A DESPERATE MAN. 157 



coUeg'e honours, it is yet a sad disappointment to find 

 the boy has lost all taste for horses and hounds. Our old 

 friend, in prcesenti, felt all this. Master Georgy was 

 clever enough — with a head quite equal to all the trials 

 the professsors had put him through • still the sire had 

 hoped there was some heart left for the old home and 

 old sports. 



*' Confound it, Major," he said, at length, with a deep 

 sig'h, '^all this hurts me very much." 



** Well, there's one comfort : you may take your oath 

 it will never hurt him." And, with that, the Major 

 agreed to finish oif with the sherry ; and went back to — • 

 ^^ I and the grey mare." 



There is only one excuse for a lad of eighteen not doing 

 or daring to do, anything, and that is that he doesn't know 

 what he's doing at all. The young Squire had this 

 excuse. While he was pointing King Pippin at Exton= 

 brook, he felt he was going right away, with a right- 

 away fox, from Exton vicarage ; to which little paradise 

 he had, on his own nomination, been appointed 

 ambassador extraordinary, on this special purpose — to 

 call, after the run was finished, and bring Miss Merton, 

 willy nilly, over to dinner, and to sta}^ a day or two at 

 the manor house. Now, Nimrod and all the great writers 

 assure you there is always a wonderful sympathy between 

 the horse and his rider, and that the former can tell 

 pretty clearly what the latter is up to. King Pippin felt 

 it on this occasion. Instead of being rammed and 

 crammed at the water, he found he was put at it '^ no- 

 how," and so very politely ^^ turned again," and off they 

 went to the vicarage to lunch ; the Reverend's man then 

 riding him quietly home, and the young master, in due 

 time, driving up with Miss Emmy. 



