Cleopatra 



as leather. It is well known that he has only two 

 suits of clothes — a pair of riding breeches and a 

 coat, the cut of which is the envy of the county, 

 and evening clothes. And it must often happen 

 that when he takes one off, he puts the other on, 

 since he is in the saddle all day, and no one ever 

 stays up late enough to see him go to bed, or gets 

 up early enough to find him still asleep. 



But what Merryweather lacks in the way of a 

 trousseau, he makes up in horseflesh; for in his 

 stable is a row of six stalls, correctly appointed 

 overhead with plaited straw and ribbon, and in 

 them stand six well-groomed blanketed hunters, 

 beginning at the left with the little thoroughbred 

 mare, Cleopatra, and ending on the right with the 

 big sixteen-hand chestnut steeple-chaser Assur- 

 ance, a half-brother to Fire-Alarm, that sensa- 

 tional jumper which had such great success in 

 England two years ago. 



When Merryweather and I graduated, he 

 bought a small farm, several good horses, and took 

 up fox-hunting where he left off before he went to 

 college; while I, on the contrary, studied law, 

 married, and after a number of years of hard work 

 acquired a small practice which begins at last to 

 pay. The point I wish to make clear is, that 

 Merryweather, when he asked me to visit him for 

 fox-hunting, was as hard and strong as a ten-pen- 

 29 



