THE SPOTTED HORSE's STORY. 167 



eventual whiskers. His cliief characteristic has 

 been called extreme mildness. 



It is my mother who speaks. 



"You really ought to go, Cecil; and I'm 

 sure it is very kind indeed of the squire to write 

 as he does, and ask you to Welwyn Grange. He 

 is one of your father's oldest friends, and we are 

 anxious that you should make his acquaintance." 



"Of course he ought to go," said Uncle 

 John; "see something of the world, and get a 

 wife to stir him up." 



" I have yet to learn," I replied, " that to 

 ' stir up ' her husband is among the duties of a 

 wife ; and I hope that no wife of mine would 

 ever " 



"No wife of yours!" he broke in. "Why^ 

 how many wives does the boy want to have ? 

 He's a regular Shah of Persia ! I'm ashamed of 

 you, Cecil. But it's always the way with those 

 mild-looking ones ! " 



Jane eagerly seizes the opportunity of blush- 

 ing deeply. 



" Indeed, I wish he would think of marrying 

 and settling down," says my mother fondly. 



" He'll think about it, right enough," Uncle 

 John replies. " It's the pluck to carry it through 

 that's wanting in his case. Do you think, now, 

 that you could say ' Bo ' to a goose, ' if it were 



