20 TALES OF PINK AND SILK. 



and prepared to cultivate the country with a view to his 

 being returned to Parhament as its member. But it was 

 a different matter with regard to funds now, for Lady 

 Muriel proceeded to spend more than in the old days when 

 the soap-boiling industry was flourishing under the name of 

 Stjdes and Co., so that at the time my story opens, money 

 had become somewhat scarce. The farms on the estate did 

 not pay, as Mr. Styles' agent did not seem to get the right 

 sort of tenant; several of that gentleman's investments did 

 not turn out so profitable as soap, and the expenses of the 

 household had become greater and greater as Lady Muriel 

 and her daughters had become more and more desperate, 

 while the number of hunters required by the young ladies 

 cost no small sum of money annually. They were fairly 

 good, if not particularly graceful horsewomen, and, being 

 possessed of a considerable amount of pluck, showed to no 

 little advantage in the hunting-field. But they bucketed 

 their horses about unmercifully in their efforts to keep a 

 good place in the field, and to be in front of the other 

 ladies; nor were they averse to a Httle jealous riding and 

 mud-splashing if the opportunity presented itself Conse- 

 quently, they were not altogether beloved, either by the 

 Master, whose hounds were overridden so frequently by the 

 daughters of one of his best subscribers, and who had to be 

 guarded in his remarks lest the annual cheque should 

 become a smaller one ; or by the other ladies of the hunt, 

 who were bored at their fences, were splashed from head 

 to foot at every muddy lane or wet furrow, had their 

 turns snapped from them at gaps, and gates slammed in 

 their faces at every possible opportunity. 



The young ladies had been hunting that day, but to judge 

 from their manner things had not gone as smoothly as they 

 could have wished. 



" What's the matter with you to-day, Gertrude ? " asked 



