204 THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 



After that ten daj's or so of frost at Christmas-time, our 

 friends were able to resume hunting. Travers, who had 

 shghtly recovered his spirits and * moral tone ' as the family 

 physician euphoniously called it, played the part alternatel}^ of 

 hunter and hunted — for he was as often the quarry of the fair 

 Lucretia, as was the fox his own. Nothing fresh had been 

 heard of the great suit of ' Turnover v. Binkie' — at least, by 

 Travers himself — the lawyers were hurling ' pleadings ' and 

 other dangerous missiles at each other, with their tongues in 

 their cheeks as they reckoned up what a fat bill-of-costs they 

 would presently have against their respective clients — but our 

 fat friend, hearing nothing more on the subject, concluded 

 to let matters slide, and thus regained his confidence and 



courage. 



And so it was that he managed to pay his devoirs once more 

 to the fair lady of Catchem Court, and explain away, in stupid, 

 hesitating fashion, the original hitch in the matrimonial 

 negotiations. That terrible interview in the study with Papa 

 had been satisfactorily^ negotiated, and proved to be not such 

 a big fence as Mr. Binkie had at first feared ; the fact being 

 that the powers at the Court were of that self-sacrificing kind 

 which sutlers much, rather than fails to achieve its object. 

 True, Lady Lumpkin had, at first, exclaimed gushingly — 

 " Oh, I'm sure we could never, no never, spare Lucretia ! " 

 However, in the result, they ' spared ' her to Travers, and 

 let us hope that he was duly sensible of the immensity of the 

 favour so conferred. And then, as soon as it was publicly 

 made known that Lucretia Lumpkin was engaged to be 

 married to the hope of The Chase, Lady Lumpkin drove over 

 and made a formal call on Mrs. Binkie. 



