The Master of the Hounds. 7 



sending me the card of your meets, my lord. You need 

 never be afraid, I can assure you, of my ever insulting 

 you by ever 'unting with any other 'ounds but your lord- 

 ship's gallant pack, and if, as I 'ope, my lord, some day 

 when you are in town, and should be passing my 

 way, you'll just give me and my daughter Julia a 

 look in, I can assure you, my lord, we shaU 

 be most proud and 'appy." And Mr. Baggs, 

 having thus delivered himself, resumed his cap, and 

 beamed pleasantly round on the assembled company. As 

 for my lord, he was struck speechless with astonishment 

 and disgust. At last he gasped out, " Good heavens ! he 

 says I wrote to him. Give me my sherry-flask, Robert," 

 and, with a withering glance at Mr, Baggs, he took the 

 flask from his second horseman, and swallowed half the 

 contents at a gulp. ''A thing," as the groom remarked 

 afterwards, " I never see my lord do afore, so early in the 

 day, ever since I've bin in his service." The story of the 

 hoax spread like wildfire, and the wretched Mr. Baggs 

 wished himself anywhere before the day was out. Lord 

 Daisyfield, too, was very angry at such a liberty having 

 been taken with his name. However, when he heard 

 next day that Mr. Baggs had actually removed his horses 

 from the Daisyfield Arms, and had left the country for 

 good, having given out, in fact, that in future he intended 

 to hunt with our Most Gracious Majesty's Staghounds — 

 the Harkaway Hounds being too slow for him — his wrath 

 was appeased, and everybody agreed that when his lord- 

 ship turned up, punctual as usual, at the next meet of his 

 hounds, and found no Mr. Baggs to give him greeting, and, 

 what was more to the purpose, that he was never likely 

 to be bothered by that worthy again, they had never seen 



