A MINCING LANE M. F. H. 59 



the Irish landlords for " Never mind Mr. 



Bright, who is always denouncing somebody ; 

 how about Christabel for the Great Covertshire ? 

 Here it is at last. Now for the 20 to 1 chance ! 

 "Great Covertshire " — how slowly 

 this machine works ! — " Handicap" the 

 instrument prints off. What will be the next 

 letter? If it is anything but a " C," what a 

 dreadful seU it will be after that plunge ! Now 

 then, what is it? " c "— Yes ! " h "— Yes ! 

 hurrah! "a" — no; something wrong here — 

 misprint ? These machines are very delicately 

 constructed — ^' r l e s." But this is not Chris- 

 tabel ? How curious ! — " s t u a r t." "Charles 

 Stuart 1, II Demonio 2, The Starling 3. Ah! 

 did not start, of course. It might be worse — 

 but stay: what is this? "Also ran. Lamprey, 

 Polka, Cinnamon, Christabel, and Heliotrope." 

 Confound it ! 



By this sort of thing a man is kept at high 

 pressure, and there is certainly not a little to be 

 said in favour of an inconvenient residence in a 

 quiet country place where it is necessary to ride 

 six or eight miles to the nearest town if one 

 wants to send a telegram or find a railway 

 book-stall. 



To such a spot I betook myself last autumn, 

 and was trotting back through Sawbury Park, 



