S6 EACECOUBSE AND COVEKT SIDE. 



that which put the finishing stroke to his de- 

 struction ; for when the election came on he was 

 beaten in a canter by a hated Tory rival, who 

 seemed to be friends with the voters at once, 

 without going through what Cobb found to be 

 the tedious and often disappointing business of 

 making fi-iends. 



But Cobb knew that another turn would 

 come, and instead of despairing, he set himself 

 to consider what he could do to please his 

 neighbours. 



" Why don't you get some harriers ? That's 

 the way to come across people, and you find lots 

 of chances of being civil, and pleasing the fellows 

 who hunt with you. I think a pack's a capital 

 idea," his friend Wetherby said to him one 

 evening, a few months after the election, as they 

 sat smoking after dinner. 



'* I hate the beastly, long-legged brutes ; and 

 it must be frightfully expensive. I'm told they 

 feed them on legs of mutton," Cobb answered. 

 " A pack would cost a fortune, surely ? " 



"The mutton is a delusion, I assure you; 

 and as for long legs, a well-shaped harrier 

 certainly does not run to excess in that direc- 

 tion," Wetherby replied. 



Still Cobb did not respond to the notion. 



" They're nasty snappish beasts, too. I just 



