16 THE HUNTING FIELD 



moments of dinner, but it is serious work with a 

 half-famished sportsman, especially with the pace 

 nervous servants of all work go on these occasions. 

 Besiege your men at tea. That is your time. You 

 may offer them a cup of coffee, but you can't ask 

 them to take wine. Of course you have a piano in 

 the room. Music is a great assistance in love-making. 

 Its noise keeps whispers where they should be, and 

 though you are all very jealous of the time lost in 

 playing, yet if you have a fine arm and tolerable 

 execution, we don't know but you may be doing 

 more business with your fingers than you would with 

 your tongue and eyes. At all events, sisters can 

 arrange to relieve each other, on the " now thou, now 

 me, now both together," principle. " Music," some 

 amiable gentleman writes, " has charms to soothe the 

 savage breast." God forbid that it should not have 

 the same influence upon sportsmen ! And here we 

 may observe that, though foxhunters may not be men 

 of many words, what they do say is generally to the 

 purpose. " Isn't this," as Beckford would say, " far 

 better than the eternal babbling of unsteady puppies ? 

 Puppies who merely babble to lead the ladies astray, 

 to 



' Love again, and be again undone.'" 



There's Henrietta's friend Smashgate, for instance 

 — we beg pardon, Sir Rasper Smashgate — we will 

 stake our literary reputation that a squeeze, a good 

 squeeze from the Smashgate hand at bed-time, 

 would mean more than an hour and a half s blather 

 from young Fribbleton Brown, about roses and lilies, 

 and love in a cottage, hearts, darts, Cupids, and the 

 whole mint of matrimonial small coin. 



We would almost excuse Henrietta if she presented 

 herself to mamma as " Lady Smashgate," on reaching 

 the landing. "What, has he offered to you?" old 

 Turban would exclaim. " No, mar, but he squeezed 



