ROUGH SHOOTING 297 



the hand, ' this is indeed kind of yon ; hundreds 

 of times have I wondered what had become 

 of you, and if you were still in the land of the 

 living.' 



" ' And I the same, Lenox ; by mere chance have 

 I found you out. I inquired at all the old haunts 

 when I returned to England, and could never learn 

 where you were.' 



" ' Then you are the gentleman, I suppose, that 

 has been looking at the estate next to me, with a 

 view to purchase ? ' 



" ' Just so, Horace, ccce homo.' 



" ' You could not do better, old fellow ; I will put 

 you in the way. I know every inch of the ground 

 — rare shooting — but come in, and I will tell you 

 all about it after dinner. Margaret, my servant, is 

 in the devil's own way, for it is rarely I ever have 

 any one to dine with me.' 



" The inside of the cottage was just as pretty as 

 the outside ; his dining-room was a study for a 

 sportsman : guns, rods, sporting pictures, &c, here 

 hung all round the walls in endless profusion ; it 

 was the very essence of comfort and taste. 



" ' Now, Horace,' said I, as I threw myself into 

 one of the comfortable arm-chairs beside the open 

 window, and he into another, ' tell me all that has 

 happened since we last met.' 



