T^e Leather Plater. 331 



after us in blank amazement, and both declared that they had 

 never seen "such a go on a race-course before." Tom, in add- 

 tion, bade the footman present his respectful compliments to her 

 ladyship, and say that "if she wished to pat the jockey as well as the 

 horse, she had only to send for him, and he'd step over directly j" 

 to which free-and-easy speech the man only replied by a more 

 supercilious stare. 



As we were walking across the course, I took the liberty of 

 asking the flunkey if " it was all on the square." He affected not 

 to understand me, so I asked him plainly if Annie was really mar- 

 ried. He appeared to be quite offended at my presuming to doubt 

 in fact, and replied with his grandest air, "Married, sir, yes, by 

 special licence 5 I had the honour of assisting at the ceremony." In 

 what manner he assisted, however, he did not explain. 



We had now arrived at the rails on the other side of the course 

 and there, in an open barouche, drawn by a splendid pair of greys 



sat Lady {nee Annie Radford), by far the handsomest and 



best-dressed woman -on that course. A battered, grey-haired old 

 ruin of a man, her husband, sat by her side. Her greeting was 

 most cordial. 



" Oh, Mr. , perhaps you don't remember me." (Oh, did 



not I? 1 felt quite angry with the old K.C.B. for looking so 

 supremely happy in the possession of such a treasure, and inwardly 

 vowed, that if I had the making of the laws, it should be felony 

 at least for an old man above sixty to marry a blooming young girl 

 of twenty). " I saw the name of your horse on the card, and that's 

 the reason I drove over to the races to-day. I watched you leading 

 the colt Chance up and down the course. I knew him again di- 

 rectly, and I could not help sending for him that I might just pat 

 him once again for the sake of 'auld lang syne.' " A melancholy 

 shade passed over her beautiful features as she said this -, but it 

 vanished in an instant, and, turning towards the old fossil, who was 

 leaning back in the carriage, with his leg cocked up on a sort of 



gouty prop, she introduced me to " Sir , my husband," with a 



particular stress on the last word, and shot a coquettish half look 



