard of her in the Shires before now." Mrs. Paget was the wife of a retired brewer, who considered Hunting-shire the acme of fashion and the hot-bed of aristo- cracy, and who had once been heard to assert that he only cared for hunting on account of the good society to be met with in the hunting-field. "I should think not," said Miss Palliser, with a sneer. *'Do you know, I shoiJd not be the least surprised if she turned out no better than she ought. Such things have hap- pened before now." "Well, amdiow she rides good horses. That chesnut is a perfect beauty." "Yes; it's a sad pity to see such a fine hunter so com- pletely wasted. However, I suppose money is no object. But tell me, my dear, what do you say to her figure ? Don't 120 THE rjGIIT SOET. you call it ratlier — rather" — pausing in search of a suitable adj ective — ' ' j^p^^i^/mr ? ' ' '' Well, I don't know ; there is something a little odd about it, perhaps. But until you called my attention to the fact, I was inclined to consider it tolerably good. She carries herself well." '' Good? Well I never heard such a thing ! Fancy yow thinking it good, Mrs. Paget. I really should have thought you would have known better." "Did I say good?" seeing she was in danger of losing caste, and overcome by the other's superior decision. ''Let me have another look. Oh yes, I was mistaken after all ; only moderate — very moderate." "Plenty of padding," suggested Miss Palliser, considerably appeased. "Looks like a hen turkey with its breast well trussed." " Ha, ha ! An excellent simile, and uncommonly neatly put." " I dare say," continued Miss Palliser in tones of deprecia- tion, " that men may admire Miss Browser's figure, but all right-minded people know how to value their admiration a(; its proper worth. Their ideas on such subjects are so ex- tremely odd, to say the least of it. Personally I care a grea c deal more for the opinions of my own sex than I do for those of a parcel of silly, wild, flighty boys. However, that':S neither here nor there. If they see anything to admire ir. Miss Browser they are free to do so for aught it affects me : all I can say is, that she is not 7n^ style of beauty. / prefer something quieter, more refined, and less masculine." Miss Palliser's cheeks were of a uniform sallow hue, all the colour in her face having unkindly settled in the extreme point of her nose, and it was a remarkable fact that during all the years she had hunted in Huntingshire no living soul had ever yet been able to discover what was her '^style^^ of feminine beauty. Never had any one proved so fastidious in her tastes. Thin ladies she objected to altogether; also stout, tall, obese, long-waisted, short-legged, medium, dark, and fair ones. The only conclusion possible to arrive at was that the single style Miss Palliser honestly and genuinely FEMALE CRITICISM. 121 admired was her own, and as nobody else did, it sKowed how wise and how merciful was the invisible Providence ruling over us. *'I don't think Miss Brewser has altogether such a very bad seat on horseback," observed Mrs. Paget, after a slight pause. 'Tve seen worse." "Mrs. Paget, I did think you knew what a seat was," returned Miss Palliser scornfully, ^Ujou, who've hunted here, off and on, ever since your marriage ; and I'm sorry to be unable to agree. But here's Colonel Clinker," as that gentle- man passed close by, '' he knows what's what : I'll ask his opinion." The Honble. Jack knew the ladies well, and disliked both, especially Miss Palliser, but at mention of his own name he felt bound to stop and inquire if he could render them any service. ''What do you want to ask me?" he said in a cold but courteous tone. '' Anything very imj)ortant ? " '' Oh, no. Colonel ; not exactly important," said ]\Iiss Palliser insinuatingly^, ^' only Mrs. Paget here declares that Miss Brewser has a good figure and a good seat on horse- back, and knowing you to be an authority, I thought I would just make an appeal at headquarters. You don't think so surely 'P^ and she looked at him out of her little colourless eyes. Years ago Jack Clinker had seen through the petty spite and jealousy of which Miss Palliser' s nature was capable, and despised her accordingly. As often as she made advances, just so often did he rebuff them. Captain Puller's remark had left him in no mood to discuss the heiress, and after seeing her ride certainly not to do so unkindly. Besides, he took a pleasure in aggravating Miss Palliser. "Mrs. Paget is cj^uite right," he answered brusq-uel3\ Miss Brewser has one of the prettiest figures and nicest seats I have seen for a long time, and there are very few women can ride over a fence in the way she did a few minutes ago. Added to these advantages, she appears to be a thorough lady." With which cutting remark Jack Clinker slightly raised his 122 THE rJGIIT SORT. • hat and rode off. ''Wliat brutes some women are, to "be sure," he muttered to himself in disgust. " Old devil ! why can't she leave the poor girl alone. And all because she cut her out in a miserable little ten minutes' spin. Faugh ! I declare it's enough to sicken one with the sex altogether." Miss Palliser turned green, and looked completely dumb- foundered. She had expected to find an ally, instead of which a daring and determined enemy had confronted her, unexpectedly, but none the less surely. Besides which Colonel Clinker's o^Dinion carried considerable weight throughout the county. ''You've put your foot in it nicely," said Mrs. Paget, with an attempt at consolation which did not prove altogether satisfactory to^its intended object. ''I don't care if I have," returned Miss Palliser angrily. *' I can see through a stone wall as easily as most people, and I call it positively disgusting. Do you suppose that if this Miss Brewser were a penniless lass Colonel Clinker would constitute himself her champion in this ridiculous fashion? No, not he! It's the money he's after. That's as clear as clear can be, and I repeat, I call it disgusting. If you and I were heiresses we should have all the men toddling round us in just the same way." But even Mrs. Paget ventured to think, in spite of this assertion, that Miss Palliser laboured under a slight delu- sion. She was weak, easily infiuenced, and entertained the most profound respect for Colonel Clinker as a scion of that aristocracy which she revered next ovly to her Creator. ' ' I think you were a little too much down on Miss Brow- ser," she said, beginning to waver in her allegiance. "Tut, Mrs. Paget, do you suppose Fm going to follow your example, and model all my oj^inions b}^ those of the Honble. Jack?" responded Miss Palliser with a sneer that made Mrs. Paget blush to the roots of her hair. " You may look up to the nobility if you like, / don't care twopence about them." "Whereupon, after delivering this Parthian dart, which went quivering straight to poor guilty Mrs. Paget's heart, Miss Palliser turned her horse wrathfully FEMALE CEITICISM. 123 iside, and put a close to a conversation which had ended less tarmoniously than it had commenced. Meanwhile the morning was wearing away, and a fresh move was made in the direction of a covert some two or three miles distant, which necessitated a long jog at that back-breaking pace so extremely trying to ladies. Mrs Forrester now came up and shook hands with Kate. ''Good morning, Miss Browser," she said. ''I have seen you several times in the distance, but never had an opportunity of saying a word, and have contented myself with admiring your horse. I want to introduce you to our master, Mr. Bingham. He's very quiet, but a nice sort of man when you get to know him, and he's just been asking who you were." ''Eeally," answered Kate, "I am very much flattered, and shall be happy to make his acquaintance. Upon which Mrs. Forrester promptly effected an introduction. ''Make yourself civil," she \7liispered significantly into the master's ear, '-'for it's worth your while to conciliate an excellent subscriber. The young lady is rolling in wealth, and sure to be good for a couple of ponies." ''Thank you, Mrs. Forrester," returned he with a wink and a smile. "You've always an eye to the main chance, even when on pleasure bent." Whether owing to this remark of the lady's or not it would be impossible to say, but before long Kate was surprised to find how exceedingly chatty and pleasant the " quiet, nice sort of man " could be. They got on famously, and soon made friends, so that the remainder of the jog to the covert was performed under favourable circumstances. Arrived at their fresh destination, the number of foxes appeared truly bewildering, and such a long time was spent in tow-rowing the cubs that the prospect of a run became more and more remote. It was now half -past two o'clock, and Kate, remem- bering Stirrup's parting injunctions, determined on making tracks for home, especially as she heard the hounds were likely to draw farther and farther away from Foxiugton. She therefore inquired the way from a ruddy-faced and oblig- ing farmer who happened to be near, and he assured her she 124 a:HE EIGHT SORT. could not possibly mistake it, provided slie -^as able to open sundry gates. Thus enlightened, Kate turned King Olaf'a head towards Sport Lodge, The horse had fretted a good deal during the long period of inaction that had taken place. He was still very fresh, and exhibited a decided reluctance to quit his companions ; but once fairly out of sight and sound of the hounds, he quickly settled down into a long swinging trot, which soon put a considerable distance between them. Kate followed the high-road till she came to a recently painted hand-post, where she had been directed to turn sharp to tho right, keeping on a bridle-path which led across the fields for a couple of miles, when once more she would emerge on tJio turnpike close by Foxington. Now, as we have seen, Miss Browser was an exceedingly independent young person, accus- tomed to rely upon her own resources; therefore she felt in no wise disconcerted at the prospect of riding home alone, as a good many ladies similarly circumstanced might have done. The only drawback consisted in King Olaf's dislike to gates. Instead of standing quietly while his mistress endeavoured to raise the latch, he was always in such a desperate hurry that he. insisted on trying to force his way through before the gafo was fairly ajar, thereby often occasioning Kate various rather unpleasant bumps and bruises. Horses, like people, are not made absolutely perfect, and King Olaf must be for- given for possessing this one fault. Despite sundry of these little casualties, Kate managed to get through the first two or three gates tolerably suc- cessfully, and was just beginning to congratulate herself on her achievements, when a slight damper was put on her self-esteem by a barrier that bafiled every effort, and re- mained obstinately closed in spite of both force and persua- sion. It was doubly fastened with a bar and an iron hook. This latter, after repeated essays, Kate did manage to undo, but the gate itself remained immovable, requiring a man's strength to heave it up from the ground. In the midst of her difficulties, and by way of making matters worse. King Olaf growing suddenly impatient, began to back away, and during one of these slight vagaries her hun^,ing-crop was torn from FEMALE CRITICISM. 12o her hand. It was engraved with her name, and having been given to her by her uncle, she would have sacrific'ed a good deal sooner than lose his present ; besides, without it now she was completely handicapped. For a few seconds the girl felt almost nonplussed, but she possessed a resolute disposition that could not bear to be beaten in anything it undertook. She wanted to get home, and she wanted to regain her lost croj), and the only way to arrive at these results appeared to be by dismounting. In her pocket she invariably carried a stout leather strap, which, in the event of an emergency like the present, she was in the habit of buckling on to her stirrup, and by this contrivance was able to reach her foot up far enough to j)lace it in the lengthened loop and then swing herself into the saddle. But what you can do Avith a quiet, steady, tired-out animal at the end of a long day's hunting, and what you can do with a remarkably fresh and high- couraged one after only a few hours' easy exercise, are two very different things, as Kate now discovered to her cost. U.'o descend from the saddle was comparatively simple, but to regain it a most laborious and difficult undertaking, for every time she made an attempt King Olaf dodged and fidgeted, fidgeted and dodged, till Kate was fairly worn out, and her temper raised to an unwonted pitch of exasperation so that she actually went the length of applying the epithet " brute ! " to her favourite but certainly tantilising hunter. She looked around, but not a soul was in sight to come to her assistance. Once more her resolutions were quickly taken, and she decided on trudging the rest of the way on foot, consoling herself meanwhile with the philosophical reflection that ^' What cannot be hel23ed must be endured ! " Picking up he-r habit in one hand, and taking hold of King Olaf's bridle with the other, she started oft at a good round pace. She had not, however, gone above half a mile, and had already begun to discover that patent leather riding boots and leng-thened j)edestrian exercise were highly incompatible one with the other, before she was startled by hearing a voice closa behind say — ** I hope you have not met with an accident." 12G THE RIGHT SORT. Her first impulse was one of relief, her second to notice tliat the horseman who thus addressed her was mounted on a sporting black mare, and was decidedly good-looking. He had fair hair, honest grey-blue eyes, a smiling open counte- nance, and a manly upright carriage, which impressed Kate favourably at first sight. '*Is anything the matter ? " he repeated riding up along- side. '' Have you had a fall ? " ''Oh dear no," answered she airily, now that helj) was at hand, determined to make light of her adventures. ''I could not open the last gate, it was so heavy, and after bungling for a long time, dropped my hunting-crop. Being a favourite one, I got off to pick it up, and then was unable to remount, consequently was obliged to have recourse to Shanks's mare. Are all the gates about here equally refractory ? " ''Some of them are awkward I admit, particularly for a lady. To tell the truth, I wonder you got on as well as you did. Many fair equestriennes of my acquaintance stand in the same awe of a five-barred gate as of a full-grown bull, and cannot stir without a groom riding close to their horse's tail." "They ought not to come out hunting then," said Kate, decisively. "Women have no business to be so stupid and such cowards." The stranger laughed, seemingly amused at her sentiments. " Don't 3^ou think the farmers are more to blame," he said with a smile, " who fasten up their gates by all sorts of such odious contrivances, that even we men are often at our wits' ends how to undo them, and were it not for such things aa hinges would many a time be stopped in the midst of a good run ? The ladies are not so much in fault as you appear to imagine." "I am glad for their sakes they have found so chivalrous and so courteous a champion," answered Kate politely, though a trifle sarcastically. He looked at her, as if not quite sure whether she were joking or in earnest. "You are too flattering," he replied in the same tone. ** But the courtesy of which you speak is not very apparent FEMALE CRITICISM. 127 SO long as I remain seated and 3^011 standing. Allow me to assist you to your horse." So saying lie jumped down to tlie ground. Now tlie human voice is a wonderful index of cliaracter, and possesses immense powers of attraction and repulsion. A pleasant-toned voice goes far towards creating a favourable impression, and the new-comer's had a soft truthful ring which inspired Kate with confidence, and made her forget that this 2:entleman was an utter stran^-er. " Do you know how ? " she asked saucily. *'I'm awfully heavy, remember." "I'm not afraid of that," he replied, apj)arently confident in his o^vn powers, " Try me." Kate placed her foot somewhat coyly in the palm of his broad hand — she noticed it was broad, and thought men's hands ought to be so— and the next instant with a dexterous hoist he sent her fiying into the saddle. ^' Caj)ital! " she exclaimed, not a little pleased to find her- self there again. ''Stirrup himself could not have done it better." "Who's Stirrup?" " Oh ! StiiTup's my groom, and such a dear old man ! Still, as he does not always accompany me out hunting, the very first time I come ' to grief ' I shall know now where to apply for help. There's nothing like a friend in need." "Do. Let that be a bargain. AU the same, I hope," tiu-ning the frank blue eyes full upon her, "the day wiU never come when you may meet with a bad accident. If there is one sight in the whole world I hate more than another, it is seeing a lady ?aU. Their hmbs are so delicate, compared to ours, and so much more easily injured. However," with a cheerful smile, "it's much too early in the season to talk of broken bones. They're bad enough at any time, so no need to think of them beforehand. Now," giving Kate the reins, and loosing King Olaf's head, "are you quite comfortable? Is there nothing more I can do for you ? " "Xo, nothing, thanks," she said, wondering if he meant to depart, and wishing- he would stay a little longer, at 128 THE RIGHT SORT. least until she liad readied the high-road. '''I eaunot thank you sufficiently for the trouble already taken on my behalf." " Please don't mention it. I feel only too proud to have been able to render any service, and am already amply repaid by the pleasure of your society instead of riding home alone." He did not intend trotting on then after all. His next speech rendered that fact still more evident. " There are still two or three gates to be opened," he said, as he once more remounted. '' So, if you will allow me, I propose seeing you safely through them." He spoke with such an air of calm decision that there was nothing to be said, and Kate gratefully bowed assent. The presence of this handsome stranger was far from being dis- pleasing. He had a courtly way of speaking, which appealed to her sense of refinement and put her at her ease. Some such thoughts ran through her mind, as for a few seconds they rode on in silence. Her companion was engaged in a criticab examination of King Olaf. Presently he said, resum- ing the conversation — ''May I be forgiven for expressing my extreme admiration for your horse ? He is a real beauty," once again running him over with the eye of a connoisseur. ^' A trifle small per- haps, but a rarely well-shaped animal. He's a good one, too, I know, for I saw him jump a fence this morning in grand style. There happened to be a blind ditch on the take off side, and I noticed him particularly, because, to tell the honest truth, I thought you were riding just a wee bit too fast at it, but the ehesnut steadied himself exactly at the right moment, and evidently requires no teaching. You're lucky in having such a good hunter." " That I am," said Kate, charmed at hearing her favourite' s praises sung, and btooping down to pat his glossy neck. " Even my bad riding can't make him go wrong." "Please believe I intended to cast no aspersions on your horsemanship ; on the contrary — I — I — " checking himself suddenly. ' ' Well, what ? ' ' she asked, with aU a woman's love of flattery. EEMALB CKITICISM. 129 *-I admired it." Kate blushed without exactly knowing why, and endea- voured to start another topic of discussion. Nevertheless she felt pleased that the stranger considered her debut in the Shires had proved creditable. ''I thought I was wrong," she said, '* in going quite so fast, but Mrs. Forrester had specially warned me against the dangers of slow riding, and her advice carried the day. You see," turning towards him with a frank humility, '* I am only a novice as yet." Her candour was attractive, and pleased him. Coquettes and flirts he had met by the score, but straightforward, out- spoken girls, with no humbug about them, were comparatively rare. ** Do you know Mrs. Forrester ? " he asked. ^'Yes, a little. She called upon me yesterday. We had a long chat together, and she told me a variety of news." ' ' Ah ! she's a regular old gossip, but a good soul all the same, if only she could be persuaded to leave horse-coping alone. This animal that I am now riding once belonged to her." ''Indeed!" said Kate, speculating as to whom her com- panion might be. "Yes," continued he, ''I bought her at the end of last season, and I call her M'liss, for a wilder young savage never looked through a bridle. You remember Bret Harte's story, don't you?" '' Ah ! poor M'liss. I always felt so sorry for her, and she possessed such an intense capacity for suffering. Her emotions were almost too keen. I hope your M'liss does not resemble the original one in that respect." ''No, my M'liss is a very sulky, thickskinned creature, or rather was, for she has marvellously improved lately." "Perhaps she too loves the schoolmaster," suggested Kate, with a little air of finesse. ' ' Not so much as she fears his reprimands in the shape of a sharp pair of spurs. Talking of horses, however, I should like you to see a four-year-old of mine, who is almost, if not K 130 THE EIGHT SORT. quite, as handsome as the one you are on. Ah ! T see '* — as Kate made a cynical gesture — ''you find that hard to be- lieve? " ' ' Yery. You must excuse my scepticism, but even if your animal were as beautiful as Yenus herself, she could never compare with King Olaf in my eyes. Perhaps it sounds con- ceited to say so, but you see, when you have ridden a horse a season or two, been well carried, and found out all his good qualities, you learn to regard him with a peculiar pride and affection which prevent any other filling his place, or even approaching him in the smallest degree." ''Bravo! That is honestly spojien. I see you are fond of horses." ^^ Fond? I love them. The gift of speech, after all, is a dangerous one. Our friends bother us perpetually with their ill-timed chatter, our horses never. I like dumb things- things with no tongues to irritate and madden." "Still even horses are vexatious enough at times. They are not all good, quiet, placid, amiable-tempered creatures." '*I know; but whatever their faults they cannot speak. Silence is golden." " Well, your ideas strike me as rather peculiar. Would you like to play at mumchancefor the rest of the way home?" "Certainly not," said she with a laugh, "I was indulging in generalities, not in personalities. Besides, there are ex- ceptions to every rule." " I suppose /could not acquire this desirable dumbness? " he asked playfully. "It does not appear likely," she answered, while a demure smile trembled upon her lips. " Ah ! you think I am a chatterbox ? " " I did not say any such thing." " No, but you implied it." " Conversation by implication is always unpleasant, and liable to lead to misconstruction. Suppose, instead, you were to tell me where we are ? " Eor they had quitted the green fields, and were now pacing down a good wide road. FEMALE CRITICISM. 131 '^ Don't you recognise that house?" he said, pointing to one on the left-hand side. ''"ViTiy, it is Sport Lodge, surely. I had no idea we were so near home." *' Yes, Miss Browser," he said, ''it is Sport Lodge, and I am afraid I must wish you good-bye, for my way leads more to the right." ** Stay," she exclaimed, impelled by a sudden desire to learn her companion's name. ''You possess an unfair ad- vantage over me. Before we part, at least let me know to whom I am indebted for so much kindness? " The sun was sinking in the horizon, and its rays caught the stranger's fair hair, turning it into golden as he raised his hat from his head and said quietly — "I am Colonel Clinker." He was not, however, prepared for the effect produced by these apparently simple words. Kate's countenance fell, assuming an expression of unfeigned astonishment, for the announcement came upon her as an overwhelming surprise. The possibility of this pleasant, agreeable young man turn- ing out to be the depraved individual who gambled, betted, and vowed nolens volens to make her his wife, had never entered her mind. The disillusion was complete. Her in- terest had been aroused once or twice during their short ride home, the soft voice had thrilled her strangely, and now^ when she recalled these things, her animosity found vent in regret. " Colonel Clinker ! " she echoed impulsively. " Oh! I am BO sorry." The next moment she could have bitten out her tongue. How could she make so foolish, so idiotic a speech ? " Sorry ! " he said, feeling in his turn somewhat surprised and scarcely flattered. "Why sorry? What has sorrow got to do with my identity ? " "Oh, nothing," she answered coldly, striving hard to conceal her confusion. ' ' You are enigmatical in the extreme. Miss Brewser. You first do me the honour of wishing to know my name ; then, 132 THE RIGHT SORT, when you hear it, you tell me you are sorry. What infer- ence am I to draw from such a speech ? " " I — I — really don't know." ''Miss Brewser," he said, looking Kate fuU in the face, "you are equivocating. You know perfectly well, and are concealing something from me." The hint of deception touched her to the quick. ''Well, then," she said, with considerable heat, "if yoj. must know I will tell you. I thought before I knew who you were that you were nice, and now — " hesitating how best to conclude the discourteous sentence. "You are sorry because I am wo^." An awkward silence ensued. Colonel Clinker was evidently both hurt and perplexed, but when he spoke again all the anger had died out of his face. "After all," he said, "why should I be vexed at your frankness ? Very likely you are right, and I am a worthless fellow. It does one good now and again to be taken down a peg or two in one's own self-esteem. Tell me, is there nothing I can do to become nice, or at all events nice-ev ? " She felt beaten. This humble appeal went far to disarm her wrath and raise her respect in spite of his previous short- comings, but she was not going to let him see that he had gained the smallest advantage. "That," she replied coolly, "is for you, not me, to ascer- tain." "Miss Brewser," he said, with visible annoyance, "you appear to know of something to my disadvantage, and there- fore I feel as if I were groping in the dark, being ignorant of any possible cause of offence. Can you not tell me what it is ? " "No." "Then you admit that there is a cause? " "I admit nothing. And really, Colonel Clinker, 1 hope you will excuse me, but I must be going. I don't want my horse to catch cold." ' ' At least you will give me the opportunity of endeavouring to regain that good opinion which I seem to have forfeited?" he urged, with a persistence that surprised himself, but she FEMALE CRITICISM. 133 had piqued his curiosity and wounded his pride. "I shall do myself the honour of calling," he added, taking a sudden resolution. ''It's hardly worth your while," was the encouraging reply, though Kate, as she uttered the words, felt ashamed of their rudeness. The Honble. Jack opened his blue-grey eyes in surprise, and gazed steadily at her; her own sank to the ground. Once again victory rested with the assailed, and the assailant encountered a serious rebuff. "You must allow me to be the best judge of that," he said calmly, and then, raising his hat, without looking to the right or to the left rode away in the direction of Foxington. Kate unconsciously watched his retreating form. Certainly this Colonel CKnker was a cool hand. She had signified clearly she did not wish him to call, and yet he had announced his intention of doing so. Evidently he intended carrying off the money-bags with the smallest possible amount of delay. Such conduct was outrageous. She quivered with indignation as she walked King Olaf up the hill that led to Sport Lodge. '' It is abominable ! " she said to herself. '' What a fool I was not to tell him what I think of him when I had the chance ! I can't imagine what made me such a coward ! " Could it be possible that the low tones of that truthful voice, or the pained look of those honest, wondering eyes were to blame for a fault not often attributable to Kate Brewser ? ''Bother the man ! " she exclaimed, working herseK up to a still further pitch of indignation. "I wish to goodness I had never seen him. I — I — I — hate him ! " But even while she spoke the words she knew they were false, knew that though Jack Clinker might have — aye, and probably had — a hundred faults, he was both a man and a gentleman. Nevertheless, Kate, when she reached home, did not feel so satisfied with the results of her afternoon's ride as to communicate any portion of them to Mary Whit- bread. Neither did Colonel Clinker, though he dined out that evening with Captain Fuller and the Chirp er, and was plied by them with questions as to his early disappearance 134 THE lilGHT SORT. from the hunting-field, consider it necessary to inform his friends how he, that afternoon, had made the heiress's ac- quaintance. Perhaps the circumstances were not so pleasant as to justify him in doing so. Anyhow, he acted upon that remark of Miss Browser's in which she had alluded to the special value of silence. But though he sj)oke little he thought a good deal, and his mind dwelt freely on the strange manner in which she had expressed her sorrow at hearing his name, and the frigidity she had afterwards dis- played. That any kind friend had informed the young lady of a certain bet written down in Captain Fuller's betting- book never entered his head. In fact the bet itself had been forgotten as soon as made, sharing the fate of many another post-prandial transaction, and had entirely escaped his memory. Mrs. Forrester's ''good turn" was, however, already commencing to bring forth fruits. The seed carefully sown by her judicious hand was sprouting into life, though whether adverse storms might not beat it to the ground and stamp out all its vital germs still appeared uncertaio.. Al^ INVITATION TO DINNEB. 135 CHAPTEE Xn. AN INYITATION TO DINNER. Mrs. Forrester, having once undertaken a benevolent mission, had no idea of allowins: it to remain at a standstill. Like an experienced general, she considered the position in all its bearings, and despising inertia as a condition only worthy chrysalises and dormice, at once threw out skir- mishers and determined upon immediate action. It was owing to the decision thus arrived at that on iSunday morning, when she made her first appearance down- stairs, Kate received the following epistle, written in a bold, manly handwriting. " Dear Miss Brewser, " Will you and Miss Whitbread excuse a short invitation, and give me the pleasure of your company at dinner to- morrow night at 7.30 o'clock ? I have asked Colonel Clinker and one or two of our Foxington exquisites to meet you, but it will only be quite a small party, for, to begin with, I dis- like any others ; and secondly, have neither the appliances nor the establishment suitable to a large ' function.' That, I believe, is the correct word nowadays, is it not ? With kind regards, " Believe me sincerely yours, ''Jane Forrester." '' P.S. — I shall consider it 2i, particular favour if you will come, and by so doing prove that my unfortunate mention of a certain little episode, which shall remain nameless, has been forgiven." 136 THE RIGHT SOET. Clever old lady! She felt convinced, that this drtfully worded postscript would clinch the matter. " The girl's as proud as Lucifer," she said to herself with a chuckle while sealing up the note, " and will come, rather than let me think she is afraid to meet Colonel Clinker, unless my experience of human nature be fallacious." And Mrs. Forrester's previsions turned out as correct as usual, her observations on mankind being second only in perspicuity to those on horseflesh and cattle. Now since the preceding afternoon Kate's indignation had cooled to a very considerable extent — often the case with people who having indulged in a fit of anger, before long experience a natural revulsion, which makes them begin to inquire how far their conduct has been justified, and whether passion may not have overruled common-sense ? The human mind is so constituted that it often renders a sort of dual vision possible, which presenting both sides of a question, opens out a plea of extenuating circumstances, until, like a ball on the rebound, whose every spring grows feebler and feebler, wrath dies away altogether. Kate had by no means arrived at this peaceable frame of mind, nevertheless, she was undergoing that preliminary stage when the conduct and actions, glanced at retrospectively, did not appear so wholly and entirely satisfactory as they had dono only a few hours before. Various emotions disturbed her when she recalled the pas- sage of arms she had had with Colonel Clinker on the day before. She resolved in future to treat the offender with a cool civility, far more galling than paltry words, which should maintain her womanly dignity and prevent any relapse into vulgar retaliation. She was conscious that she had not come out of the fray with flying colours, but having made these resolutions, it appeared unpardonable folly, quite unworthy of the masterly position she intended assuming, to decKne to meet Colonel Clinker at the house of a mutual friend. "Would not the very act of avoiding him be a sign of cowardice and defeat ? and would not her doing so invest that gentle- man with an importance he was very very far from possess- AN INVITATION TO DINNER. 137 itig ? So far as Colonel Clinker affected her, Kate Brewser, lie was an absolute cipher, and likely to remain so. Under these circumstances, why should he be so honoured as to influence, or even be supposed to have the loower of influenc- ing, one of her actions? The thing was ridiculous, absurd, preposterous ! So she repeated to herself, each time with increasing conviction. After all, Mrs. Forrester had been right in saying she was her own mistress, and could follow her own inclinations. What if Colonel Clinker had^ backed himseK to marry her ? It took two to make a match, and in the meantime might there not be a certain fitful pleasure in discomfiting the adventurer, in fighting him with his owe weapons, in rendering coolness for coolness, sarcasm for sar- casm ? The idea fascinated her. It would be like acting in a farce, and she felt thoroughly equal to the part, diamond cut diamond ! Her mind was made up, and she vowed when- ever they met to treat him with frigid indifference. Mrs. Forrester's appeal had struck a right chord, and found Kate in a suitable mood for its reception. She therefore sat down and wrote an exceedingly civil little letter to Mrs. Forrester, in which she took the opportunity of assuring her that the incident referred to was of so little consequence that she had forgotten it long ago. And Mrs. Forrester, when she read the contents, once more chuckled complacently, and said to herself, " Aha! that Miss Brewser is a deep 'un, deeper and prouder even than I thought her. All the better. If it comes to pitting her brains against mine, we shall see who gains the day. Poor Jack ! He's a dear good fellow ; but it's lucky for him I took the thing in hand, he never could have pulled through by him- self. The fact of the matter is these heiresses get spoilt, and are as artful and as crooked in their ways as an old vixen in the month of March. There's no running them straight anyhow." With which reflection Mrs. Forrester took off her Sunday gown, replaced it by her work-a-day skirt, and retired to the pigsty to administer a dose of sweet nitre to an expectant mother, whose hopes threatened to be blighted by a trouble- some cough. 138 THE RIGHT SORT. On the following morning Kate went out witli Sii* Beau- champ Lenard's hounds. Being a wet day, Mary Whitbread preferred remaining in the house, and Kate elected to hack out to covert. In the event of meeting Colonel Clinker she had decided on bowing politely but frigidly, avoiding any attempt at conversation. Curiously enough, however, that gentleman's conduct appeared to have been regulated by precisely the same train of thought, for when he saw Kate he made an icy salutation, and throughout the day never once offered to come near her. No one seeing the pair would have guessed they were not only acquainted, but had ridden amicably home together, side by side, for several miles. Colonel Clinker treated her like a stranger, and evidently declined to presume upon an introduction so informally obtained. At first she was not ill-pleased by this state of things, feeling it removed much cause for embarrassment, but as the hours passed on and she began to fancy that he not only kept at a distance, but did so intentionally, her feelings underwent a curious and unaccountable revolu- tion. She felt hurt, and thought, in spite of their little tiff, he need not have been quite — quite so stand-ofir. If she were ready to forgive, so at least might he be. Women, indeed, are strangely contradictory beings, hard to please, and often scarcely knowing themselves what they really wish for. Had Jack Clinker come up to Kate early in the morning and tried to make his peace, she would certainly have shown him the cold shoulder, and probably seized the very first opportunity of establishing a quarrel ; but as he behaved in exactly the same way that she had chosen, and never volunteered to address a single remark to her, nor after the first formal bow to give the least sign of recognition, she felt exceedingly mortified and displeased. As for Jack Clinker, had his conduct been the result of the most profound strategy, instead of wounded vanity, he could not possibly have displayed more truly Machiavellian tactics, or any more calculated to bring the young lady to her senses. Nevertheless, he was guiltless of such astute dij^lomacy, and simply kept aloof because he did not know how his AN INVITATION TO DINNER. 139 advances miglit be received, and because lie was too proud to place himself in a false position. Kate, on tbe contrary, had so construed his parting words as to imagine he would seize the first opportunity of renewing her acquaintance, and when she found he had no intention of doing so felt decidedly humiliated. Such is woman's nature. An adorer whose love is true, and whose conquest is assured, meets but with cold reward ; while the fickle, unsteadfast, inconstant, slippery wooer occupies her whole thoughts and attention. That afternoon Kate Browser once again rode home by herself, but the ride was comparatively tame and uneventful. The gates were easy ones ; the Duckling stood like a lamb, and pushed them gently with his nose, and no knight- errant' s services were required for the relief of a distressed damsel. Under these favourable conditions it might reasonably have been expected the damsel herself should prove content, but she returned in a dissatisfied and taciturn mood, not wholly to bo accounted for by a moist day and the heavy unpleasant clinging of a saturated habit. " Have you enjoyed yourself, Kate ? " asked Mary Whit- bread, who, sitting before a cosy fire, was warming her little feet on the fender. ''Not a bit. "We've had a wretched day's sport. Done absolutely nothing, and all I've got for my pains is a thorough good soaking." Whereupon Kate stalked up-stairs without deigning to enter into any further explanations concerning the short- comings of the weather and the uncertainty of fox- hunting. "Nothing is so nice as one expects it to be,'' she mused dismally. " Fruition brings but Dead Sea ashes." Whereby it may be seen the young lady was inclined to take a very desponding view of, life on this particular evening, which did not, however, prevent her from bestowing an unusual amount of thought as to which garment in her possession — black, white, pink, or blue — would prove most becoming to her special style of beauty. Kate ended by choosing a simple white gown, made of some 140 THE EIGHT SORT. soft, clinging material, wliicli fitted her to perfection, setting forth the lines of her slim yet rounded figure admirably. A single row of pearls encircled her slender white throat, above which the shining hair was arranged in smooth dark coils. Twenty minutes sufiiced to bring them to their destination, where, after they had deposited their outer wrappings in the hall, they were shown into a small but well-lit room, plainly and comfortably furnished in an old-fashioned, substantial style. A bright fire flamed on the hearth, and around it Mrs. Forrester and three or four men were already congregated, deep in the horsey-foxey conversation which usually prevails in the Shires during the hunting season, when all other topics pale before the absorbing subject of the chase, and even politics are lightly touched upon and as ligbily left alone. ''How do you do, Miss Browser? So very good of you to come on such a short informal invitation," said their hostess significantly, as she advanced to welcome her guests. She was dressed in a high dark silk, with a white cap, stuck a little awry on the top of her head, suggesting the idea of having been perched there by accident rather than design, and in this attire so much more closely resembled her sex than in the daytime, that Kate at first scarcely recognised her quondam acquaintance. " I don't pretend to give grand dinners," continued Mrs. Forrester. ''My chef de cuisine is not nearly accomplished enough for that. You see a lone old woman does not require much in the eating way, and gas- tronomic luxuries are really wasted upon me. Personally, I care for nothing but a little plain mutton or beef, and detest all your made up kickshaws. However, I told you beforehand, you must not expect much, and that we should only be a small party." '' I'm so glad of it," said Kate, pleasantly. '' I think large London dinner parties something awful ; and depend upon it, from six to eight is the right number." ''We have hit on a happy medium then, for we are exactly seven," replied Mrs. Forrester cheerfully. "But now let me introduce you and Miss Whitbread to my friends Captain AN IXVIT.\TION TO DINNER. 141 Fuller, Mr. Graham, Mr. McGrath, and Colonel Clinker. The latter is a celebrity, so I need say nothing about him, and is looked upon as our Foxington lion by the rural population, whose minds are fascinated by his achievements." ''Does the lion growl ? " asked Kate maliciously. ''Jack," said the old lady. " Come here and answer that question for yourself. Miss Browser wants to know if you growl ? " "Yes, and show fight too, when unfairly attacked," he replied, with meaning. "The lion maybe a noble animal, but there are limits even to his endurance." Kate blushed. "Lions are useful occasionally," she said, with a sort of half apology, determined to produce some change in his cool demeanour. ' ' I think we have met before." '•I remember the circumstance well. Miss Browser." "Indeed? Your memory appeared to me uncommonly short." "Not shorter, if you will forgive me for saying so, than other people's." "What!" here interrupted Mrs. Forrester. "Do you mean to say you two are old acquaintances? " She felt disappointed at finding an introduction had already been effected without her intervention. Her besetting foible con- sisted in liking to be considered as the mainspring of a clock, without which the works could not fulfil their functions. For the clock to go without her being instrumental in setting it in motion was a direct infringement of her natural rights. • " Not precisely old acquaintances," corrected Kate, empha- sizing the adjective, " merely very casual ones." "Yes, extremely casual ones," assented Colonel Clinker, with a readiness which somehow exasperated her not a little; "so casual, indeed, that Miss Browser appeared, when we last met in the hunting-field, to have totally ignored the existence of so humble a person as mj'self." "Why, I Lowed to you. What more would you have had me do?" "Oh! nothing," with irritating sang froid. "A frigid 142 THE RIGHT SORT. inclination of the head was sufficient to satisfy my aspira* tions. I am not ambitious.'* ''Few men are at your time of life, but you appear highly contradictory." "Do I ? If so I cannot lay claim to any originality. Even ladies are inclined to be so at times." Kate coloured again. She began to find this exchange of witticisms less favourable to her own powers of retaliation than she had expected Her temper was rising. ''Come, come!" Mrs. Forrester exclaimed, once more intervening. "I can't have you two sparring at each other. Jack! I'm curious, and want to know how you made this young lady's acquaintance?" "That's easily explained," said he. " Miss Browser hap- pened to stand in need of a little assistance one day coming home from hunting, and I was fortunate enough to be able to render it, in place of a groom. Indeed, I'm not quite certain she did not mistake me for one. She probably intended offering me a vacant situation, for that is the only w^j I can account for the profound sorrow she expressed on discovering my ineligibity," He spoke jokingly; but his eyes fastened themselves upon Kate with an expression of quiet sarcasm. She was clever and quick-witted, and in her intercourse with men often felt herself intellectually superior, but for once, beneath that calm exterior, she recognised a master spirit. She would like to have trampled upon him, to have beaten him down into the dust, to have shown her own greater power, and then perhaps to have ultimately displayed forgiveness; but now, to her great surprise, the tables were turned, and she appeared likely to suffer def eatj instead of inflicting it. DISCUSSING THE LADIES' STEEPLECHASE. 143 CHAPTER XIII. DISCITSSmG THE LAJDIES' STEEPLECHaVSE. In the meantime dinner was announced, giving her an oppor- tunity of collecting her wits, for Colonel Clinker offered his arm to the hostess, Mr. McG-rath came forward to claim Kate, while Mary "Whitbread fell to the portion of the fascinating Captain"^ Fuller, who, however, having lost a considerable sum at his club in town on Saturday night — or rather Sunday morning — happened to be in a less sprightly and more taciturn mood than usual. After a little preliminary bustle, they seated themselves at table, when Kate found the enemy had taken up a strong position on the right, while Mr. McGrath supported the left division. '' You're looking a little pale this evening, Mrs. Forrester," said he. " Nothing the matter I hope ? You're not feeling seedy ? " " A liver attack," she replied with her customary bluntness. ''Not very serious, only requires plenty of fresh air and exercise. One gets fat and lazy in the summer. By-the- bye, Miss Brewser, that was a nice useful-looking nag you were riding to-day. Not so showy, perhaps, as the chestnut, but with caj)ital good points, and looks like a wear-and-tear sort of customer." ''You've described him to a nicety," said Kate in reply. " The Duckling is a stout, honest little beast, never sick or sorry, but until he gets excited inclined to take life almost too easily. He lacks the chestnut's dash." " Have you ever ridden him with a spur ? " "No, I can't say that I have. To tell the truth, I feel somewhat afraid of applying it indiscriminately." 144 THE RIGHT SORT. ''Oh no you wouldn't. You take my advice, and ride him in one, if only for a time or two. The least touch is often sufficient to rouse a sluggish horse. They are apt to get cunning when ridden by ladies, and an occasional reminder does them all the good in the world. I know many people object to a one-sided spur, and say it's worse than useless, but my experience is exactly the reverse. I consider it a most valuable auxiliary, especially with a certain class of animal." '' Faith! and a better authority does not exist in the whole of Great Britain," interposed Mr. McGrrath, looking round the table with an expression of conviction which seemed to say, '' There ! I defy any one to contradict that statement ! " ''Now, Terry, keep your national blarney for those who appreciate it," returned the old lady vivaciously, " and don't waste your soft sawder upon me. I'm too ancient for that sort of thing, and past the market." "Begad I but its rale unkind that ye are, Mrs. Forrester, mavourneen," exclaimed Mr. McGrath, adopting the very strongest brogue. "And a clever faymale Hke yerself can always command a market." ' ' Thank you, my good friend ; you are exceedingly flat- tering, and were I a young girl my head would be quite turned with such a complimentary speech." " Shure, Mrs. Forrester, and if ye were but a wee bit spal- peen, it would be for trying to persuade ye to become Mrs. Terence McGrath that I should aspire." "Then it's lucky for jou that I am not, and you are deterred from committing so crowning an act of foil}'," retorted the old lady amidst a general roar of laughter. " Your heart's too big for your body, Terry, and as for your common sense, it is nowhere, so let us change the subject. Jack," turning to Colonel Clinker, "I've got something to tell you, something I was particularly requested by a fair admirer to consult you about. Are you all attention?" "Am I not always so when addressed by Mrs. Forrester?" returned he gallantly. "Who is the lady, and why does seek advice from so incompetent a jperson ? " DISCUSSING THE LADIES' STEEPLECHASE. 145 '* A great friend of yours, Lady Anne Birkett, and she is mad about getting up a ladies' steeplechase . You remember there was some talk of doing so last winter, only the project fell to the ground through want of proper backing. But this year it appears the old Earl has taken up the affair con amore, and has signified his intention of allowing the race to be run over his land, provided some competent person — yourself, for instance — will undertake to choose a suitable course, and see that the fences are not too large and dangerous. It won't do, he says, for the ladies to come to grief, neither will he allow the thing to be made public in any way, but if a few of us choose to get it up among ourselves, and can ensure some four or five starters, he will present a handsome silver cup to the winner. Now Lady Anne, when she heard you were coming here to-night, particularly asked me to seek your opinion on this momentous question, and engage, if possible, your active co-operation. In fact, she wants you to become the moving spirit, and take the whole thing in hand from first to last." ''Very kind of Lady Anne, I'm sure. But who and what is the field to consist of ? Have you any notion ? " '' Why, there's Lady Anne herself. She's as keen as mus- tard about it, not that she will possess the ghost of a chance of winning, unless the Earl puts his hand in his pocket and gives her a decent mount. Miss Palliser, too, is always game for anything in the riding way. Her ambitious spirit would simply revel in the excitement of a race. I lay any money that she jumps at the idea." ''I wish the old scarecrow would jump off the hooks. Nasty spiteful creature ! I hate the very sight of her out hunting! Well, go on, who else ?" "Then there are Mrs. Paget and Mrs. Phipps ; perhaps one or two others ; and lastly, with a little persuasion — myseK." ''Yourself? Caj)ital ! That puts a different complexion on the matter altogether. Why, every man in Foxington would turn out to see the celebrated Mrs. Eorrester come galloping in between the flags on a winning 146 THE r.IGIIT SORT. mount. We sliall have anotlier feather added to your cap yet." *' Or anotlier censorious dart placed in the hands of my enemies," said Mrs. Forrester, whose eyes failed to be com- pletely blinded by the honour and glory of this redoubtable prospect. *' I shall be called an old fool for my pains, and not without some show of reason, for what's the use of going gallivanting over a country at my time of life ? However, Lady Anne left me no peace until I half promised her I would make one of the number." ''And quite right too; the race would seem but a very half-hearted affair without your support." ' ' Oh, nonsense. Jack ; things would go on exactly the same. Only I help to swell the rank of lunatics, and the more the merrier. Perhaps Miss Browser may be induced to take part in the proceedings. "What say you?" aj)pealing to Kate, ''Will you throw in your lot with our daring band of horse- women ?" "There's nothing in the world I should like better," answered she, with glistening eyes. She had ah^eady pictured to herself the glorious sensation of piloting King Olaf past the winning-post, and had listened breathlessly to everything that had passed between Mrs. Forrester and Colonel Clinker. "^M^," she added rather lamely, catching an expression of stern disapproval on Mary Whitbread's face, opposite, "but --but " "Well, what?" interrupted Jack ainker. " Don't be afraid to mention any scru23les you may entertain. Perhaps," and Kate fancied she could detect the least possible sneer, "the project appears too dangerous, and if so, my sympathies are on your side altogether." " Your sympathies are entii'cly misplaced," said she tartly, feeling deeply wounded by any implication on her courage. "I am not quite so timid as you seem to imagine, and was not deterred by the j^ossible danger ; only," gathering con- fidence, " should not we be apt to scandalise the good peo2)le of the neighbourhood, and make ourselves somewhat con- spicuous?" DISCl'SSING THE LADIES' STEEPLECHASE. 147 *' You are right, Miss Brewser, and display sound wisdom in being afraid of their comments. No doubt j^ou will gain a very bad name." He was laughing at her, and she could not endure chaff from him, of all people in the world, when up to this moment he had more or less ignored her existence, and studiously addressed all his conversation to Mrs. Forrester. *'I do wish you would not employ that word 'afraid,' " she said irritably. *' I detest it ; and once for all let me tell you I'm not afraid of anything, certainly not of a few ill-natured remarks from people who are perfect strangors to me. So please banish the idea from your mind." '' The beauty of it is," said Mrs. Forrester intervening, ''people canH talk, for nobody is to know anything about the race outside our own immediate circle, and snobbishism reigns so supreme that when folks hear the Earl of Huntingshire has been the chief patron and supporter of it, scarcely a dis- sentient voice will be raised. In order to maintain as much privacy as possible, he proposes that even the place of meeting should be kept a profound secret, and only divulged some four-and-twenty hours before the race. However, my dear," turning blandly towards Kate, "we wish everj^body to please themselves, and if you have the least hesitation about riding do not scruple to say so." *' Hear, hear ! " chimed in the Honble. Jack approvingly; ''them's my sentiments, and if I were you, Miss Brewser, I should decline." " But you are not me," she retorted in an undertone, " and all I decline is the advice so gratuitously offered. Perhaps you will allow me to judge for myseK, and," looldng round with an air of defiance and speaking aloud, "my mind is made up. I intend to compete, since Mrs. Forrester has been good enough to ask me to do so." "That's right, my dear !" exclaimed the lady approvingly. "I told Lady Anne I felt almost sure you would join our party ; besides, it would be a shame not to give that beautiful chestnut an opportunity of showing us all his heels. Ho ought to have an uncommonly good chance of winning. Can he stay ? " 148 THE RIGHT SORT. '' Yes, I thmk so," answered Kate more placidly. ''Have you heard what the distance is to be?" asked Colonel Clinker. ''So much depends upon that, especially with untrained horses, generally as fat as so many bullocks. I should say a two to a two and a-half miles course would be amply sufficient. A longer one will only give rise to a variety of mishaps. I lay ten to one La Palliser comes in as blown as a Liverpool chaser." "Well, all such details will probably be left to you to decide," said Mrs. Forrester. "Lady Anne wants you to go over the first day you can in order to settle preliminaries. •You know the big grass-fields, within half a mile of the Castle ? There was some talk of making one of them the starting-point. But you will settle all that, since everything is to be placed in your hands." "An exceedingly invidious honour, pretty sure to call down on my devoted head no end of abuse. I never knew the man yet who undertook to make out a steeplechase course and did not come in for almost universal condemna- tion. The riders consider the obstacles too large, the public think them too small ; the one finds fault with the distance, the other complains of its brevity ; and so they go on. It's impossible to satisfy everybody, even under the most favour- able conditions ; but when it comes to pleasing half-a-dozen ladies, and providing both for their safety and amusement, I confess to shrinking from such a difficult and delicate under- taking. It already weighs upon my mind like an ' incubus.' Imagine the tremendous responsibility of selecting the fences, when I think at each particular one that some frail-limbed woman may come to grief over it. I don't fancy the job in the least, and nothing but my friendship for Lady Anne would induce me to countenance it for one minute. How- ever, since you ladies appear resolved, put me out of suspense at once by telling me when the celebrated female Foxington steeplechase is likely to come off ?" "I won't have you speak of our purpose in that disparag- ing manner," said Mrs. Forrester reprovingly. " And I back the ladies to acquit themselves quite as creditably as if they DISCUSSING THE LADIES' STEEPLECHASE. 149> were men. Now, Jack, don't be disagreeable, for if you begin by giving yourself airs and turning up your nose in, disdain the whole thing will collapse, and Lady Anne be terribly disappointed." *'I should be sorry to disappoint her ladyship. She's a real good sort, and I certainly would go out of my \vay to render her any little service that happened to be in my power. Has she fixed the time ?" *' Oh dear no ! In fact the idea has only just betn broached. But I fancy she wants the race to come off pretty soon, pro- bably about the beginning of December, but any way before Parliament meets. Their plans after Christmas are generally rather unsettled." *' The horses will have to be trained, of course," remarked Colonel Clinker, speaking with professional authority. *' That is a sine qua non. I suppose you are prepared to put the chestnut into regular work. Miss Brewser ? " "Eeally," said she, "I have hardly thought of it yet Won't that mean losing his services in the hunting-field altogether? And just at present I am too short of horees to be able to dispense with my best one." *' Short, are you ? " interrupted Mrs. Forrester, who seldom allowed the chance of doing a little business to go by unmo- lested. ''Are you on the look out for another? Because if so, I wish to dispose of an animal that would suit you down to the ground and carry you just like a bird. He's a bay, rising seven, and a first-rate fencer, as the Colonel there will tell you. As a rule I dislike selling to friends, but the Peer is a bond fide article, that I am only parting with owing to several younger horses coming on. He's a made hunter, and cheap at a hundred and twenty guineas, the price I'm asking for him." It flashed through Kate's mind that if the Peer w*ere really eo good as represented, it seemed hardly worth Mrs. Forrester's while to sell him at the very commencement of the season, but she was not aware that his original price was twenty- five guineas, and that for a profit of a hundred pounds the lady would have parted with ever^ ' animal in her stable. 150 THE HIGIIT SORT. " You are very kind," she answered diplomatically, thinking it well not to appear too keen. *'I may probably have to purchase an extra horse or two later on, but just now I am in no particular hurry for a few weeks." '' May I be allowed to offer another piece of advice, in spite of the severe snubbing you took occasion to administer a short time ago," whispered Colonel Clinker a second or two later, when their hostess's attention was engaged in another quarter. "Certainly," said Kate, feeling rather conscious of the rebuke, but still somewhat surprised at the request. * ' What is it?" '' Don't you let yourself be persuaded to buy any ot Mrs. Forrester's horses, that's all. She's a dear old soul, and I'm awfully fond of her, but I should be sorry to see one of her so-called ' made hunters ' palmed off upon you. Do you understand, or have I once more committed an offence ? " ** Not at all, but please explain what is your meaning." *' AVhy, you see Mrs. Forrester is both able and clever. She rides awful brutes, and manages to get rid of them to advan- tage somehow. Eut they are not suited to other ladiep, and therefore I should be sorry to see you buy one. Purchase a horse tvith Mrs. Forrester if you like — there is no better judge in England, when the cheque comes out of somebody else's book — but not o/hor. The lisk, nine times out of ten, is too great." ** She must be a wonderful rider ! " said Kate. ** That's exactly what she is, but I should grieve to see a young lady of your tender years imposed upon, and I know the Peer would not suit you." *'I'm not so young as all that. I was twenty-two last birthday," said Kate, impelled to make the statement by a species of brusque honesty, characteristic of her disposition. *' A mere child," said he looking at her and thinking hov;" much too young she was to face the world alone. He noticed also how bright and large her eyes were, and how perfect the pose of the small head. ''You are not angry with me for what I have said ? " he asked, feeling as if he should like DISCUSSING THE LADIES' STEEPLECHASE. 151 to bo good friends witK her in the future. "I have not annoyed you tJiis time, have I? " She hesitated for a second and then said — "No." " I know how independent you are," he continued apolo- getically, ' ' and half feared you might resent my interference." "Peo]3le ought to be independent, and able to shift for themselves in this world." "I entirely agree, so far as our sex is concerned, but in yours it becomes a question whether independence may not be carried to too great an extent — whether it is not apt to give women a certain brusqueness and hardness, scarcely in harmony with their character, at least from a manly point of ^iew?" The sentence no doubt was uttered without any particular intention, but curiously enough Kate chose to put a personal construction upon it, and the spirit of opposi- tion once more grew rife within her. '' Oh ! " she said flippantly, ''I suppose you are like most other men, and care only for the pretty blue-eyed, flaxen- hairfed doll type, which looks up to you and worships you like demi-gods. Brains don't signify ; the fewer the better, for then dolly is less likely to see flaws in her idol, or to detect that what she takes for pure metal is nothing but a base alloy. These clinging, lichen-like creatures appeal to a man's vanity if not to his nobler instincts, and in return they are rewarded by a lukewarm, half-contemptuous affection. The natural position of things is reversed, and c'est Vhomme qui 86 lame aime, pas la femme ! It saves a great deal of trouble, and the limpets make excellent and obedient wives. They at any rate are not too independent." ** You are sweeping in your condemnations. Miss Browser. Luckily for me, however, I have escaped the wiles of these beautiful but inane playthings of whom you speak. Matri- mony is an expensive luxury, rather superfluous than other- wise in my estimation, especially nowadays, when young ladies expend a moderate fortune on their clothes, and the dressmaker's bill would nearly cover the expenses of a season's hunting. A man must either be very bold, very 152 THE BIGHl? SORT. rich, or very, very f oolisli to undertake the modern girl of the period." " Girl of the period indeed ! What an odious expression ! Just as if there were not hundreds and hundreds of nice, quiet, sensible girls about, if only the men had sense enough to appreciate them ! Instead of which, because their frocks happen to be a little behind the fashion, or their boots country made, and their gloves a size or two too big, they call them frumps, guys, gawkies, dowdies, every name under the sun. Why should we all be judged by our outer garments to such a ridiculous extent as to veil our eyes to inward merit ? Answer me that question if you can." ''But I can't. It's much too abstruse for my feeble com- prehension." ** Well, then, do you believe in the law of demand and supply? Are you by any chance a political economist ? " '* A political economist indeed ! Why, my dear Miss Browser, I am not even a domestic one, and find it impossible to practise that virtue at home. A poor devil like myself, head over ears in debt, has quite enough, and more fhan enough, to do in minding his own affairs, without bothering about those of the nation." '*Ah! you don't understand me. "V^Tiat I meant was simply this. You men as a body complain of the girls. You say they are fast, frivolous, and extravagant. Well, I ask in their defence, who make the girls so if not the men them- selves ? They create a demand for a certain style of woman, and that demand is promptly supplied in order to gratify their tastes. If there were no demand there would be no supply. It is merely a fundamental law of nature — that's all. In support of my theory, enter any ball-room almost that you like, and you will see rows upon rows of quiet, good girls sitting partnerless by their chaperones, while ihe loud, noisy, fast ones have nearly every man in the place dangling after them. True, the lords of creation may return to their homes, and after devoting themselves aU the evening to Mrs. A. or Miss B., declare they thank heaven theii sister, wife, daughter, as the case may be, does not resembk vhe divinity, DISCUSSING THE LABIES' STEEPLECHASE. 153 but with what result ? Why their belongings, who probably have spent a dull evening, totally neglected, put tsro and two together, and after a bit begin to make comparisons. That stage once reached, the end soon approaches. They find that if they paint their cheeks, dress showily, talk immodestly, and altogether are 'bad form,' they too become a centre of attraction, and need no longer sit in retired corners alone, * chewing the bitter cud ' of desertion and isolation. They become different beings, but you men alone are to blame for their degeneration, though in the words of that arch-sneak Adam, when the mischief is done you turn round and say, * It's not me, it's the woman.' " She had forgotten where she was, and who she was speak- ing to, being carried away by the bitter earnestness of her subject. Unlike many girls of her age, she had seen a great deal of the world, and that under such peculiar circumstances as to render her unusually clear-sighted. Her cheeks now were flushed, and her whole face sparkling with animation, and Colonel Clinker, looking at her in astonishment, could not restrain his admiration. He dearly loved a highly- mettled steed, and Kate in this glowing mood reminded him. of some gallant and spirited young creature. He had never met any ore like her before, so clever, so original, and yet so honest and simple. She impressed him by her strength of character as well as by her good looks. And he himself possessed a strain of candour which forced him, unaccus- tomed as he was to hearing the shortcomings of his class thus roundly taken to task by so young a girl, to acknowledge in great measure the truth of what she said. It began dimly to dawn upon his mind that it was just possible the world might contain better things even than horse-racing and horse- riding, and that a dear little woman at his own fireside migjit possibly exercise a more salutary influence over him tbau did the life of restless excitement he was in the habit of leading— - a life of wasted ability and unprofitable pleasures, whoso only results consisted in embarrassing his father's old age, and squandering the patrimony he otherwise might have in- herited. This child; this outspoken girl, with her honest 154 THE RIGHT SOllT. voice, fearless eyes, and daring opinions, clad in her simple white gown, had appealed most strangely to his better nature, raising in him suddenly a vague unsatisfied longing aftei nobler things. Such sensations seemed too unreal to be encouraged — only a passing weakness — to be crushed in its infancy, such as the sight of a pretty woman, the glance of an eye, the turn of a head, will often give rise to. With a forced laugh and a sigh he roused himself from his medita- tions. " You are a hard hitter, Miss Browser," he answered, " and I scarcely know how to defend my sex against so forcible an attack. You speak, however, as if your own ex^^erience had been unfortunate. At twenty- two one's views on mankind and one's knowledge of its deficiencies are not generally so matured," Kate coloured up to the very roots of her hair. *'Yes," she said, after a pause, while her voice quivered slightly, ''you are right. I have been unfortunate in my experience, but please do not let us talk about it." "Here, Terry!" cried Colonel Clinker to his friend, with ready tact, seeing the conversation evidently began to distress her, ' ' come to the rescue, and help me to defend myself against this young lady's shafts of sarcasm. We men as a body have been catching it terribly hot all round. Can't you say something neat on our behaK ? I never came out head of the class in argument, but you're a real tiptoppcr at it." "I should not dream of contradicting a lady," said Mr. McGrath politely, in answer to this appeal. "Bless their dear hearts ! I love them all !" Which amorous sentiment, delivered at the top of his voice, with a hearty expansion of lung, forthwith created so much amusement that the conver- sation once more became general, until Mrs. Forrester made a sign for the ladies to retire by nodding her head at the end of the table, and thereby caused her cap to lose its equilibrium and to roll sideways on to the floor. *' Now you young men," said she impressively, as she dived under the mahogany in search of the missing article, and DISCUSSING TnE LABIES' STEEPLECHASE. 155 suddenly came in contact witli Mr. McGrath, bent on a similar errand, ''you're to make haste, and not sit drink- ing and smoking all the rest of the evening. We want you to amuse us, and not yourselves, for once in a way, and if everybody is agreeable we can play a round game of cards by-and-by." The gentlemen, thus admonished, made the most solemn promises not even to allow the charms of tobacco, wine, and anecdote to detain them, which promises they, for a wonder, kept nobly, appearing in about a quarter of an hour. Meanwhile Mrs. Forrester had not been idle. With the assistance of the two girls she cleared the centre table of its books and covering, and placed four shaded candles in their stead ready for a start. In thorough harmony with the sporting side of her character, the old lady dearly loved a quiet " gamble," and so long as it did not go beyond a certain limit, it afforded her the heartiest satisfaction to win small amounts from her friends, though that satisfaction was a trifle less apparent when she herself was called upon to disburse. " Can you and Miss Whitbread play nap or poker?" she inquired of the two girls. " They are our great games, though I set my face against anything higher than three- penny points. Still these are exciting enough." *' I don't think Mary knows either game," said Kate, answering for both. * ' As for myself, I have played a few times only, just sufficient to master the first very elementary rules, and to appreciate the value of a flush or full hand." **Ah! I see you are au fait, and any little mistake you may commit some of the gentlemen will easily correct. Mr. Grahame," addressing that individual, who was shyly warm- ing the small of his back before the fire, and caressing an invisible flaxen moustache with great solicitude, * ' you'll bank with Miss Whitbread, won't you ?" The Chirper thus appealed to started violently, turned crimson with confusion, but expressed his extreme willing- ness to assent to the proposal. He had sat by Mary Whit- bread's side during dinner, and had been fairly astonished at 156 THE RIGHT SORT. his own garrulity. For once lie had come across a girl who not only did not alarm or set her cap at him, but who listened with becoming attention to his every utterance, and who attended to the narrative of his personal affairs with an interest as genuine as it was charming. The young people had no objection whatever to being paired off at cards, and began counting their counters with amicable gravity. Not so Kate, who when asked by Mrs. Forrester if she would condescend to play with Colonel Clinker, said in the most marked manner — ''Thank you, Mrs. Forrester, I prefer my independence, and dislike all partnerships, preferring to stand or fall alone." "Miss Brewser is quite right," said he ironically, "alli- ances are alwa3^s to be avoided, especially between people so dissimilar in character as ourselves. We should tight like cat and dog over some miserable rubbishy hand. We two are better apart." There was no getting over him. Every remark she made he promptly capped, and hitherto she had been decidedly worsted in each separate encounter. "Yes, far better apart," she said with a toss of the head. "It is fortunate that for once we agree." *^ Most fortunate," he echoed, but inwardly he exclaimed, *' deuce take the girl! "What the devil does she mean with her partnership ? Does she suppose I want to force myself upon her, or is it nothing but her infernal conceit ?" And Kate, on her side, thought, ' ' I never met any one so horribly sarcastic in all my life. I don't like him one bit, and yet he can be nice enough when he chooses. However, since he evidently wishes for war — war let it be to the knife." So the two antagonists sat and glowered at each other across the green baize cloth, and played on all sorts of foolish hands, just for the sake of opposition. But when the game came to an end, and they counted up their losses, the gain to neither party had been great. "I think we'd better consent to bury the hatchet next DISCUSSING THE LADIEs' STEEriECHASE, 157 time we play poker together," said Colonel Clinker. ''"We should have been clean broke had we gone on at this rate, and had it not been for the limit." The girls had declared they must be going, and he made the above remark in an undertone when he followed them into the hall, and helped Kate on with her cloak. His voice sounded soft in her ears. It had a peculiar timhre which touched her in spite of herself, and he looked so thoroughly manly and gentlemanly as he stood there, pretending to fumble over her cloak, that she said in reply, with all the inditfercnce she could assume — " Very well, we will avoid the bankruptcy court if possible, else our creditors might have a rough time of it." Was it not an unfortunate coincidence that these two, even although unintentionally, always contrived to- wound each other on their tenderest points ? Kate had been innocent of any evil intention, nevertheless Jack Clinker's feelings were sorely hurt by what he imagined was marked reference to his pecuniary difficulties. " That was a nasty speech. Miss Brewser," he said coldly. " You don't like my advice, but for the third time this evening I tender it. You are rather fond of hitting the right nail on the head, but take care you don't get into the habit of striking it too hard. It's an evil and an unkind practice, apt to grow unawares upon those who indulge in it." And now suddenly she remembered what Mrs. Forrester had told her of his financial embarrassments, and the con- struction he had evidently put upon her words grew clear to her mind. ''Oh!" she cried hastily, while a flush of shame dyed her face, "I did not mean it. I'm so sorry — so awfuUy sorry. Will 3'ou ever forgive me ?" His brow cleared at once. " Never mind," he said, in quite a different tone. "It was my fault. I'm a stupid fool to be so huffy. Good-bye, Miss Brewser." He handed her into the carriage, shut the door, and then added persuasively, "Yqu^II let me come and se^ yo\i, won't you ?" 158 THE EIGHT SORT. She could not have told herself whiit was the instinct that induced her to look him straight in the face with a smile and say, ''Yes." After all he could be nice when he chose ; and though she was in no danger of falling a victim to his fasci- nations, she began to understand that Mrs. Forrester had perhaps spoken truly when she declared Jack Clinker to be a dangerous man. She had not acted quite as she had intended throughout the evening. But there was no fear of his proving dangerous to her — not the least. That n^as quite a different thing. Meantime Mr. McGrath was holding a private conference with his friend Mrs. Forrester. ''Well," said he, in an anxious whisper, "how do you think they are gettting on ? It struck me it was rather a slap in the face for poor Jack when she turned round and told him she detested partnerships ! "What do you suppose she meant by it ?" " Oh, nothing," answered Mrs. Forrester, soothingly. *' She runs a bit contrary, that's all. Don't like the whip. Jack was pretty free with the lash, you know, and she showed some temper. Nothing more than might have been expected, however." Which declaration was a highly magnanimous one, seeing that Mrs. Forrester had not imparted to Mr. McGrath the manner in which she had betrayed his confidences. "But do you think matters are progressing satisfactorily ?" said he. " Admirably ; how could they possibly be going on better? Why, they did nothing the whole evening but spar and quarrel like two great overgrown babies who could not leave each other alone. What on earth would you have more ?" " I don't know. Do you call squabbling a good sign ?" "A good sign? Yes, certainly; I tell you it's a capital one!" " Don't you consider it looks somewhat like a case of mutual aversion?" " Teriy, you're really a very simple individual. I tell you it's no such thing. It's the law of attraction and gravitation DISCUSSING THE LADIES' STEErLECHASE. 159 N^Klch. makes warring elements unite. AVliy, wliere's youi natural lustory, man?" ''Well," said TeiTj^ but half-convinced, ''you may be right. You're a clever woman, Mrs. Forrester ; but it's not the way the boys do their courting over in Ireland. Love- making there is done at the first intent, so to speak, and does not require all this beating about the bush and groping in subterranean alleys." "Subterranean alleys! What nonsense you're talking, Terry." ''It's true, though, aU the same. In our country the boys make up to the girls in a straightforward fashion, and give them a slapping good kiss on the cheek without all this roundabout sort of palaver." ' ' And a slapping good snub Jack would gei for his pains if he were to try that game on. No, no, Terry, make up your mind that your countrymen's conduct cannot be implicitly followed on all occasions; and believe, besides, that most women are not won in that ploughboy manner. They like what you call ' round-about palaver.' " " Well, it beats me altogether, and I give it up as a bad job. All I can say is, appearances are not entirely satisfactory." "And I tell you appearances are exceedingly satisfactory, could not be more so, in fact ; and that you know no more about the ways of ' a man and a maid ' than my old tabby cat there," pointing to one on the rug. With which remark she bade him farewell ; and, having turned her guests out of doors, retired to rest, well pleased with what she considered had proved a most successful evening. The Honble. Jack Clinker, at all times subject to carious fancies, took it into his head to walk home, and firmly declined the companionship even of Mr. McGrath. So he put on his greatcoat, lighted a long cigar, and trudged away steadily. The yellow moon shone like a clear sphere in the dark heavens, anon brightening all the landscape, and making the trees and hedgerows stand out in delicate sUJiouette, again hiding away behind a mass of heavy cloud, while the merry stars twinkled and played at hide and seek in their far-o£p homes, 160 THE EIGHT SORT. '' Only twenty-two," said lie, pursuing a train of reflection evidently uppermost in Hs tliouglits, ' ' and hates partnerships ! Dash it all ! It's not natural at that age to talk like a woman of the world. She said her experience had been unfortunate. I wonder how and in what way ? I'd give a pony to know tha story of her life. She must have been disappointed or badly treated some time or other. Perhaps it was some d — d fellow, which is the reason she's so awfully hard on the rest of us. Poor little soul ! How pretty she looked when she was laying down the law. She reminded me of a snowdrop in her white frock, and her eyes sparkled just like two jewels. Talk of dolls, indeed ! There's mighty little of the doll about her ! What a spirit she has got, and — yes — " with a smile, ''what a tongue as well. Never mind, after all she means no harm by it, and her heart is in the right place. I don't think your milk-and-watery creatures would suit me in the long run. One soon tires of them, just as she said. Xow there would be no sameness, no monotony about her. She'd keep a man up to the mark,^and prevent his wits from wool-gathering. Why, she made even me — me — Jack Clinker — feel inclined to turn over a new leaf, and regret the past. I wonder, now, whether it would be possible to begin afresh and kick clear of the old groove ? Things can't last much longer as they're doing. A smash sooner or later is inevitable. Pshaw ! what a fool I am to be sure ! I can't think what's come to me to- night, or what has put such ideas into my head. It's not likely a girl of Miss Browser's wealth, surrounded, too, with every luxury, would ever care for a poor devil like mj^self. Enough of such nonsense. These confounded stars make a fellow maudlin." He puffed vigorously at his cigar, and looked up into the cool, dark sky. The soft night air, laden with moisture, kissed his cheek, and seemed to lull his senses to rest. The peace of nature shed her charm around him, sinking petty every- day worries and actions into triviality. ''What an awfully jolly evening!" he soliloquised once more, knocking the ash away from his nearly smoked Havannah. ' ' If; makes one feel inclined to wander about all DISCUSSING THE LADIES' STEEPLECHASE. 161 night, dreaming of lialf-fledged thouglits and wishes. TVere it not for that bothering money I have everything a man could want — good father, position, health, friends, and spirits — and yet, every now and again there seems to crop up a curious void, just as there did this evening. I wonder what it is, and why on earth that girl in her white frock made such an impression u^Don me. Heigh-ho ! It's a funny, un- satisfactory world in many ways ! " And with this unoriginal conclusion to his moralising. Jack Clinker found himself standing by his own hall-door, Yhich he entered with a latch-key, and making a bad Aeadache an excuse for not sitting up to the small hours of the morning, discussing the evening's events over a brandy and soda with Terence McGrath, he went up-stairs at once. He did not care to listen to his friend's opinions of ''that smart young woman in white." He could fancy Terry using the very words ; and he was in one of those fastidious, uncertain moods when comments are apt to be distasteful, and therefore ungraciously received, and when one's feelings are so highly strung that chaff irritates and banter jars. 'Those ''confounded stars" had certainly a good deal t^ answer for. 162 THE RIGHT SORT, CHAPTER Xiy. A FEIEND IN NEED. By time-honoured custom tlie opening meet of Sir Beau- champ Lenard's hounds was invariaLly held at Stapleton. In olden days, during the life of the late lamented Squire, Stapleton Hall had been renowned for a generous hospi- tality. From the richest to the poorest, people were liberally regaled, and nobody was ever sent' empty away from the doors of the most popular and best-hearted fellow in the county. Such was the verdict of the public. But, alas ! life is fleeting, and in course of time this excellent gentleman was gathered to his forefathers, and his eldest son, Duberly Stapleton, took up the reins of office. The latter cared little for sport, and, although a staunch preserver of foxes, seldom honoured the county hounds with his presence. Stapleton Hall was a fine old structure, built in the Gothic style of architecture. It stood on an eminence, from which an extensive view of the surrounding country was obtainable. In a hollow immediately to the rear of the liouse lay a large piece of ornamental water, on whose smooth surface a pair of stately, long-necked swans swam gently to and fro, turning their slender necks from side to side, while their white plumage gleamed like snow in the morning sun. From the left bank of this lake a well-timbered wood, known by the name of Stapleton Hillside, and intersected by many winding paths, rose steeply up, while in front of the residence an unbroken expanse of undulating grass, not unlike the billows of the sea, presented itself to the eye. About three hundred yards beyond the house a depression in the ground formed a sort of valley, from whose sides sprung A FRTEKD IN NEED. 163 a couple of thickly gorsed coverts several acres in extent. They were renowned as a veritable stronghold of foxes, from which the ''varmint" was hard to dislodge; but numerous as these were in point of numbers, and apparently fine, healthy, well-grown animals, it was a most unusual thing for a home- bred Stapleton fox ever to do much more than vacillate between gorse and Hillside, until the patience of hounds, hunts- man, and field fairly came to an end. All through the fore- noon, directly a move was made, Reynard slunk hither and thither, at least half-a-dozen being on foot at one time, a.nd the screeching, hooting, shouting, and galloping never ceased for one moment, to the intense delight of the swarms of foot people who made the opening meet an excuse for forsaking their legitimate occupations, and taking a regular holiday. But when little by little, the crowd began to disperse, and the Stapleton foxes had once more fully sustained their unenvi- able reputation, Dick Slant, the huntsman, by order of Sir Beauchamp, trotted the hounds straight away off to Mad- dington Gorse, from which place a worthy yokel had just brought the welcome piece of intelligence that a fine old dog- fox had been viewed by himself steahng up the warm and sheltered sides only a few minutes previously. To Stirrup's intense consternation. King Olaf having during the preceding day ^iven utterance to one or two ominous-sounding coughs, Kate at the last minute had found herself obliged to f^H back upon Grisette. Now all through the morning the grey had proved exceedingly fractious and irritable, refusing to stand still for one single second, anon plunging her head violently forwards with an impatient jerk which almost dragged the reins out of Kate's hands, again suddenly tossing it on high, till her face was in imminent danger. The short gallops hitherto indulged in between the gorse and the Hillside, alternating with periods of prolonged inaction, had apparently roused the mare's impetuous temperament to a dangerous point, and rendered her a far from pleasant mount. Added to this, she displayed the etill graver fault of lashing out in the gateways, so that having badlykicked an unoffending quadruped that had pressed upon her more closely than she deemed advisable, Grisetta l64 $HE RIGHT SORD. had quickly gained for herself a disagreeable notoriety, and was pointed out as "that brute" by people who had been ^je-witnesses of the transaction. When, therefore, directly hounds went into Haddington Gorse, the welcome " Tally ho ! tally ho ! " followed by a prolonged and delighted screech of " Hark forrard ! Gone away! " reached her ears, Kate felt the prospect of a scurry, however short, to be a positive relief. One thing was certain, Grisette could not possibly behave worse, and the chances were in favour of some of her irri- tability subsiding, once hounds were fairly under weigh. At the first sounds of Dick Slant's horn, the field started into sudden vitality, and galloped as usual for the most convenient gate. Alas ! it chanced to be securely bolted, and the work of dismounting and heaving it off its hinges, owing to the extreme impatience of the crowd, proved unusually long, several minutes of valuable time being thus unavoidably lost, while people stood by and cursed and swore as if the most terrible calamity had hapjDened, and tlieir very lives depended ipon the instantaneous removal of the unwelcome obstacle. Now immediately to the right stretched a very big but never- theless jumpable fence. It was a bit too big, however, at starting, when jumj)ing still bore the charm of novelty, and practice had not as yet rendered seats secure and nerve con- fident. The huntsman, though, could not afford such con- siderations when his hounds were in full cry, so without more than a passing hesitation he charged the fence and got over, followed by a Colonel Clinker on a grey horse, who cleared the whole thing beautifully, and these two thus gained quite a fifty 3'ards' start on tlio b/rricade division. Mounted on King Olaf or the Duckling-, for either of them ins^iired her with courage, Kate would have dearly liked to follow suit, but it appeared decidedly rash to attempt doing so on an un- tried animal, who so far had certainly not succeeded in making a very favourable impression on her mistress. There are occasions, however, when the actions are determined without voluntary effort, and this was one — at least so far as Kate was concerned — for while she was standing a little outside the crowds fe«ai'ful of Grisette" s heels inflicting further injury, and A FRIEND IN NEED. 165 waiting for tlie gate to be removed, the mare took the bit between her teeth, and pulling like a demon, in a set resolute fashion which defied any attempt at resistance, charged full tilt at the fence before Kate fairly realised what she was about. Finding herself absolutely powerless to control the animal's movements, she wisely desisted in her endeavours to do so, and thereby probably saved herself a fall. She sat perfectly still, gave Grisette her head, and the next minute with a crash smd a smash which sounded decidedly alarming in the ears of a novice, and which sent the topmost twigs flying in every direction, the mare landed far into the next field. The noise of breakinsr branches caused Colonel Clinker to turn round in his saddle, and, when he perceived the girl, to cry out ''Bravo!" ap- provingly. But seeing Kate safely over, and no harm done, he did not diminish his speed, for now the hounds were simply racing in their front across the big grass pastures, pointing as if for Stornow, a thickly fenced and very un- negotiable bit of country, which took a deal of doing, as Colonel Clinker had often found to his cost. In the large moist fields the eadishes grew long and yellow, clinging to the horses' legs, reaching almost up to their hocks, and rendering it ex- tremely di£B.cult to avoid the small cut drains which inter- sected them, and which made riding fast a work of consider- able danger, especially with an animal not absolutely in hand ; but the pace was too great to allow of hesitation. It really began to look as if they were in for a good thing, and as if for once scent was all that it ought to be. As they tore along, Kate's energies were entirely devoted to sitting far back in tlie saddle and preventing Grisette from running away altogether. She was in that unpleasant posi- tion when the consciousness of utter weakness, pitted against brute ^oTce, presents itself to the mind. If the mare made the slightest false step they might break their necks together for all the power she retained of preventing any such calamity. Still, the situation was decidedly exciting, for now, close under Stornow village, the hounds made a sharp detour to the right, which completely upset the calculations of the road aiid poiiit; 166 THE RIGHT SORT. riders, constituting the great built of the field, who by this manoeuvre were hopelessly thrown out, so that none but tho immediate followers were left in attendance on the flying beauties. Meanwhile Grisette was pulling like a mad thir^g, and Kate's face, from the exertion of endeavouring to hold her, resembled a full-grown peony. Her arms ached and tingled from the sockets to the wrists, and worse than all, a tremulous dead sensation had begun to overtake them, depriv- ing them of the little strength they still possessed. The fences, too, now came in rapid succession, one after the other, almost as fast as they could jump them — big, fair flj'ing fences, guarded by ditches, out of grass into grass — a magnificent country, but one that undoubtedly demanded a finished hunter. As she swept over, or rather through, each impediment in its turn, the utmost Kate could do was to keep the mare's head straight and trust to Providence, for Grisette had an ugly way of chancing top-binders in a manner only too well calculated to strike terror into the heart of her rider. Nevertheless, up till now, inspired by the example of the good grey horse in front, she held her own, desj)ite sundry narrow escapes, and kept her place close in his wake. Grisette' s faults were many, as Kate had not been long in discovering; but the most heinous one of refusing could not be numbered in the category of her shortcomings. The very sight of a fence seemed to add to her natural impetuosity, and though un- pleasantly chary of height, width presented no obstruction whatever. There was not much fear of her leaving her hind legs floundering in a ditch, so that after a bit, finding she got over somehoio, even though not quite so cleanly as she was in the habit of doing, Kate grew tolerably accustomed to the mare's peculiar and rather alarming style of jumping, and became almost reconciled to the recurring sound of the break- ing twigs as they flew before Grisette's forelegs like arrows shot from a bow. Her blood by this time was in a glow, fear had lost its restraining influence, caution had fled to ths winds ; her one idea, her one thought, was to keep near to that good grey at any hazard. Rather than lose a yard, she felt prepared to smash every bone in her body. The pace ftt A FRIEND IN NEED. 167 which, they were going intoxicated her. Those who hunt themselves, having doubtless often realised the sensation, will recall times when they have ridden their very best under similar circumstances, and will sympathise with what less adventurous spirits might term this dare-devil, foolhardy mood of the girl's. Colonel Clinker, on Snowflake, once become conscious that Kate Brewser was following close in his footsteps, had several times turned round in the course of the run and shouted to her to come fast or slow, as the case rndglit be, at any particular fence, and during these brief glances he per- ceived that in spite of Kate's courage and good horsemanship, Grisette had completely overpowered her mistress, and was far from being a safe conveyance. But there was little time for reflection. Since they had left Stornow, the hounds had never faltered for a second, but flown along with a breast-high scent. Very few were with them. Dick Slant, the huntsman, and Colonel Clinker cut out the work, the latter with Kate in attendance, and behind them not more than a dozen horse- men, each riding his hardest, with eyes eagerly bent on the racing pack, that, in a compact body, streamed on, on, on, without a straggler or laggard among the number, in stern and terrible silence. The yokel had been right when he testified to Maddington Gorse holding a good old dog-fox, who had brought them along in a style not often seen, even in the crack hunting county of Great Britain. But now Pug seemed to change his point, and again bore away to the right. The pace began to tell upon him, as well as upon the horses, and he sought a convenient refuge, leaving the sound and springy turf which hitherto he had closely adhered to, and making for the diflicult country all round about Shepi- perton, a village conspicuous by a solitary windmill standing on a big round hill, which formed a landmark to the sur- rounding neighbourhood. The fences here were regular '' man traps," guarded on one or either side by stiff wooden rails, commonly termed "oxers." Two ploughed fields, heavy and binding, now lay in front of the pursuers, the first of them being separated from tho arable land by a tall and un- 168 THE RIQHt SORT. commonly hairy bullfinch. Dick Slant pulled his clevei hunter up to a trot, and after some persuasion and job- bing in the mouth, managed to bore a way through, and then pop off the bank over the ditch on the far side, and the welJ- trained Snowflake did likewise. It was eminently a piace where a good steady horse showed to advantage, but it was useless asking Grisette to go slowly or to double. She rushed at the bullfinch in her usual wild manner. The reins were torn out of Kate's hands, and she herself nearly dragged off backwards. Nevertheless, she got over safely, though in rather a sorry plight. Her hat was battered in, and a sharp thorn haf "^^ught her face, and scratched it to such an extend, that the \^ '\d. flowed freely. *' The br*Cite I " said Colonel Clinker indignantly, as he st- the red drops making their slow way down her disfigured cheek. ''Why on earth does she want to go a thousand miles an hour at everything she comes across ? " " That's just what I can't tell you," gasped Kate, applying her pocket-handkerchief to the injured part. ''All I know is, it's exceedingly unpleasant." But they had no time for further talk, for the hounds, though running rather more slowly, were still advan- cing steadily over the sticky clay fallows. !N'ow there are certain horses who cannot get along at all in heavy, wet soil. Even animals that are very decent stayers on the top of the ground collapse altogether when their hoofs sink fetlock- deep in the soft earth. Directly they entered the plough, Grisette began to labour and falter in her stride. She stretched her head forwards, the white foam lathered the reins like soap- suds, while the mare's mane hung damp and straight in steaming wisps upon her dripping neck. She had clearly shot her bolt, and now dropped heavy on the hand, although she ceased pulling and snatching at the bridle. As they crossed the second of the two ploughed fields she subsided from a gallop to a canter, from a canter to a feeble lurching trot. Still it would never do to stop with the pack now well ahead, and Kate determined to struggle on to the end, couie qui coute. She was by no means insensible to the danger of rinsient gleam lit up Jack Clinker's frank blue eyes whe^'v /le felt Kate's weight. As he held her for once, as if indeed she were his very own, a swift, strange thrill of delight Bhot through his being. With her pale, scratched face, dis- hevelled hair, and blue lips, she moved him more than any woman had hitherto done in his whole life before. It was the same feeling he had experienced the night of Mrs. Forrester's dinner-party, but now it returned with twofold strength. He took out his silver flask, forced brandy through the girl's set A FRIEND IN NEED. 179 teetli, and waited anxiously for the first symptoms of return- ing life. Gradually a faint tinge of colour, like the blush of a white rose, flickered back into her cheeks, and the beautiful lashes which hid the grey eyes curled themselves upwards. At first her look was vague and wandering, but as little by little the brain began to reassert its power, a rosy flush suffused her whole countenance. '*I am better now," she said, freeing herself from his arms. ** I can't think what made me so silly. I have never fainted until to-day," He let her go directly, but even then she could not stand alone. He held out his hand — that powerful, manly hand she had noticed and liked before. " Will you not take it ? " he said with a half &mile. '* You are proud, but you see you cannot do without me altogether." She put her small palm in his, and he led her like a little child to the place, some few yards distant, where the two horses were standing tied together. " If you could manage to sit on Grisette for a hundred yards or so," he said gently, " just till we get to the road and meet the trap, I think it would be better for you than walking. WiU you mind my lifting you up ? " '' No," she said siny^ly. It was a strangely sweet and strangely novel sensation to her, who for so many years had been accustomed to take the lead, to decide and act alone, to find someone who could do these things for her. It seemed pleasant to be protected and cared for, especially when she was suffering. Many men might have taken advantage of the situation, might have made their kindness felt as a matter calling for gratitude ; but he did everything so quietly and so naturally that she could but accept his services in the same spirit in which they were rendered. " Do not be afraid," he said, when he had lifted her on to the mare. *' I will lead Grisette with one hand and hold you with the other in case you should feel giddy. Let me "knovf if it hurts you moving." 180 IHE RIGHT SORT. He walked by her side in silence, but tbougb the motion of tlie animal sent a sharp catchy pain to her heart, and made her grow hot and cold by turns, she shut her lips firmly over her white teeth, determined no sound of complaint should escape them. She could not bear that he should think her a coward, and so at length they reached the roadside, where, to their no small joy, an open pony- chaise stood in readiness awaiting their arrival. *' And now," said Colonel Clinker to the man in charge, " I propose driving the young lady home, provided you can mitn- age to ride the grey and lead the mare back. They are both pretty well tired out, and will be as quiet as sheep." So sajdng he helped Kate into the vehicle, propped her up with the cushions of the seats, and, after tucking a couple of shawls round her, seated himself in the empty place by her side, and taking up the reins drove off at a good smart trot. "The sooner we get home the better," he said, "and as the trap only holds two, I thought perhaps it might be plea&- anter on the whole for you that I should come instead of the man, who would not have known what steps to take had you turned faint again on the way." He deemed it necessary to make this explanation, although he did not deem it necessary to tell her how reluctant he felt to part from her, at least until he was assured she was in good hands. "You are very kind and considerate," she said in reply. **I did not know men were so thoughtful." She was not going to tell him either how completely the arrangement satisfied her. After all, it was only natural to prefer his society to that of the inn-proprietor from Shep- perton. "Ah! I forgot. Your estimation of our sex is extremely poor. Well, no matter — all the more reason for me to en- deavour to raise it." "Did you think that when — when — " she began eagerly, but checked herself as suddenly. She was thinking, " when you made the bet." " When what ? " he said, seeking for an explanation. A FRIEND IN NEED. 181 *' Oh, no matter ; only something that just happened to strike me." ''Won't you tell me what it was ? " ''No, thank you; I'd rather not, especially as the thought recalled a highly disagreeable recollection." Her tone had become cold and her manner frigid. "In that case I apologise for my curiosity," he replied, relapsing into silence. "So you don't approve of Grisette ? " she said presently, after a prolonged pause. " Do you know, I'm afraid you're rather vindictive." "No. Approve of her? I should think not. Confound the brute ! She's a real bad un." "Now once again I say, don't abuse my belongings; it's not polite." " Truth very seldom is. How long has she been in your possession? " "About two or three months. I was let in by a friend. Friends have a way of doing those pleasant little things at times." " Yes, if you call them friends. I don't. I wish I could lay claim, however, to being one, so that I might ask a favour at your hands." "Is friendship the sine qua non which renders requests ad- missable?" she asked maliciously. "Are they not often proffered without any particular intimacy on either side ? " " That speech is, I suppose, intended to remind me of being without the pale. Thank you, Miss Brewser. You have a candid manner of putting things highly calculated to impress people with a sense of your honesty." "And you of snapping up one's words and not under- standing chaif . What is this favour you ask ? " " Simply that you promise me never to ride Grisette again." "Indeed ! Am I to show the white feather merely because she has given me a fall ? That would be cowardly." " No, not because she hai? given you a fall, but because she is a mad, headstrong, soft brute, not worth her keep. WlLI you promise? " 182 THE EIGHT SORT. ''But I can put Stirrup on her," said she, equivocating. *' She'd do nicely to jog about the roads on." ''Very nicely. She would not pull Stirrup's arms off, I suppose, or run away, or go headlong into the nearest car- riage ? No, of course not." ''Now, don't be sarcastic. If Grisette's not fit for me to ride she's not fit for poor dear old Stirrup. But how am I to get rid of her?" "Easily enough. Make a chop with Phipps or some re- spectable dealer. Depend upon it, the first loss is always the smallest in cases of this sort. There's no extravagance so ruinous in the end as that of sticking to a bad gee." " "Well, perhaps not ; I'll think it over any way." He was charmed at gaining even this concession, for he honestly only desired her welfare. A pity he could not leave matters as they were — a pitj^that some foolish instinct prompted him to bend over her and sa}'-, in a soft, persuasive voice — " AVill you think it over to — to — please me .^" It was the first indiscretion he had committed — the first speech which deprived her of her sense of ease. Mrs. For- rester had warned her of his being a flirt. Had he alrftady begun to practice on her ? Or was he gradually smoothing the road for that ultimate proposal he had backed himself to make? " No, certainly not," she said curtly. " If I think of selling Grisette at all it will be to please myself, not other people ; and excuse my saying so, but do you not consider I ought to be the best judge of my own affairs?" No snub could have been more direct. His face flushed as he answered haughtily — " Certainly, Miss Brewser. I regret I should have been so foolish as to display the slightest interest in them. Hence- forth I wiU studiously guard against any recurrence of the fault." He flicked the pony sharply with the whip, and settled down Into a gloomy silence. She felt sorry for having pro- duced this result, and after a bit endeavoured to resume the conversation. A FRIEND IN NEED. 183 *' What a lovely afternoon it has turned out," she said, after a quarter of an hour had elapsed, during which not a word had been uttered on either side. No answer. Colonel Clinker pretended to be absorbed in a profound con- templation of the surrounding landscape. '' The country about here looks good for hunting," she said, wishing more and more as they neared home to make her peace, and feeling conscious of having ill-requited his kind- ness and attention. ' ' Do you often run this way with hounds ?" " Sometimes." ^' The fences look very big about here." '^Eather." "I suppose most people don't jump them, but stick to the roads?" ''Yes." " How much farther are we from Foxington ? Far ? " ''No." She looked up into his face. It was very gloomy and stern. She put her hand on his arm for one second, and said with a pretty, penitent smile — " Won't you tell me how far ? I hate monosyllabic replies. They're so voy unsatisfactory — give one no information what- ever." His brow relaxed a little though he answered coldly — "Foxington is quite close. You will see it when we pass the next bend in the road. We are just home." She made no reply for a few seconds. She was cogitating an unwonted act of grace. They drove through the town, past the church, up the hill, then in at the gate of Sport Lodge. Another minute and it would be too late. She turned her head away and stared at the scanty laurels which flourished ill among the clay soil. "Colonel Clinker," she said in a low voice, ''I'll promise not to ride Grisette again if you wish it. I was wrong to speak as I did, and I believe you had only my interest at heart." It cost her a great effort, but nevertheless she felt easier 184 THE illGHT SORT. wlien it was over. Her words surprised him so mucli tliat tlie staid old pony was actually suffered to fall into a walk. He looked her straight in the face, with one keen inquiring glance. *' Thank you," he said. That was all, but from the tone of his voice she knew he was pleased, and tha^» she had not suffered in his good opinion. ** Are we friends again then ? " she asked softly. *' I did not know you ever considered us as such, Miss Browser." ''Never mind what you 'did not know.' After the great kindness you have shown me this afternoon, I should be sorry not to part amicably. We can resume our differenoes, if necessary on some future occasion." "I devoutly hope, then, that it may not prove necessary. Might not ' our differences,' as you call them, be buried alto« getherV" Kate, however, was saved from making any answer to this question by the appearance of Mary AVhitbread, followed by I)r. Baker. " Oh, Kate ! " she said. '' What is the matter ? " ''Nothing very serious, I hope, only I've made rather an idiot of myself, and given Colonel Clinker no end of trouble,'* answered the girl. " I wish you would not mention that part of the business,'* lie said. "Don't you remember a certain bargain we made not so very long ago ? " "I really am ashamed to say I've quite forgotten it." " Why, that I was to be allowed to pick you up whenever you came to grief." "Ah! yes, of course. Little did I think how soon your assistance would be required." "And now, Kate," said Mary Whi thread, when between them she had been helped into the hall, ' ' you must come upstairs at once, and let Dr. Baker pronounce upon your condition. We can't allow you to stand talking here any longer." " Good-bye, then," she said to Colonel Clinker with a smile. " You see I'm under marching orders." She put out her fitUe hand frankly, and he pressed it in his own. A FRIEND IN NEED. 185 ** Good-bye, Miss Browser, I hope you will soon get well May I be allowed to wait until the doctor issues his bulletin ?" *' Certainly, if you care to take so much trouble." '^1 do care to," and then he turned away, and went and sat by himseK in the small cosy drawing-room. It seemed a per- fect age before any one appeared to relieve his anxiety. He took in every detail of the apartment — the books, the work, the flowers, every little sign that betrayed the presence of ladies. He turned over Kate's photograph-book, and critically examined a faded likeness which represented that young lady, in short frock and shaggy hair, at the age of fifteen. ** What a trump she is," he thought to himself, as he recalled the adventures of the afternoon. First, how she had followed him fence for fence aU through the earlier part of the run, going straight as a die, without any pause or hesita- tion; next how, riding a beaten horse, she had gamely struggled to the bitter end ; and lastly, when the crowning disaster arrived, how she had shown conspicuous courage, and never lost her presence of mind and self-control for a minute. She had roused his admiration as much as she commanded his respect. He was still sitting there poring over the photograph in an abstracted manner, when Dr. Baker reappeared. '* WeU !" he said, rubbing his chubby pink hands together with an audible chuckle. *' I bring good news. The young lady, after all, is not so seriously hurt as we imagine, and there are vo bones broken. Her ribs have been badly crushed, whi'^h accounts for the pain in breathing. A week's rest will, I hope, work wonders. I have recommended her to keep in bed for the next twenty-four hoiu^s, but if all goes well I know no reason why a fortnight should not see her in the saddle again. She appears to have an excellent constitution and plenty of pluck, two very desirable but often missing ^ qualities in a patient." ' ' Oh yes, she has plenty of i:)luck ; I can answer for that. Most women in her place would have made a terrible to-do, but she never uttered a single complaint." That night Jack Clinker's slumbers were very uneasy, frequently disturbed by crushing sounds, and the vision of 186 THE RIGHT SORT. struggling horses and sweet girl faces. The latter haunted him until the small hours of the morning, when at length he gained repose. Miss Palliser heard of Kate's accident, as a matter of course, and when she heard of it she remarked with glee to every member of the hunting-field — '*Ah, poor thing! Just what one would expect. No judgment and no notion of riding. But there, very likely it win do her good, and by the time she has been brought back in a cart once or twice more, perhaps, she may begin to settle down and go like a Christian," which speech being interpreted meant that Kate had again shown Miss Palliser the way, and aroused in her a fierce and bitter jealousy not lightly to be quenched. New ladies invariably provoked hostile feelings, but a young and good-looking one who dared to cut Miss Palliser out was especially to be condemned. Insignificant ones might be tolerated, but not those who aspired to dis- tinguish themselves in that hunting-field oi which Miss I'alUaer considei'ed herself the (jueeu. ANTICIPATIXG YISITOHS. 187 CHAPTEE XVI. ANTICIPATING VISITORS. The next morning Kate felt terribly stiS, and all movement was attended with such, extreme pain that she could scarcely turn round in bed, and consequently, sorely against her will, was obliged to remain quietly there for the whole of that day, a proceeding she most highly disapproved of, and one which nothing but sheer necessity induced her reluctantly to submit to. At about ten o'clock Colonel Clinker and Mr. McGrath had ridden up to Sport Lodge, on their way out to covert, in order to inquire after the invalid, and Mary Whitbread, at Kate's request, had gone down ^to the hall-door and given them the latest particulars. ''So Miss Browser passed a fairly good night upon the whole?" asked Colonel Clinker, with no little interest. ''You say she's progressing ? " "Most decidedly. In fact she is better almost than could have been expected under the circumstances. But she is never one to give in. If you knew her as well as I do you'd say the same thing." " "Without possessing that privilege, I can fully endorse the statement. Miss Browser has marvellous courage. Will you be so good as to tell her we called, Miss "Whitbread, and hope before long to find her downstairs again. Come, Terry, we must be off, or we shall be late for the meet." So saying the two friends had ridden away together, leaving Mary to convey to Kate sundry messages full of condolence and sympathy, which that young lady received with demure complacency. "I thought he'd come," she remarked to Mary. 188 THE EIGHT SORT. ''He? Who's lie?" the latter replied in astonishment. *' Oh ! Colonel Clinker, I suppose you mean. Eeally Kate, it is wonderful for you to speculate on the probahle movements of any man, whether he comes or whether he does not come being generally a matter of supreme indifference to your highness." ' ' And pray did I say it was otherwise ? I simply remarked that I thought Colonel Clinker woidd put in an appearance. After all it was purely a mere matter of form, — an act of the most ordinary civility." " Certainly, Kate ; only it struck me you began to display a little more interest than usual in this fascinating guardsman." "You're a donkey, Mary," said she in reply, though the tell-tale blood rushed to her cheeks. " I don't care twopence about the man, and probably never shall." The conversation dropped for the present, but Mary Whit- bread, who in her little quiet way was not devoid of observa- tion, took occasion to remark, although she wisely held her peace, the introduction of that word ''probably." She was accustomed to the most vigorous denials, and formed her own conclusions on the matter. Two days elapsed without anything taking place, but by noon on Sunday, in spite of Mary's protestations, Kate suddenly announced her intention of going downstairs, vowing and declaring she neither could nor would remain longer in her room. *' You are very fooiibh, Kate. You know the doctor told you to keep quiet," said Mary repeatedly, trying to dissuade her from such a step. " And what if he did ? " she retorted. " I'm perfectly sick of molly-coddKng, and the best way to cure one's self of stiff- ness is to defy it, and walk about all the same. There's nothing like volition in such cases. If you determine on doing a thing you can pretty nearly always do it. Indecision and weakness of character are at the bottom of two-thirds of human failures." Accordingly, the young lady arrayed herself in an uncom- monly prett}'- and highly becoming tea-gown suitable to the existing" ciretimstances, an exquisite garment composed of ANTICIPATING VISITORS. 189 pale grey satin, with cascades of dainty lace ; and descending the stairs, though not without considerable c'ifficulty, and a recurrence of that old pain in her chest, took up a position on the drawing-room sofa. ''There, Mary, that's decidedly better ! " she said, as soon as she was fairly established. " But oh dear ! how my bones ache ! Just as if I had been thrashed soundly from head to foot." ''You deserve a good whipping for your imprudence in getting up. However, I suppose ' a wilful woman maun have her way.' " " Of course she must, and not infrequently it turns out to be the right way. Besides, you know, I must positively make haste and get well, if only on account of this forth- coming steeplechase. As it is I shall be terribly out of con- dition. It's just my luck, getting laid up exactly when I want to do a thousand-and-one different things." " Kate, don't you think it would be an excellent oppor- tunity for you to back out of this said steeplechase altogether ? I hate the idea of your riding in it, and your fall will be a capital excuse." "Yes, if I wanted an excuse, which I don't." " Steeplechasing is such a frightfully dangerous amuse- ment," urged the other apprehensively. " The very thought of your taking part in a race makes my blood run cold. Hunting is bad enough surely, but the cross-country business is infinitely worse." "And what do you cafl hunting, you dear little ignoramus, but cross-country business ? Do you imagine everybody sticks to the gates ? '' "I know you don't, Kate, for one. I only wish you did. Then you would not be brought back in this alarming state." "I don't S3e that it's so very terrible after all." "Do you remember Mr. Gambetta's sensible utterance when he fought that celebrated duel of his, in the ' Tramp Abroad ? ' ' It is not death I fear, but mutilation.' Fancy if you were maimed or disfigured for life, the bridge of your zios« smashed in, aa eye gouged out, or all your front 190 THE RIGHT SORT. teeth destroyed. How would you like to snow yourseU then?" " I needn't show myself. I could stop at home." ''You'd soon tire of that. Solitude is not much in youi line." ''"Well, then, I'd purchase a new nose, a new eye, and a new row of teeth. Perhaps they might even effect an im- provement in my personal appearance." " You are digressing as usual; but Kate, will you promise to give up the steeplechase, if only to oblige me ? " "I would do a good deal to oblige you, Mary, but I can't promise what you ask." ' ' Why not ? Have you any particular reason for insisting? " " People would think I was afraid." ' ' You do not generally show yourself so sensitive to public opinion as all that. Whose criticisms do you particularly f ear ? " " No one's," said she, reddening in spite of herself. " But I have given my word, and don't intend to go back from it. Mary, my dear, don't worry me any longer about the matter, there's a good girl. Besides, to tell the truth, I'm looking forward to the whole affair tremendously ; it will be great fun, and though of course I'm bound to pretend I don't care much one way or the other about the result, I don't mind telling you in strictest confidence I'd give anything for King Olaf to win. Wouldn't it be glorious, Mary ? " "Well, Kate, I really don't know. I suppose it would be better than losing. He has a very good chance, has he not ? " ' ' Yes, according to Mrs. Forrester and Colonel Clinker, both excellent authorities. I'm not a bit afraid of King Olaf making a fool of himself, but I am of myseli. I might cut a voluntary before the whole assembled multitude. Imagine what an awful fiasco ; yet such unfortunate contretemps are by no means rare, and the best of riders not always invulner- able. I verily believe I should pack up there and then, and hide my diminished head abroad for the remainder of the season." She paused, as if contemplating the catastrophe conjured up by her lively imagination. *' Nonsense, Kate," said Mary encouragingly. "You are ANTICIPATING VISITORS. 191 no more likely to disgrace yourself than anybody else — not