DINNER AFTER THE HUNT. 19 



" Ay, ay, Bob ! " exclaimed the squire ; " we know Plow- 

 man and yourself quite well enough to swallow no more of that 

 story than we think proper." 



" Well, Beauchamp, what now ? " inquired Sir Francis ; 

 " where' s the next draw 1 " 



" Home, so says Will ; and there are few to say nay to 

 that. What think you, Coventry % " 



" The only thing to be done, in my opinion, Beauchamp. 

 We have had a capital run of at least twelve miles in an hour 

 and twenty minutes, and I am more than satisfied. Enough, 

 sir, is as good as a feast, to any but a glutton ; and I like, for 

 the sake of the hounds, to leave well alone." 



" And you, Gwynne and Tyler, what are your ideas ? " 



" Quantum sufi" replied Sir Lucius ; " and I'll answer for 

 Tyler's being of the same opinion, to say nothing of two lost 

 shoes, for which he must fork out at the next smithy." 



" Eh, Gwynne, you don't mean that 1 " 



"Then dismount and see; 'tis true enough." 



"We don't ask your opinion, Burnett, and will save you 

 the trouble of expressing it — a warm bath and bed being 

 ordered by your physician." 



"Another twenty minutes would suit me quite as well," 

 replied Sir Francis. 



" Very likely, and another fracture perhaps," added the 

 squire ; " but I don't want my house turned into a hospital 

 for my friends ; so home is the word." 



With the exception of Tyler and Conyers, the dinner-party 

 that evening at Bampton House might be termed a family one, 

 — the squire never inviting much company on hunting days, it 

 being so uncertain at what hour they might sit down to table. 

 The only ladies were Constance and her friend Miss Raymond, 

 a lively, cheerful person, in age somewhat Constance's senior, who 

 was then on a visit at Bampton. Sir Francis, notwithstanding 

 his hurts and bruises, entered an appearance at the dinner 

 table, and made a tolerable fight with soup and fish, and a 

 savoury dish of minced venison, which the squire had ordered 

 to be prepared expressly for him, seeing he had only one hand 

 comfortably at command ; and after the ladies had retired, 

 he was cozily ensconced in a large arm-chair, with a little 

 table at his side, close to the fireplace, and a jug of mulled 

 claret, hot and spicy, for his particular discussion, placed 

 thereon. 



" Ah, Beauchamp, my kind old friend, you know how to 



b 2 



