had any action that was not good-looking, either in one 

 place or in the other." 



" Ah," resumed Lady Charlotte ; " Sir John's tongue 

 runs fast, as, Dr. Johnson says, the race-horse does when 

 he carries a light weight ; but are you quite sure, Francis, 

 he would not marry that little ugly heiress, whose fine 

 estate joins his own ? :; 



" No," answered Frank, " not if he was sure that, without 

 her and her estate, he could never sit behind the bars, or 

 his own coach, again." 



" There you go again, Frank," observed Lady Charlotte 

 laughingly, " to the stable, as usual, for your allusions.'' 



"And did not you go thither, also, my dear mother, for 

 your simile at all events, to the race-horse ? " rejoined 

 her son. 



" I believe I did," replied the mother ; " but I do not 

 wonder at my having done so ; for when you are at home, 

 and especially when Sir John is at the Abbey, I hear of 

 nothing else but horses, hounds, and coach-boxes, leaders, 

 wheelers, and so forth. Still I like Sir John, with all his 

 foibles, but shall tell him, the next time I see him, not to 

 be introducing you to pretty married women." 



Frank said nothing in answer to this remark, turning 

 off the conversation to his sister, whom he asked, in a 

 jocular mood, whether either of her partners had made a 

 tender impression upon her heart, insinuating, at the 

 same time, that that of their brother Andrew must 

 necessarily have escaped unscathed in the assault, from 

 the very ineffective strength of the batteries. 



It has been often asserted that, amongst the infirmities 

 of human nature, men take some pleasure in creating a 

 feeling of jealousy towards a rival, in their wives, merely 

 because it occasions the frequent mention of the name of 

 the lady who may, to a certain extent, have supplanted 

 them in their affections. One thing, however, is quite 

 beyond doubt ; namely, that men young men especially 

 are perpetually given to introduce subjects that may lead 

 to the mention of, or allusion to, the object of theii 

 attachment and love. And such was the case with Frank 

 Raby. It would be useless to disguise the fact, that the 

 personal charms of Mrs. Denham had made an impression 

 on our hero ; and the words " Mrs. Denham said this," 

 and " Mrs. Denham thought that," were almost perpetually 

 on his tongue, at least, as often as opportunity occurred to 



