42 THE BILLESDON HUNT. 



repeated the cheery salute. It was then 

 proposed to hold a tea-meeting on the 

 following Monday evening, in honour of 

 the Captain, Mrs, and Miss Bethune, which, 

 being numerously attended, was a very jolly 

 gathering, affording opportunities of acknow- 

 ledging the many acts of kindness they had 

 received. Their gratitude, however, had 

 not exhausted Itself. A few days after- 

 wards, the worthy villagers quite unex- 

 pectedly made their appearance at Captain 

 Bethune's residence, bearing a handsome 

 drawing-room clock, and with a neat appro- 

 priate address presented it to Captain, Mrs 

 and Miss Bethune, as a memoir for all time 

 to come. Even poor persons on the parish 

 contributed their pence to the present, which 

 as an heirloom is more prizeable than many 

 a costly gift, emanating from persons of 

 greater affluence. There are happy tenden- 

 cies to reciprocal recognitions charmingly 

 displayed throughout Leicestershire, which 



