220 THE MASTER OF THE HOUNDS. 



the night of the hunt ball, he had never met with one who 

 realised his ideas of perfect loveliness. The unstudied elegance 

 of mien and manner — the soft, angelic countenance of Blanche 

 Douglas, lit up by those sparkling eyes, so innocently expressive 

 of her artless, unsophisticated mind, presented to Lord Danby's 

 imagination, if not absolutely to his sight, that vision he had so 

 long cherished in his heart, of perfection in woman. Whenever 

 she moved, his eyes instinctively, irresistibly followed ; and 

 after having danced two quadrilles with her, he was as much 

 taken with her guileless remarks, gentle disposition, light, 

 buoyant spirits and cheerful conversation, from which there 

 was a total absence of either levity or satire, as he had been at 

 first sight with her person ; and from that night her image was 

 the constant companion of his thoughts, and ever present day 

 and night. Even in rejecting his proposals that day, she was 

 lovely still ; so grieved to inflict pain, so anxious to spare those 

 bitter feelings she seemed by intuition to know he must feel, 

 when obliged to crush by one word all his deeply-indulged, 

 fondly- cherished hopes of happiness. " Oh, Blanche, Blanche ! " 

 ejaculated Lord Danby, as he spurred forward from the lodge 

 gates, which so short a time before he had entered cheerful and 

 happy ; " all I possess in the world — rank, honours, and riches — 

 would I resign ; all, all — everything, for that most precious to 

 me of all earthly treasures — your dear hand. But it cannot be 

 — not now, at least — if ever ! She loves, I fear, another — and 

 that man is William Beauchamp. It must be so, and Harcourt 

 has deceived me." Indulging in such melancholy reflections, 

 Lord Danby reached Barton Court, and immediately repaired 

 to his own room, where, when feeling more composed, he sat 

 down and wrote a few lines to Mr. Harcourt, expressive of his 

 feelings of unfeigned sorrow and most poignant grief in having 

 that morning failed to interest Miss Douglas in his favour; 

 although acknowledging her kind consideration in endeavouring 

 to spare him as much as possible the pain of a refusal. 



Having dispatched this letter by his servant to Throseby, 

 Lord Danby sought Sir Lionel, and made known his intention 

 of leaving Barton Court the following morning, alleging, as his 

 excuse for curtailing his visit, that an unexpected event required 

 his immediate return home. Lord Danby's communication 

 excited no little surprise and no trifling indignation on the part 

 of Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt, who, attributing Blanche's refusal 

 of such an unexceptionable offer to Mrs. Gordon's influence 

 over her in favour of Beauchamp, drove over in hot haste to 



