A PRUDENT YOUNG NOBLEMAN. 195 



" Ah ! Carrington," exclaimed Beaucliamp, shaking him by 

 the hand, " glad to see you ! All ready to trip it on the light 

 fantastic toe, I suppose?" 



" I don't come here, Beauchamp, to make a fool of myself by 

 attempting such a feat as that (which suits only herring-made 

 fellows like yourself), but to see my friends — besides, unless 

 there were extra props to the floor, a few hops and skips on 

 these rickety boards, from a man of twenty stone, would send 

 you all down to the regions below. There's a clever pack to 



look at got together here, particularly the B ladies, I 



mean"— correcting himself — " although they don't match as to 

 colour. Handsome, fine-shaped girls, eh, Beauchamp ?" 



" Yes, I think the B pack before us (as you call them) 



such a lot as is rarely seen in one room." 



" Well, Beauchamp, but I want to see the heroine or heiress 

 who so nearly ran you to ground. They say she is a clipper ; 

 and I wish you would point her out to me." 



" I will introduce you to her presently, Carrington," replied 

 Beauchamp ; " but now my hands are full of business." 



Lord and Lady Seaton (acquaintances of the Harcourts, who 

 lived about twenty miles from Cherrington) were invited to 

 Throseby for this grand event, with the Marquis of Danby, who 

 was then staying with them, a young nobleman of great pro- 

 mise, now in his twenty-fourth year, and who held a commis- 

 sion in the Life Guards. Lord Danby was about the general 

 standard as to height, although rather slightly formed ; aris- 

 tocratic looking, with handsome features and very pleasing 

 manners ; and although his father, the Duke of Delamere, was 

 still in the prime of life, the heir to a dukedom was, of course, 

 eagerly coveted by many mammas in the highest circles, who 

 had daughters to dispose of. Lord Danby was, however, too 

 cautious and sensible to be caught by mere personal beauty, or 

 that greater attraction in the present day — money. He was, 

 moreover, very partial to field sports, and a determined fox- 

 hunter ; and having heard from Lord Seaton of the Union Hunt 

 Ball, he came down purposely for the occasion. 



Mrs. Harcourt, as may be supposed, rose a hundred per cent. 

 in her own estimation, when entering the room that night, 

 leaning on the arm of such a lion as the Marquis of Danby, 

 whom she sought an early opportunity of introducing to Mrs. 

 Gordon and her niece, parading him with an air of great dignity 

 and importance, which was considerably diminished when Lord 

 Danby shook hands with Beauchamp in the most friendly 



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