HUNTINGCROP HALL 269 



accomplishment — could I possibly admit that I was 

 amongst 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 hap- 

 pened 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 neighbourhood to test my prowess ; and I am 

 grieved to admit that for a fearful ten minutes " the 



father of stories " (what a family he must 



have !) had it all his own way with me. 



" Atra cura sedet post eqidtemi indeed I " I con- 

 cluded. '' You may depend upon it, Miss Hunting- 

 crop, that man was mounted on a screw ! Black 

 Care would never dare to intrude his unwelcome 

 presence on a galloper. Besides, w^hy 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 gentle- 

 man to hunt ; and I only wish that the performance 

 of some of my other duties gave me half as much 

 pleasure 1 " 



Where I should have ended it is impossible to 

 say ; but here our Ute-d-tete was interrupted by the 



