246 THE MASTER OF THE HOUNDS. 



" Keally, William, she is a well-educated and highly-accom- 

 plished girl ; speaks French, Italian, and German fluently ; and 

 is very unpretending and unaffected." 



"lam delighted to find you are pleased with her, dear 

 Blanche, and as they are to be neighbours, we must endeavour 

 to keep on neighbourly terms with the family, however objec- 

 tionable in some points ; which is the usual penalty attached 

 to every master of fox-hounds, and in some instances a very 

 disagreeable one. We are obliged to take all fish that come 

 into our net, or within our province — good or coarse alike." 



" Well, William, and a very good thing, too ; or you might 

 have become very proud and haughty, which I suspect you are 

 naturally inclined to be, from that curl of your upper lip, which 

 I have so often noticed when a boy, and I almost dread you 

 will become a tyrant in your old age." 



" You have had, dear girl, a fair trial of my temper and dis- 

 position, and as the boy is, so will be the man ; his natural 

 inclinations, although disguised from the world, remain unal- 

 tered — restrained, but not subdued. No man is born without 

 some failings; mine are as well known to you as myself; and 

 although my best efforts are used to conquer them, they are 

 rebellious subjects still, and will burst forth sometimes into open 

 hostility : therefore, dear girl, pause before it is too late. Danby 

 is, although hasty occasionally, perhaps a better temper than 

 myself — neither jealous nor captious, and will, no doubt, make 

 an excellent husband. But in high life, where frequently the 

 wife goes one way, and her husband the other, there is little 

 opportunity for conjugal differences to arise. The Marchioness 

 of Danby will have her own establishment of servants and 

 carriages — her box at the opera — go where she likes, and do as 

 she pleases, without consulting her lord's wishes ; indeed, except 

 with the chance of meeting at other people's tables or parties, 

 man and wife in fashionable life seldom come in contact with 

 each other, and a tete-a-tete is a thing almost unknown." 



" How very delightful, William ! what an interesting picture 

 of domestic felicity ! really, I think that sort of life would suit 

 me exactly. What a pity you are not in the peerage ! Lady 

 Beauchamp would be such a pretty title !" 



"Your jest, dear Blanche, will, in all human probability, 

 be turned into a reality, much sooner, perhaps, than you 



imagine." 



" What can you mean ? " she inquired, with surprise. 



" I may confide to you now, dear girl, a secret which has 



