HUNTINGCROP HALL. 183 



those who were unskilled in the accomplishment — could 

 I possibly admit that I was among the despised class ? 

 Was it not rather a favourable opportunity for showing 

 our community of sentiment by vowing that the sport 

 was the delight of my life, and firing off a few sentences 

 laden with such sporting phraseology as I had happened 

 to pick up in the course of desultory reading ? 



Laura listened with evident admiration. I waxed 

 eloquent. My arm-chair would not take the bit between 

 its teeth and run away ; no hounds were in the neigh- 

 bourhood to test my prowess ; and I am grieved to 

 admit that for an exciting ten minutes the " father 



of stories " (what a family he must have !) had it 



all his own way with me. 



^^ Atra ciira sedit post equitem indeed!" I concluded. 

 " You may depend upon it, Miss Huntingcrop, that man 

 was mounted on a screw ! Black Care would never dare 

 to intrude his unwelcome presence on a galloper. 

 Besides, why didn't the fellow put his horse at a hurdle ? 

 Probably Black Care wouldn't have been able to sit a 

 fence. But I quite agree with you that it is the duty of 

 a gentleman to hunt ; and I only wish that the perform- 

 ance of some of my other duties gave me half as much 

 pleasure ! " 



Where I should have ended it is impossible to say ; 

 but here our tete-a-tcte was interrupted by the advent of 

 the Major, who heard the tag end of my panegyric with 

 manifest delight. 



" Huntingcrop is the place for you, Mr. Smoothley," 



