LADY FOXHUNTERS 297 



tions during the winter, u if he gets home in time," he 

 had gone eighteen miles " t'other way " to meet Lord 

 Uncommonswell's magnificent hounds, which, never 

 throwing off before eleven by their clocks, or half- 

 past eleven by other people's, had been close upon 

 twelve before they moved from the meet, the 

 Countess of Uncommonswell having come in her 

 barouche and six, with five out-riders, to smile be- 

 nignly on the field, and try to stick a couple of 

 plainish sisters (now rendered still plainer by the 

 addition of red noses), into any ambitious Nimrods 

 who might aspire to wives out of a coronetted carriage. 

 It was a show day, in short, and of course, late. The 

 meet might be unusually protracted perhaps, from 

 the circumstance of the countess not having any one 

 in particular to whom she wished to recommend her 

 goods, she had, therefore, to keep a stall, as it were, 

 and trust to chance for customers. Some men think 

 of nothing but sweet-hearting. They are always 

 "dying" for some girl, and commit as many imaginary 

 demises in the twelvemonth as old Mantalini himself. 

 When the hounds did throw off in earnest (for of 

 course they had to draw two or three sham places 

 first, for the accommodation of the ladies), the way 

 they dashed into Everhold Gorse plainly said that 

 sly-boots (if he will allow us to call him so) was at 

 home, and before Lord Uncommonswell had got half 

 through his dog-language, a great banging big-brushed, 

 white-tagged, greyish-backed dog-fox, almost knocked 

 the fifth Whipper-in off his hind legs, as he was 

 trying to open the bridle-gate at the north end of the 

 cover. The poor lad was so paralyzed — never having 

 been in such close contact with so formidable a 

 customer — that a second or two elapsed ere it 

 occurred to him that he ought to do something, a 

 pause that master reynard availed himself of for 

 stealing quietly up the deep newly-cleaned-out ditch 

 of a thick hedgerow. At last the lad having climbed 



