little,
with
a
sort
of
pitying
sympathising
curiosity
towards
a
fellow-sufferer
.
"
Well
,
I
'll
tell
you
,
"
said
Bertie
,
with
a
sigh
as
of
a
man
who
hated
long
sentences
,
and
who
was
about
to
plunge
into
a
painful
past
.
"
It
's
ages
ago
;
day
I
was
at
a
Drawing-room
;
—
year
Blue
Ruin
won
the
Clearwell
for
Royal
,
I
think
.
Wedged
up
there
,
in
that
poking
place
,
I
saw
such
a
face
—
the
deuce
,
it
almost
makes
me
feel
enthusiastic
now
.
She
was
just
out
—
an
angel
with
a
train
!
She
had
delicious
eyes
—
like
a
spaniel
's
,
you
know
—
a
cheek
like
this
peach
,
and
lips
like
that
strawberry
,
there
,
on
the
top
of
your
ice
.
She
looked
at
me
,
and
I
was
in
love
!
I
knew
who
she
was
—
Irish
Lord
's
daughter
—
girl
I
could
have
had
for
the
asking
;
and
I
vow
that
I
thought
I
would
ask
her
—
I
actually
was
as
far
gone
as
that
.
I
actually
said
to
myself
,
I
'd
hang
about
her
a
week
or
two
,
and
then
propose
.
You
'll
hardly
believe
it
,
but
I
did
!
Watched
her
presented
;
such
grace
,
such
a
smile
,
such
a
divine
lift
of
the
lashes
.
I
was
really
in
love
,
and
with
a
girl
who
would
marry
me
!
I
was
never
so
near
a
fatal
thing
in
my
life
—
—
"
"
Well
?
"
asked
the
Seraph
,
pausing
to
listen
till
he
let
the
ice
in
his
sherry-cobbler
melt
away
:
when
you
have
been
so
near
breaking
your
neck
down
the
Matrimonial
Matterhorn
,
it
is
painfully
interesting
to
hear
how
your
friend
escaped
the
same
risks
of
descent
.
"
Well
,
"
resumed
Bertie
,
"
I
was
very
near
it
.
I
did
nothing
but
watch
her
;
she
saw
me
,
and
I
felt
she
was
as
flattered
and
as
touched
as
she
ought
to
be
.
She
blushed
most
enchantingly
;
just
enough
,
you
know
;
she
was
conscious
I
followed
her
;
I
contrived
to
get
close
to
her
as
she
passed
out
;
so
close
,
that
I
could
see
those
exquisite
eyes
lighten
and
gleam
,
those
exquisite
lips
part
with
a
sigh
,
that
beautiful
face
beam
with
the
sunshine
of
a
radiant
smile
.
It
was
the
dawn
of
love
I
had
taught
her
!
I
pressed
nearer
and
nearer
,
and
I
caught
her
soft
whisper
as
she
leaned
to
her
mother
:
'
Mamma
,
I
'm
so
hungry
!
I
could
eat
a
whole
chicken
!
'
The
sigh
,
the
smile
,
the
blush
,
the
light
,
were
for
her
dinner
—
not
for
me
!
The
spell
was
broken
for
ever
.
A
girl
whom
I
had
looked
at
could
think
of
wings
and
merry-thoughts
and
white
sauce
!
I
have
never
been
near
a
proposal
again
.
"
The
Seraph
,
with
the
clarion
roll
of
his
gay
laughter
,
flung
a
hautboy
at
him
.
"
Hang
you
,
Beauty
!
If
I
did
n't
think
you
were
going
to
tell
one
how
you
really
got
out
of
a
serious
thing
;
it
is
so
awfully
difficult
to
keep
clear
of
them
now-a-days
.
Those
before-dinner
teas
are
only
just
so
many
new
traps
!
What
became
of
her
—
eh
?
"
"
She
married
a
Scotch
laird
and
became
socially
extinct
,
somewhere
among
the
Hebrides
.
Serve
her
right
,
"
murmured
Cecil
,
sententiously
.
"
Only
think
what
she
lost
just
through
hungering
for
a
chicken
;
if
I
had
n't
have
proposed
for
her
,
for
one
hardly
keeps
the
screw
up
to
such
self-sacrifice
as
that
when
one
is
cool
the
next
morning
,
I
would
have
made
her
the
fashion
!
"
With
which
masterly
description
in
one
phrase
of
all
he
could
have
done
for
the
ill-starred
débutante
who
had
been
hungry
in
the
wrong
place
,
Cecil
lunged
out
of
the
club
to
drive
with
half
a
dozen
of
his
set
to
a
water-party
—
a
Bacchanalian
water-party
,
with
the
Zu-Zu
and
her
sisters
for
the
Naiads
,
and
the
Household
for
their
Tritons
.
A
water-party
whose
water
element
apparently
consisted
in
driving
down
to
Richmond
,
dining
at
nine
,
being
three
hours
over
the
courses
,
contributing
seven
guineas
apiece
for
the
repast
,
listening
to
the
songs
of
the
Café
Alcazar
,
reproduced
with
matchless
élan
by
a
pretty
French
actress
,
being
pelted
with
brandy
cherries
by
the
Zu-Zu
,
seeing
their
best
cigars
thrown
away
half-smoked
by
pretty
pillagers
,
and
driving
back
again
to
town
in
the
soft
starry
night
,
with
the
gay
rhythms
ringing
out
from
the
box-seat
as
the
leaders
dashed
along
in
a
stretching
gallop
down
the
Kew
road
.
It
certainly
had
no
other
more
aquatic
feature
in
it
save
a
little
drifting
about
for
twenty
minutes
before
dining
,
in
toy
boats
and
punts
,
as
the
sun
was
setting
,
while
Laura
Lelas
,
the
brunette
actress
,
sang
a
barcarolle
that
would
have
been
worthy
of
mediæval
"
Venice
,
and
her
people
,
only
born
to
bloom
and
drop
.
"
It
did
not
set
Cecil
thinking
,
however
,
after
Browning
's
fashion
,
"
Where
be
all
those
Dear
dead
women
,
with
such
hair
too
,
what
's
become
of
all
the
gold
Used
to
hang
and
brush
their
bosoms
?
I
feel
chilly
and
grown
old
;
"
because
,
in
the
first
place
,
it
was
a
canon
with
him
never
to
think
at
all
;
in
the
second
,
if
put
to
it
he
would
have
averred
that
he
knew
nothing
of
Venice
,
except
that
it
was
a
musty
old
bore
of
a
place
,
where
they
worried
you
about
visas
and
luggage
and
all
that
,
chloride
of
lime
'd
you
if
you
came
from
the
East
,
and
could
n't
give
you
a
mount
if
it
were
ever
so
;
and
in
the
third
,
instead
of
longing
for
the
dear
dead
women
,
he
was
entirely
contented
with
the
lovely
living
ones
who
were
at
that
moment
puffing
the
smoke
of
his
scented
cigarettes
into
his
eyes
,
making
him
eat
lobster
drowned
in
Chablis
,
or
pelting
him
with
bonbons
.
As
they
left
the
Star
and
Garter
,
Laura
Lelas
,
mounted
on
Cecil
's
box-seat
,
remembered
she
had
dropped
her
cashmere
in
the
dining-room
.
A
cash-mere
is
a
Parisian
's
soul
,
idol
,
and
fetish
;
servants
could
not
find
it
;
Cecil
,
who
,
to
do
him
this
justice
,
was
always
as
courteous
to
a
Comédienne
as
to
a
Countess
,
went
himself
.
Passing
the
open
windows
of
another
room
,
he
recognised
the
face
of
his
little
brother
among
a
set
of
young
Civil
Service
fellows
,
attachés
,
and
cornets
.
They
had
no
women
with
them
;
but
they
had
brought
what
was
perhaps
worse
—
dice
for
hazard
—
and
were
turning
the
unconscious
Star
and
Garter
into
an
impromptu
Crockford
's
over
their
wine
.
Little
Berke
's
pretty
face
was
very
flushed
;
his
lips
were
set
tight
,
his
eyes
were
glittering
;
the
boy
had
the
gambler
's
passion
of
the
Royallieu
blood
in
its
hottest
intensity
.
He
was
playing
with
a
terrible
eagerness
that
went
to
Bertie
's
heart
with
the
same
sort
of
pang
of
remorse
with
which
he
had
looked
on
him
when
he
had
been
thrown
like
dead
on
his
bed
at
home
.
Cecil
stopped
and
leaned
over
the
open
window
.
"
Ah
,
young
one
,
I
did
not
know
you
were
here
.
We
are
going
home
;
will
you
come
?
"
he
asked
,
with
a
careless
nod
to
the
rest
of
the
young
fellows
.
Berkeley
looked
up
with
a
wayward
,
irritated
annoyance
.
"
No
,
I
ca
n't
,
"
he
said
,
irritably
;
"
do
n't
you
see
we
are
playing
,
Bertie
.
"
"
I
see
,
"
answered
Cecil
,
with
a
dash
of
gravity
,
almost
of
sadness
in
him
,
as
he
leaned
further
over
the
window-sill
with
his
cigar
in
his
teeth
.
"
Come
away
,
"
he
whispered
,
kindly
,
as
he
almost
touched
the
boy
,
who
chanced
to
be
close
to
the
casement
.
"
Hazard
is
the
very
deuce
for
anybody
;
and
you
know
Royal
hates
it
.
Come
with
us
,
Berke
:
there
's
a
capital
set
here
,
and
I
'm
going
to
half
a
dozen
good
houses
to-night
,
when
we
get
back
.
I
'll
take
you
with
me
.
Come
!
you
like
waltzing
,
and
all
that
sort
of
thing
,
you
know
.
"
The
lad
shook
himself
peevishly
;
a
sullen
cloud
over
his
fair
,
picturesque
,
boyish
face
.
"
Let
me
alone
before
the
fellows
,
"
he
muttered
,
impatiently
.
"
I
wo
n't
come
,
I
tell
you
.
"
"
Soit
!
"
Cecil
shrugged
his
shoulders
,
left
the
window
,
found
the
Lelas
'
cashmere
,
and
sauntered
back
to
the
drags
without
any
more
expostulation
.
The
sweetness
of
his
temper
could
never
be
annoyed
,
but
also
he
never
troubled
himself
to
utter
useless
words
.
Moreover
,
he
had
never
been
in
his
life
much
in
earnest
about
anything
;
it
was
not
worth
while
.
"
A
pretty
fellow
I
am
to
turn
preacher
,
when
I
have
sins
enough
on
my
own
shoulders
for
twenty
,
'
he
thought
,
as
he
shook
the
ribbons
and
started
the
leaders
off
to
the
gay
music
of
Laura
Lelas
'
champagne-tuned
laughter
.
The
thoughts
that
had
crossed
his
mind
when
he
had
looked
on
his
brother
's
inanimate
form
,
had
not
been
wholly
forgotten
since
;
he
felt
something
like
self-accusation
whenever
he
saw
,
in
some
grey
summer
dawn
,
as
he
had
seen
now
,
the
boy
's
bright
face
,
haggard
and
pale
with
the
premature
miseries
of
the
gamester
,
or
heard
his
half-piteous
,
half-querulous
lamentations
over
his
losses
;
and
he
would
essay
,
with
all
the
consummate
tact
the
world
had
taught
him
,
to
persuade
him
from
his
recklessness
,
and
warn
him
of
its
consequences
.
But
little
Berke
,
though
he
loved
his
elder
after
a
fashion
,
was
wayward
,
selfish
,
and
unstable
as
water
.
He
would
be
very
sorry
sometimes
,
very
repentant
,
and
would
promise
anything
under
the
sun
;
but
five
minutes
afterwards
he
would
go
his
own
way
just
the
same
,
and
be
as
irritably
resentful
of
interference
as
a
proud
,
spoiled
,
still-childish
temper
can
be
.
And
Cecil
—
the
last
man
in
the
world
to
turn
mentor
—
would
light
a
cheroot
,
as
he
did
to-night
,
and
forget
all
about
it
.
The
boy
would
be
right
enough
when
he
had
had
his
swing
,
he
thought
.
Bertie
's
philosophy
was
the
essence
of
laissez
faire
.
He
would
have
defied
a
Manfred
,
or
an
Aylmer
of
Aylmer
's
Field
,
to
be
long
pursued
by
remorse
or
care
if
he
drank
the
right
cru
,
and
lived
in
the
right
set
.
"
If
it
be
very
severe
,
"
he
would
say
,
"
it
may
give
him
a
pang
once
a
twelvemonth
—
say
the
morning
after
a
whitebait
dinner
.
Repentance
is
generally
the
fruit
of
indigestion
,
and
contrition
may
generally
be
traced
to
too
many
truffles
or
olives
.
"
Cecil
had
no
time
or
space
for
thought
;
he
never
thought
;
would
not
have
thought
seriously
for
a
kingdom
.
A
novel
,
idly
skimmed
over
in
bed
,
was
the
extent
of
his
literature
;
he
never
bored
himself
by
reading
the
papers
,
he
heard
the
news
earlier
than
they
told
it
;
and
as
he
lived
,
he
was
too
constantly
supplied
from
the
world
about
him
with
amusement
and
variety
to
have
to
do
anything
beyond
letting
himself
be
amused
:
quietly
fanned
,
as
it
were
,
with
the
lulling
punkah
of
social
pleasure
,
without
even
the
trouble
of
pulling
the
strings
.
He
had
naturally
considerable
talents
,
and
an
almost
dangerous
facility
in
them
;
but
he
might
have
been
as
brainless
as
a
mollusc
for
any
exertion
he
gave
his
brain
.
"
If
I
were
a
professional
diner-out
,
you
know
,
I
'd
use
such
wits
as
I
have
:
but
why
should
I
now
?
"
he
said
on
one
occasion
,
when
a
fair
lady
reproached
him
with
this
inertia
.
"
The
best
style
is
only
just
to
say
yes
and
no
—
and
be
bored
even
in
saying
that
—
and
a
very
comfortable
style
it
is
,
too
.
You
get
amused
without
the
trouble
of
opening
your
lips
.
"
"
But
if
everybody
were
equally
monosyllabic
,
how
then
?
you
would
not
get
amused
,
"
suggested
his
interrogator
,
a
brilliant
Parisienne
.
"
Well
—
everybody
is
pretty
nearly
,
"
said
Bertie
;
"
but
there
are
always
a
lot
of
fellows
who
give
their
wits
to
get
their
dinners
—
social
rockets
,
you
know
—
who
will
always
fire
themselves
off
to
sparkle
instead
of
you
if
you
give
them
a
white
ball
at
the
clubs
,
or
get
them
a
card
for
good
houses
.
It
saves
you
so
much
trouble
;
it
is
such
a
bore
to
have
to
talk
.
"
He
went
that
night
,
as
he
had
said
,
to
half
a
dozen
good
houses
,
midnight
receptions
,
and
after-midnight
waltzes
,
making
his
bow
in
a
Cabinet
Minister
's
vestibule
,
and
taking
up
the
thread
of
the
same
flirtation
at
three
different
balls
,
showing
himself
for
a
moment
at
a
Premier
's
At-home
,
and
looking
eminently
graceful
and
pre-eminently
weary
in
an
Ambassadress
'
drawing-room
,
and
winding
up
the
series
by
a
dainty
little
supper
in
the
grey
of
the
morning
,
with
a
sparkling
party
of
French
actresses
,
as
bright
as
the
bubbles
of
their
own
Cliquot
.
When
he
went
up-stairs
to
his
own
bedroom
,
in
Piccadilly
,
about
five
o'clock
,
therefore
,
he
was
both
sleepy
and
tired
,
and
lamented
to
that
cherished
and
ever-discreet
confidant
,
a
cheroot
,
the
brutal
demands
of
the
Service
,
which
would
drag
him
off
,
in
five
hours
'
time
,
without
the
slightest
regard
to
his
feelings
,
to
take
share
in
the
hot
,
heavy
,
dusty
,
scorching
work
of
a
field-day
up
at
the
Scrubs
.
"
Here
—
get
me
to
perch
as
quick
as
you
can
,
Rake
,
"
he
murmured
,
dropping
into
an
arm-chair
:
astonished
that
Rake
did
not
answer
,
he
saw
standing
by
him
instead
the
boy
Berkeley
.
Surprise
was
a
weakness
of
raw
inexperience
that
Cecil
never
felt
;
his
gazette
as
Commander-in-Chief
,
or
the
presence
of
the
Wandering
Jew
in
his
lodgings
,
would
never
have
excited
it
in
him
.
In
the
first
place
,
he
would
have
merely
lifted
his
eyebrows
and
said
,
"
Be
a
fearful
bore
!
"
in
the
second
he
would
have
done
the
same
,
and
murmured
,
"
Queer
old
cad
!
"
Surprised
,
therefore
,
he
was
not
,
at
the
boy
's
untimely
apparition
;
but
his
eyes
dwelt
on
him
with
a
mild
wonder
,
while
his
lips
dropped
but
one
word
:
"
Amber-Amulet
?
"
Amber-Amulet
was
a
colt
of
the
most
marvellous
promise
at
the
Royallieu
establishment
,
looked
on
to
win
the
next
Clearwell
,
Guineas
,
and
Derby
as
a
certainty
.
An
accident
to
the
young
chesnut
was
the
only
thing
that
suggested
itself
as
of
possibly
sufficient
importance
to
make
his
brother
wait
for
him
at
five
o'clock
on
a
June
morning
.
Berkeley
looked
up
confusedly
,
impatiently
.
"
You
are
never
thinking
but
of
horses
or
women
,
"
he
said
,
peevishly
;
"
there
may
be
other
things
in
the
world
,
surely
.
"
"
Indisputably
there
are
other
things
in
the
world
,
dear
boy
,
but
none
so
much
to
my
taste
,
"
said
Cecil
,
composedly
,
stretching
himself
with
a
yawn
.
"
With
every
regard
to
hospitality
,
and
the
charms
of
your
society
,
might
I
hint
that
five
o'clock
in
the
morning
is
not
precisely
the
most
suitable
hour
for
social
visits
and
ethical
questions
?
"
"
For
God
's
sake
be
serious
,
Bertie
!
I
am
the
most
miserable
wretch
in
creation
.
"
Cecil
opened
his
closed
eyes
,
with
the
sleepy
indifference
vanished
from
them
,
and
a
look
of
genuine
and
affectionate
concern
on
the
serene
insouciance
of
his
face
.
"
Ah
,
you
would
stay
and
play
that
chicken
hazard
,
"
he
thought
,
but
he
was
not
one
who
would
have
reminded
the
boy
of
his
own
advice
and
its
rejection
;
he
looked
at
him
in
silence
a
moment
,
then
raised
himself
with
a
sigh
.
"
Dear
boy
,
why
did
n't
you
sleep
upon
it
?
I
never
think
of
disagreeable
things
till
they
wake
me
with
my
coffee
;
then
I
take
them
up
with
the
cup
and
put
them
down
with
it
.
You
do
n't
know
how
well
it
answers
;
it
disposes
of
them
wonderfully
.
"
The
boy
lifted
his
head
with
a
quick
,
reproachful
anger
,
and
in
the
gaslight
his
cheeks
were
flushed
,
his
eyes
full
of
tears
.
"
How
brutal
you
are
,
Bertie
!
I
tell
you
I
am
ruined
,
and
you
care
no
more
than
if
you
were
a
stone
.
You
only
think
of
yourself
;
you
only
live
for
yourself
!
"
He
had
forgotten
the
money
that
had
been
tossed
to
him
off
that
very
table
the
day
before
the
Grand
Military
;
he
had
forgotten
the
debts
that
had
been
paid
for
him
out
of
the
winnings
of
that
very
race
.
There
is
a
childish
,
wayward
,
wailing
temper
,
which
never
counts
benefits
received
save
as
title-deeds
by
which
to
demand
other
.
Cecil
looked
at
him
with
just
a
shadow
of
regret
,
not
reproachful
enough
to
be
rebuke
,
in
his
glance
,
but
did
not
defend
himself
in
any
way
against
the
boyishly-passionate
accusation
,
nor
recall
his
own
past
gifts
into
remembrance
.
"
'
Brutal
!
'
What
a
word
,
little
one
.
Nobody
's
brutal
now
;
you
never
see
that
form
now-a-days
.
Come
,
what
is
the
worst
this
time
?
"
Berkeley
looked
sullenly
down
on
the
table
where
his
elbows
leaned
,
scattering
the
rose-notes
,
the
French
novels
,
the
cigarettes
,
and
the
gold
essence-bottles
with
which
it
was
strewn
;
there
was
something
dogged
yet
agitated
,
half-insolent
,
yet
half-timidly
irresolute
upon
him
that
was
new
there
.
"
The
worst
is
soon
told
,
"
he
said
,
huskily
,
and
his
teeth
chattered
together
slightly
as
though
with
cold
as
he
spoke
:
"
I
lost
two
hundred
to-night
;
I
must
pay
it
,
or
be
disgraced
for
ever
;
I
have
not
a
farthing
;
I
cannot
get
the
money
for
my
life
;
no
Jews
will
lend
to
me
,
I
am
under
age
;
and
—
and
—
—
"
his
voice
sank
lower
and
grew
more
defiant
,
for
he
knew
that
the
sole
thing
forbidden
him
peremptorily
by
both
his
father
and
his
brothers
was
the
thing
he
had
now
to
tell
,
"
and
—
I
borrowed
three
ponies
of
Granville
Lee
yesterday
,
as
he
came
from
the
Corner
with
a
lot
of
bank-notes
after
settling-day
.
I
told
him
I
would
pay
them
to-morrow
;
I
made
sure
I
should
have
won
to-night
.
"
The
piteous
unreason
of
the
born
gamester
,
who
clings
so
madly
to
the
belief
that
luck
must
come
to
him
,
and
acts
on
that
belief
as
though
a
bank
were
his
to
lose
his
gold
from
,
was
never
more
utterly
spoken
in
all
its
folly
,
in
all
its
pitiable
opticism
,
than
now
in
the
boy
's
confession
.
Bertie
started
from
his
chair
,
his
sleepy
languor
dissipated
,
on
his
face
the
look
that
had
come
there
when
Lord
Royallieu
had
dishonoured
his
mother
's
name
.
In
his
code
there
was
one
shameless
piece
of
utter
and
unmentionable
degradation
—
it
was
to
borrow
of
a
friend
.
"
You
will
bring
some
disgrace
on
us
before
you
die
,
Berkeley
,
"
he
said
,
with
a
keener
infliction
of
pain
and
contempt
than
had
ever
been
in
his
voice
.
"
Have
you
no
common
knowledge
of
honour
?
"
The
lad
flushed
under
the
lash
of
the
words
,
but
it
was
a
flush
of
anger
rather
than
of
shame
;
he
did
not
lift
his
eyes
,
but
gazed
sullenly
down
on
the
yellow
paper
of
a
Paris
romance
he
was
irritably
dogearing
.
"
You
are
severe
enough
,
"
he
said
,
gloomily
,
and
yet
insolently
.
"
Are
you
such
a
mirror
of
honour
yourself
?
I
suppose
my
debts
at
the
worst
are
about
one-fifth
of
yours
.
"
For
a
moment
even
the
sweetness
of
Cecil
's
temper
almost
gave
way
.
Be
his
debts
what
they
would
,
there
was
not
one
among
them
to
his
friends
,
or
one
for
which
the
law
could
not
seize
him
.
He
was
silent
;
he
did
not
wish
to
have
a
scene
of
dissension
with
one
who
was
but
a
child
to
him
;
moreover
,
it
was
his
nature
to
abhor
scenes
of
any
sort
,
and
to
avert
even
a
dispute
at
any
cost
.
He
came
back
and
sat
down
without
any
change
of
expression
,
putting
his
cheroot
in
his
mouth
.
"
Très
cher
,
you
are
not
courteous
,
"
he
said
,
wearily
,
"
but
it
may
be
that
you
are
right
.
I
am
not
a
good
one
for
you
to
copy
from
in
anything
,
except
the
fit
of
my
coats
;
I
do
n't
think
I
ever
told
you
I
was
.
I
am
not
altogether
so
satisfied
with
myself
as
to
suggest
myself
as
a
model
for
anything
,
unless
it
were
to
stand
in
a
tailor
's
window
in
Bond-street
to
show
the
muffs
how
to
dress
.
That
is
n't
the
point
,
though
;
you
say
you
want
near
300
l
.
by
to-morrow
—
to-day
rather
.
I
can
suggest
nothing
except
to
take
the
morning
mail
to
the
Shires
,
and
ask
Royal
straight
out
;
he
never
refuses
you
.
"
Berkeley
looked
at
him
with
a
bewildered
terror
that
banished
at
a
stroke
his
sullen
defiance
;
he
was
irresolute
as
a
girl
,
and
keenly
moved
by
fear
.
"
I
would
rather
cut
my
throat
,
"
he
said
,
with
a
wild
exaggeration
that
was
but
the
literal
reflexion
of
the
trepidation
on
him
;
"
as
I
live
I
would
!
I
have
had
so
much
from
him
lately
—
you
do
n't
know
how
much
—
and
now
of
all
times
when
they
threaten
to
foreclose
the
mortgage
on
Royallieu
—
—
"
"
What
?
Foreclose
what
?
"
"
The
mortgage
!
"
answered
Berkeley
,
impatiently
;
to
his
childish
egotism
it
seemed
cruel
and
intolerable
that
any
extremities
should
be
considered
save
his
own
.
"
You
know
the
lands
are
mortgaged
as
deeply
as
Monti
and
the
entail
would
allow
them
.
They
threatened
to
foreclose
—
I
think
that
's
the
word
—
and
Royal
has
had
God
knows
what
work
to
stave
them
off
;
I
no
more
dare
face
him
,
and
ask
him
for
a
sovereign
now
,
than
I
dare
ask
him
to
give
me
the
gold
plate
off
the
sideboard
.
"
Cecil
listened
gravely
;
it
cut
him
more
keenly
than
he
showed
to
learn
the
evils
and
the
ruin
that
so
closely
menaced
his
house
;
and
to
find
how
entirely
his
father
's
morbid
mania
against
him
severed
him
from
all
the
interests
and
all
the
confidence
of
his
family
,
and
left
him
ignorant
of
matters
even
so
nearly
touching
him
as
these
.
"
Your
intelligence
is
not
cheerful
,
little
one
,
"
he
said
,
with
a
languid
stretch
of
his
limbs
;
it
was
his
nature
to
glide
off
painful
subjects
.
"
And
—
I
really
am
sleepy
!
You
think
there
is
no
hope
Royal
would
help
you
?
"
"
I
tell
you
I
will
shoot
myself
through
the
brain
rather
than
ask
him
.
"
Bertie
moved
restlessly
in
the
soft
depths
of
his
lounging-chair
;
he
shunned
worry
,
loathed
it
,
escaped
it
at
every
portal
,
and
here
it
came
to
him
just
when
he
wanted
to
go
to
sleep
.
He
could
not
divest
himself
of
the
feeling
that
,
had
his
own
career
been
different
,
less
extravagant
,
less
dissipated
,
less
indolently
spendthrift
,
he
might
have
exercised
a
better
influence
,
and
his
brother
's
young
life
might
have
been
more
prudently
launched
upon
the
world
.
He
felt
,
too
,
with
a
sharper
pang
than
he
had
ever
felt
it
for
himself
,
the
brilliant
beggary
in
which
he
lived
,
the
utter
inability
he
had
to
raise
even
the
sum
that
the
boy
now
needed
—
a
sum
,
so
trifling
in
his
set
and
with
his
habits
,
that
he
had
betted
it
over
and
over
again
in
a
club-room
on
a
single
game
of
whist
.
It
cut
him
with
a
bitter
impatient
pain
;
he
was
as
generous
as
the
winds
,
and
there
is
no
trial
keener
to
such
a
temper
than
the
poverty
that
paralyses
its
power
to
give
.
"
It
is
no
use
to
give
you
false
hopes
,
young
one
,
"
he
said
,
gently
.
"
I
can
do
nothing
!
You
ought
to
know
me
by
this
time
;
and
,
if
you
do
,
you
know
,
too
,
that
if
the
money
were
mine
it
should
be
yours
at
a
word
;
—
if
you
do
n't
,
no
matter
!
Frankly
,
Berke
,
I
am
all
down-hill
.
My
bills
may
be
called
in
any
moment
;
when
they
are
,
I
must
send
in
my
papers
to
sell
,
and
cut
the
country
,
if
my
duns
do
n't
catch
me
before
—
which
they
probably
will
—
in
which
event
I
shall
be
to
all
intents
and
purposes
—
dead
.
This
is
not
lively
conversation
,
but
you
will
do
me
the
justice
to
say
that
it
was
not
I
who
introduced
it
.
Only
—
one
word
for
all
,
my
boy
,
understand
this
:
if
I
could
help
you
I
would
,
cost
what
it
might
;
but
,
as
matters
stand
—
I
cannot
.
"
And
with
that
Cecil
puffed
a
great
cloud
of
smoke
to
envelop
him
;
the
subject
was
painful
;
the
denial
wounded
him
by
whom
it
had
to
be
given
full
as
much
as
it
could
wound
him
whom
it
refused
.
Berkeley
heard
it
in
silence
,
his
head
still
hung
down
,
his
colour
changing
,
his
hands
nervously
playing
with
the
bouquet-bottles
,
shutting
and
opening
their
gold
tops
.
"
No
—
yes
—
I
know
,
"
he
said
,
hurriedly
;
"
I
have
no
right
to
expect
it
,
and
have
been
behaving
like
a
cur
,
and
—
and
—
all
that
I
know
.
But
—
—
there
is
one
way
you
could
save
me
,
Bertie
,
if
it
is
n't
too
much
for
a
fellow
to
ask
.
"
"
I
ca
n't
say
I
see
the
way
,
little
one
,
"
said
Cecil
,
with
a
sigh
.
"
What
is
it
?
"
"
Why
—
look
here
.
You
see
,
I
'm
not
of
age
;
my
signature
is
of
no
use
;
they
wo
n't
take
it
;
else
I
could
get
money
in
no
time
on
what
must
come
to
me
when
Royal
dies
;
though
'
tis
n't
enough
to
make
the
Jews
'
melt
'
at
a
risk
.
Now
—
now
—
look
here
.
I
ca
n't
see
that
there
could
be
any
harm
in
it
.
You
are
such
chums
with
Lord
Rockingham
,
and
he
's
as
rich
as
all
the
Jews
put
together
.
What
could
there
be
in
it
if
you
just
asked
him
to
lend
you
a
monkey
for
me
?
He
'd
do
it
in
a
minute
,
because
he
'd
give
his
head
away
to
you
—
they
all
say
so
—
and
he
'd
never
miss
it
.
Now
,
Bertie
—
—
will
you
?
"
In
his
boyish
incoherence
and
its
disjointed
inelegance
the
appeal
was
panted
out
rather
than
spoken
,
and
while
his
head
drooped
and
the
hot
colour
burned
in
his
face
,
he
darted
a
swift
look
at
his
brother
,
so
full
of
dread
and
misery
that
it
pierced
Cecil
to
the
quick
as
he
rose
from
his
chair
and
paced
the
room
,
flinging
his
cheroot
aside
;
the
look
disarmed
the
reply
that
was
on
his
lips
,
but
his
face
grew
dark
.
"
What
you
ask
is
impossible
,
"
he
said
,
briefly
.
"
If
I
did
such
a
thing
as
that
,
I
should
deserve
to
be
hounded
out
of
the
Guards
to-morrow
.
"
The
boy
's
face
grew
more
sullen
,
more
haggard
,
more
evil
,
as
he
still
bent
his
arms
on
the
table
,
his
glance
not
meeting
his
brother
's
.
"
You
speak
as
if
it
would
be
a
crime
,
"
he
muttered
,
savagely
,
with
a
plaintive
moan
of
pain
in
the
tone
;
he
thought
himself
cruelly
dealt
with
,
and
unjustly
punished
.
"
It
would
be
the
trick
of
a
swindler
,
and
it
would
be
the
shame
of
a
gentleman
,
"
said
Cecil
,
as
briefly
still
.
"
That
is
answer
enough
.
"
"
Then
you
will
not
do
it
?
"
"
I
have
replied
already
.
"
There
was
that
in
the
tone
,
and
in
the
look
with
which
he
paused
before
the
table
,
that
Berkeley
had
never
heard
or
seen
in
him
before
;
something
that
made
the
supple
,
childish
,
petulant
,
cowardly
nature
of
the
boy
shrink
and
be
silenced
;
something
for
a
single
instant
of
the
haughty
and
untameable
temper
of
the
Royallieu
blood
that
awoke
in
the
too
feminine
softness
and
sweetness
of
Cecil
's
disposition
.
"
You
said
that
you
would
aid
me
at
any
cost
,
and
now
that
I
ask
you
so
wretched
a
trifle
,
you
treat
me
as
if
I
were
a
scoundrel
,
"
he
moaned
,
passionately
.
"
The
Seraph
would
give
you
the
money
at
a
word
.
It
is
your
pride
—
nothing
but
pride
.
Much
pride
is
worth
to
us
who
are
penniless
beggars
!
"
"
If
we
are
penniless
beggars
,
by
what
right
should
we
borrow
of
other
men
?
"
"
You
are
wonderfully
scrupulous
all
of
a
sudden
!
"
Cecil
shrugged
his
shoulders
slightly
and
began
to
smoke
again
.
He
did
not
attempt
to
push
the
argument
.
His
character
was
too
indolent
to
defend
itself
against
aspersion
,
and
horror
of
a
quarrelsome
scene
far
greater
than
his
heed
of
misconstruction
.
"
You
are
a
brute
to
me
!
"
went
on
the
lad
with
his
querulous
and
bitter
passion
rising
almost
to
tears
like
a
woman
's
.
"
You
pretend
you
can
refuse
me
nothing
;
and
the
moment
I
ask
you
the
smallest
thing
,
you
turn
round
on
me
,
and
speak
as
if
I
were
the
greatest
blackguard
on
earth
.
You
'll
let
me
go
to
the
bad
to-morrow
,
rather
than
bend
your
pride
to
save
me
;
you
live
like
a
Duke
,
and
do
n't
care
if
I
should
die
in
a
debtors
'
prison
!
You
only
brag
about
'
honour
'
when
you
want
to
get
out
of
helping
a
fellow
,
and
if
I
were
to
cut
my
throat
to-night
you
would
only
shrug
your
shoulders
,
and
sneer
at
my
death
in
the
club-room
,
with
a
jest
picked
out
of
your
cursed
French
novels
!
"
"
Melodramatic
,
and
scarcely
correct
,
"
murmured
Bertie
.
The
ingratitude
to
himself
touched
him
indeed
but
little
,
he
was
not
given
to
making
much
of
anything
that
was
due
to
himself
,
partly
through
carelessness
,
partly
through
generosity
;
but
the
absence
in
his
brother
of
that
delicate
,
intangible
,
indescribable
sensitive-nerve
which
men
call
Honour
,
an
absence
that
had
never
struck
on
him
so
vividly
as
it
did
tonight
,
troubled
him
,
surprised
him
,
oppressed
him
.
There
is
no
science
that
can
supply
this
defect
to
the
temperament
created
without
it
;
it
may
be
taught
a
counterfeit
,
but
it
will
never
own
a
reality
.
"
Little
one
,
you
are
heated
,
and
do
n't
know
what
you
say
,
"
he
began
,
very
gently
,
a
few
moments
later
,
as
he
leaned
forward
and
looked
straight
in
the
boy
's
eyes
;
"
do
n't
be
down
about
this
;
you
will
pull
through
,
never
fear
.
Listen
to
me
;
go
down
to
Royal
,
and
tell
him
all
frankly
.
I
know
him
better
than
you
;
he
will
be
savage
for
a
second
,
but
he
would
sell
every
stick
and
stone
on
the
land
for
your
sake
;
he
will
see
you
safe
through
this
.
Only
bear
one
thing
in
mind
—
tell
him
all
.
No
half
measures
,
no
half
confidences
;
tell
him
the
worst
,
and
ask
his
help
.
You
will
not
come
back
without
it
.
"
Berkeley
listened
,
his
eyes
shunning
his
brother
's
,
the
red
colour
darker
on
his
face
.
"
Do
as
I
say
,
"
said
Cecil
,
very
gently
still
.
"
Tell
him
,
if
you
like
,
that
it
is
through
following
my
follies
that
you
have
come
to
grief
;
he
will
be
sure
to
pity
you
then
.
"
There
was
a
smile
,
a
little
sad
,
on
his
lips
as
he
said
the
last
words
,
but
it
passed
at
once
as
he
added
:
"
Do
you
hear
me
?
Will
you
go
?
"
"
If
you
want
me
—
yes
.
"
"
On
your
word
,
now
?
"
"
On
my
word
.
"
There
was
an
impatience
in
the
answer
,
a
feverish
eagerness
in
the
way
he
assented
,
that
might
have
made
the
consent
rather
a
means
to
evade
the
pressure
than
a
genuine
pledge
to
follow
the
advice
;
that
darker
,
more
evil
,
more
defiant
look
,
was
still
upon
his
face
,
sweeping
its
youth
away
and
leaving
in
its
stead
a
wavering
shadow
.
He
rose
with
a
sudden
movement
;
his
tumbled
hair
,
his
disordered
attire
,
his
bloodshot
eyes
,
his
haggard
look
of
sleeplessness
and
excitement
,
in
strange
contrast
with
the
easy
perfection
of
Cecil
's
dress
,
and
the
calm
languor
of
his
attitude
.
The
boy
was
very
young
,
and
was
not
seasoned
to
his
life
and
acclimatised
to
his
ruin
like
his
elder
brother
.
He
looked
at
him
with
a
certain
petulant
envy
;
the
envy
of
every
young
fellow
for
a
man
of
the
world
.
"
I
beg
your
pardon
for
keeping
you
up
,
Bertie
,
"
he
said
,
huskily
.
"
Good
night
.
"
Cecil
gave
a
little
yawn
.
"
Dear
boy
,
it
would
have
been
better
if
you
could
have
come
in
with
the
coffee
.
Never
be
impulsive
;
do
n't
do
a
bit
of
good
,
and
is
such
a
bad
form
!
"
He
spoke
lightly
,
serenely
,
both
because
such
was
as
much
his
nature
as
it
was
to
breathe
,
and
because
his
heart
was
heavy
that
he
had
to
send
away
the
young
one
without
help
,
though
he
knew
that
the
course
he
had
made
him
adopt
would
serve
him
more
permanently
in
the
end
.
But
he
leant
his
hand
a
second
on
Berke
's
shoulder
,
while
for
one
single
moment
in
his
life
he
grew
serious
.
"
You
must
know
I
could
not
do
what
you
asked
;
I
could
not
meet
any
man
in
the
Guards
face
to
face
if
I
sunk
myself
and
sunk
them
so
low
.
Ca
n't
you
see
that
,
little
one
?
"
There
was
a
wishfulness
in
the
last
words
;
he
would
gladly
have
believed
that
his
brother
had
at
length
some
perception
of
his
meaning
.
"
You
say
so
,
and
that
is
enough
,
"
said
the
boy
,
pettishly
.
"
I
cannot
understand
that
I
asked
anything
so
dreadful
,
but
I
suppose
you
have
too
many
needs
of
your
own
to
have
any
resources
left
for
mine
.
"
Cecil
shrugged
his
shoulders
slightly
again
,
and
let
him
go
.
But
he
could
not
altogether
banish
a
pang
of
pain
at
his
heart
,
less
even
for
his
brother
's
ingratitude
,
than
at
his
callousness
to
all
those
finer
better
instincts
of
which
honour
is
the
concrete
name
.
For
the
moment
,
thought
,
grave
,
weary
,
and
darkened
,
fell
on
him
;
he
had
passed
through
what
he
would
have
suffered
any
amount
of
misconstruction
to
escape
—
a
disagreeable
scene
;
he
had
been
as
unable
as
though
he
were
a
Commissionaire
in
the
streets
,
to
advance
a
step
to
succour
the
necessities
for
which
his
help
had
been
asked
;
and
he
was
forced
,
despite
all
his
will
,
to
look
for
the
first
time
blankly
in
the
face
the
ruin
that
awaited
him
.
There
was
no
other
name
for
it
:
it
would
be
ruin
complete
and
wholly
inevitable
.
His
signature
would
have
been
accepted
no
more
by
any
bill-discounter
in
London
;
he
had
forestalled
all
to
the
uttermost
farthing
;
his
debts
pressed
heavier
every
day
;
he
could
have
no
power
to
avert
the
crash
that
must
in
a
few
weeks
,
or
at
most
a
few
months
,
fall
upon
him
.
And
to
him
an
utter
blankness
and
darkness
lay
beyond
.
Barred
out
from
the
only
life
he
knew
,
the
only
life
that
seemed
to
him
endurable
or
worth
the
living
;
severed
from
all
the
pleasures
,
pursuits
,
habits
,
and
luxuries
of
long
custom
;
deprived
of
all
that
had
become
to
him
as
second
nature
from
childhood
;
sold
up
,
penniless
,
driven
out
from
all
that
he
had
known
as
the
very
necessities
of
existence
,
his
very
name
forgotten
in
the
world
of
which
he
was
now
the
darling
,
a
man
without
a
career
,
without
a
hope
,
without
a
refuge
—
he
could
not
realise
that
this
was
what
awaited
him
then
;
this
was
the
fate
that
must
within
so
short
space
be
his
.
Life
had
gone
so
smoothly
with
him
,
and
his
world
was
a
world
from
whose
surface
every
distasteful
thought
was
so
habitually
excluded
,
that
he
could
no
more
understand
this
desolation
lying
in
wait
for
him
,
than
one
in
the
fulness
and
elasticity
of
health
can
believe
the
doom
that
tells
him
he
will
be
a
dead
man
before
the
sun
has
set
.
As
he
sat
there
,
with
the
gas
of
the
mirror
branches
glancing
on
the
gold
and
silver
hilts
of
the
crossed
swords
above
the
fireplace
,
and
the
smoke
of
his
cheroot
curling
amongst
the
pile
of
invitation-cards
to
all
the
best
houses
in
the
town
,
Cecil
could
not
bring
himself
to
believe
that
things
were
really
come
to
this
pass
with
him
;
it
is
so
hard
for
a
man
who
has
the
magnificence
of
the
fashionable
clubs
open
to
him
day
and
night
to
beat
into
his
brain
the
truth
that
in
six
months
hence
he
may
be
lying
in
the
debtors
'
prison
at
Baden
;
it
is
so
difficult
for
a
man
who
has
had
no
greater
care
on
his
mind
than
to
plan
the
courtesies
of
a
Guards
'
Ball
or
of
a
yacht
's
summer-day
banquet
,
to
absolutely
conceive
the
fact
that
in
a
year
's
time
he
will
thank
God
if
he
have
a
few
francs
left
to
pay
for
a
wretched
dinner
in
a
miserable
estaminet
in
a
foreign
bathing-place
.
"
It
may
n't
come
to
that
,
"
he
thought
;
"
something
may
happen
.
If
I
could
get
my
troop
now
,
that
would
stave
off
the
Jews
;
or
if
I
should
win
some
heavy
pots
on
the
Prix
de
Dames
,
things
would
swim
on
again
.
I
must
win
;
the
King
will
be
as
fit
as
in
the
Shires
,
and
there
will
only
be
the
French
horses
between
us
and
an
absolute
'
walk
over
.
'
Things
may
n't
come
to
the
worst
after
all
.
"
And
so
careless
and
quickly
oblivious
,
happily
or
unhappily
,
was
his
temperament
,
that
he
read
himself
to
sleep
with
Terrail
's
"
Club
des
Valets
de
Coeur
,
"
and
slept
in
ten
minutes
'
time
as
composedly
as
though
he
had
heard
he
had
inherited
fifty
thousand
a
year
.
That
evening
,
in
the
loose-box
down
at
Royallieu
,
Forest
King
stood
without
any
body-clothing
,
for
the
night
was
close
and
sultry
;
a
lock
of
the
sweetest
hay
unnoticed
in
his
rack
,
and
his
favourite
wheaten-gruel
standing
uncared-for
under
his
very
nose
:
the
King
was
in
the
height
of
excitation
,
alarm
,
and
haughty
wrath
.
His
ears
were
laid
flat
to
his
head
,
his
nostrils
were
distended
,
his
eyes
were
glancing
uneasily
with
a
nervous
angry
fire
rarely
in
him
,
and
ever
and
anon
he
lashed
out
his
heels
with
a
tremendous
thundering
thud
against
the
opposite
wall
with
a
force
that
reverberated
through
the
stables
,
and
made
his
companions
start
and
edge
away
.
It
was
precisely
these
companions
that
the
aristocratic
hero
of
the
Soldiers
'
Blue
Riband
scornfully
abhorred
.
They
had
just
been
looking
him
over
—
to
their
own
imminent
peril
—
and
the
patrician
winner
of
the
Vase
,
the
brilliant
six-year-old
of
Paris
,
and
Shire
and
Spa
steeple-chase
fame
,
the
knightly
descendant
of
the
White
Cockade
blood
,
and
of
the
coursers
of
Circassia
,
had
resented
the
familiarity
proportionately
to
his
own
renown
and
dignity
.
The
King
was
a
very
sweet-tempered
horse
,
a
perfect
temper
,
indeed
,
and
ductile
to
a
touch
from
those
he
loved
;
but
he
liked
very
few
,
and
would
suffer
liberties
from
none
.
And
of
a
truth
his
prejudices
were
very
just
;
and
if
his
clever
heels
had
caught
—
as
it
was
not
his
fault
that
they
did
not
—
the
heads
of
his
two
companions
,
instead
of
coming
with
that
ponderous
crash
into
the
panels
of
his
box
,
society
would
certainly
have
been
no
loser
,
and
his
owner
would
have
gained
more
than
had
ever
before
hung
in
the
careless
balance
of
his
life
.
But
the
iron
heels
with
their
shining
plates
only
caught
the
oak
of
his
box-door
;
and
the
tête-à-tête
in
the
sultry
oppressive
night
went
on
as
the
speakers
moved
to
a
prudent
distance
,
one
of
them
thoughtfully
chewing
a
bit
of
straw
,
after
the
immemorial
habit
of
grooms
,
who
ever
seem
as
if
they
had
been
born
into
this
world
with
a
corn-stalk
ready
in
their
mouths
.
"
It
's
a'most
a
pity
—
he
's
in
such
perfect
condition
.
Tiptop
.
Cool
as
a
cucumber
after
the
longest
pipe-opener
;
licks
his
oats
up
to
the
last
grain
;
leads
the
whole
string
such
a
rattling
spin
as
never
was
spun
but
by
a
Derby
cracker
before
him
.
It
's
a'most
a
pity
,
"
said
Willon
,
meditatively
,
eyeing
his
charge
,
the
King
,
with
remorseful
glances
.
"
Prut
—
tush
—
tish
!
"
said
his
companion
,
with
a
whistle
in
his
teeth
that
ended
with
a
"
damnation
!
"
"
It
'll
only
knock
him
over
for
the
race
;
he
'll
be
right
as
a
trivet
after
it
.
What
's
your
little
game
,
coming
it
soft
like
that
all
of
a
sudden
?
You
hate
that
ere
young
swell
like
pison
.
"
"
Ay
,
"
assented
the
head
groom
,
with
a
tigerish
energy
,
viciously
consuming
his
bit
of
straw
.
"
What
for
am
I
—
head
groom
come
nigh
twenty
years
;
and
to
Markisses
and
Wiscounts
afore
him
—
put
aside
in
that
ere
way
for
a
fellow
as
he
's
took
into
his
service
out
of
the
dregs
of
a
regiment
,
what
was
tied
up
at
the
triangles
and
branded
D
,
as
I
know
on
,
and
sore
suspected
of
even
worse
games
than
that
,
and
now
is
that
set
up
with
pride
and
sich-like
,
that
nobody
's
woice
ai
n't
heard
here
except
his
;
I
say
what
am
I
called
on
to
bear
it
for
?
"
and
the
head
groom
's
tones
grew
hoarse
and
vehement
,
roaring
louder
under
his
injuries
.
"
A
man
what
's
attended
on
Dukes
'
'
osses
ever
since
he
was
a
shaver
,
to
be
put
aside
for
that
workhus
blackguard
!
A
'
oss
has
a
cold
—
it
's
Rake
's
mash
what
's
to
be
given
.
A
'
oss
is
off
his
feed
—
it
's
Rake
what
's
to
weigh
out
the
nitre
and
steel
.
A
'
oss
is
a
buck-jumper
—
it
's
Rake
what
's
to
cure
him
.
A
'
oss
is
entered
for
a
race
—
it
's
Rake
what
's
to
order
his
mornin
'
gallops
,
and
his
go-downs
o
'
water
.
It
's
past
bearin
'
to
have
a
rascally
chap
what
's
been
and
gone
and
turned
walet
,
set
up
over
one
's
head
in
one
's
own
establishment
,
and
let
to
ride
the
high
'
oss
over
one
roughshod
like
that
!
"
And
Mr.
Willon
,
in
his
disgust
at
the
equestrian
contumely
thus
heaped
on
him
,
bit
the
straw
savagely
in
two
,
and
made
an
end
of
it
,
with
a
vindictive
"
Will
yer
be
quiet
there
:
blow
yer
,
"
to
the
King
,
who
was
protesting
with
his
heels
against
the
conversation
.
"
Come
,
then
,
no
gammon
,
"
growled
his
companion
—
the
"
cousin
out
o
'
Yorkshire
"
of
the
keeper
's
tree
.
"
What
's
yer
figure
you
say
?
"
relented
Willon
,
meditatively
.
"
Two
thousand
to
nothin
'
—
come
!
—
ca
n't
no
handsomer
,
"
retorted
the
Yorkshire
cousin
,
with
the
air
of
a
man
conscious
of
behaving
very
nobly
.
"
For
the
race
in
Germany
?
"
pursued
Mr.
Willon
,
still
meditatively
.
"
Two
thousand
to
nothin
'
—
come
!
"
reiterated
the
other
,
with
his
arms
folded
to
intimate
that
this
and
nothing
else
was
the
figure
to
which
he
would
bind
himself
.
Willon
chewed
another
bit
of
straw
,
glanced
at
the
horse
as
though
he
were
a
human
thing
to
hear
,
to
witness
,
and
to
judge
;
grew
a
little
pale
;
and
stooped
forward
.
"
Hush
!
Somebody
'll
spy
on
us
.
It
's
a
bargain
.
"
"
Done
.
And
you
'll
paint
him
,
eh
?
"
"
Yes
—
I
'll
—
paint
him
.
"
The
assent
was
very
husky
,
and
dragged
slowly
out
,
while
his
eyes
glanced
with
a
furtive
,
frightened
glance
over
the
loose-box
.
Then
—
still
with
that
cringing
,
terrified
look
backward
to
the
horse
as
an
assassin
may
steal
a
glance
before
his
deed
at
his
unconscious
victim
—
the
head
groom
and
his
comrade
went
out
and
closed
the
door
of
the
loose-box
and
passed
into
the
hot
lowering
summer
night
.
Forest
King
,
left
in
solitude
,
shook
himself
with
a
neigh
;
took
a
refreshing
roll
in
the
straw
,
and
turned
with
an
appetite
to
his
neglected
gruel
.
Unhappily
for
himself
,
his
fine
instincts
could
not
teach
him
the
conspiracy
that
lay
in
wait
for
him
and
his
;
and
the
gallant
beast
,
content
to
be
alone
,
soon
slept
the
sleep
of
the
righteous
.
CHAPTER
VIII
.
A
STAG
HUNT
AU
CLAIR
DE
LA
LUNE
.
"
Seraph
—
I
've
been
thinking
"
—
said
Cecil
,
musingly
,
as
they
paced
homeward
together
from
the
Scrubs
,
with
the
long
line
of
the
First
Life
stretching
before
and
behind
their
chargers
,
and
the
bands
of
the
Household
Cavalry
playing
mellowly
in
their
rear
.
"
You
do
n't
mean
it
.
Never
let
it
ooze
out
,
Beauty
;
you
'll
ruin
your
reputation
!
"
Cecil
laughed
a
little
,
very
languidly
;
to
have
been
in
the
sun
for
four
hours
,
in
full
harness
,
had
almost
taken
out
of
him
any
power
to
be
amused
at
anything
.
"
I
've
been
thinking
,
"
he
went
on
,
undisturbed
,
pulling
down
his
chin-scale
.
"
What
's
a
fellow
to
do
when
he
's
smashed
?
"
"
Eh
?
"
The
Seraph
could
n't
offer
a
suggestion
;
he
had
a
vague
idea
that
men
who
were
smashed
never
did
do
anything
except
accept
the
smashing
;
unless
,
indeed
,
they
turned
up
afterwards
as
touts
,
of
which
he
had
an
equally
vague
suspicion
.
"
What
do
they
do
?
"
pursued
Bertie
.
"
Go
to
the
bad
,
"
finally
suggested
the
Seraph
,
lighting
a
great
cigar
,
without
heeding
the
presence
of
the
Duke
,
a
Field-Marshal
,
and
a
Serene
Highness
far
on
in
front
.
Cecil
shook
his
head
.
"
Ca
n't
go
where
they
are
already
.
I
've
been
thinking
what
a
fellow
might
do
that
was
up
a
tree
;
and
on
my
honour
there
are
lots
of
things
one
might
turn
to
—
—
"
"
Well
,
I
suppose
there
are
,
"
assented
the
Seraph
,
with
a
shake
of
his
superb
limbs
in
his
saddle
,
till
his
cuirass
,
and
chains
,
and
scabbard
rang
again
.
"
I
should
try
the
P.
R
.
,
only
they
will
have
you
train
.
"
"
One
might
do
better
than
the
P.
R
.
Getting
yourself
into
prime
condition
,
only
to
be
pounded
out
of
condition
and
into
a
jelly
,
seems
hardly
logical
or
satisfactory
—
specially
to
your
looking-glass
;
though
,
of
course
,
it
's
a
matter
of
taste
.
But
now
,
if
I
had
a
cropper
,
and
got
sold
up
—
—
"
"
You
,
Beauty
?
"
The
Seraph
puffed
a
giant
puff
of
amazement
from
his
havannah
,
opening
his
blue
eyes
to
their
widest
.
"
Possible
!
"
returned
Bertie
,
serenely
,
with
a
nonchalant
twist
to
his
moustaches
.
"
Anything
's
possible
.
If
I
do
now
,
it
strikes
me
there
are
vast
fields
open
.
"
"
Gold
fields
?
"
suggested
the
Seraph
,
wholly
bewildered
—
—
"
Gold
fields
?
No
!
I
mean
a
field
for
—
what
d'ye
call
it
—
genius
.
Now
,
look
here
;
nine-tenths
of
creatures
in
this
world
do
n't
know
how
to
put
on
a
glove
.
It
's
an
art
,
and
an
art
that
requires
long
study
.
If
a
few
of
us
were
to
turn
glove-fitters
when
we
are
fairly
crashed
,
we
might
civilise
the
whole
world
,
and
prevent
the
deformity
of
an
ill-fitting
glove
ever
blotting
creation
and
prostituting
Houbigant
.
What
do
you
say
?
"
"
Do
n't
be
such
a
donkey
,
Beauty
,
"
laughed
the
Seraph
,
while
his
charger
threatened
to
passage
into
an
oyster-cart
.
"
You
do
n't
appreciate
the
majesty
of
great
plans
,
"
rejoined
Beauty
,
reprovingly
.
"
There
's
an
immense
deal
in
what
I
'm
saying
.
Think
what
we
might
do
for
society
,
—
think
how
we
might
extinguish
snobbery
,
if
we
just
dedicated
our
smash
to
Mankind
.
We
might
open
a
College
,
where
the
traders
might
go
through
a
course
of
polite
training
before
they
blossomed
out
as
millionaires
;
the
world
would
be
spared
an
agony
of
dropped
H
's
and
bad
bows
.
We
might
have
a
Bureau
where
we
registered
all
our
social
experiences
,
and
gave
the
Plutocracy
a
map
of
Belgravia
,
with
all
the
pitfalls
marked
,
all
the
inaccessible
heights
coloured
red
,
and
all
the
hard-up
great
people
dotted
with
gold
to
show
the
amount
they
'd
be
bought
for
,
with
directions
to
the
ignoramuses
whom
to
know
,
court
,
and
avoid
.
We
might
form
a
Courier
Company
,
and
take
Brummagem
abroad
under
our
guidance
,
so
that
the
Continent
should
n't
think
Englishwomen
always
wear
blue
veils
and
grey
shawls
,
and
hear
every
Englishman
shout
for
porter
and
beefsteak
in
Tortoni
's
.
We
might
teach
them
to
take
their
hats
off
to
women
,
and
not
to
prod
pictures
with
sticks
,
and
to
look
at
statues
without
poking
them
with
an
umbrella
,
and
to
be
persuaded
that
all
foreigners
do
n't
want
to
be
bawled
at
,
and
wo
n't
understand
bad
French
any
the
better
for
its
being
shouted
.
Or
we
might
have
a
Joint-Stock
Toilette
Association
,
for
the
purposes
of
national
art
,
and
receive
Brummagem
to
show
it
how
to
dress
;
we
might
even
succeed
in
making
the
feminine
British
Public
drape
itself
properly
,
and
the
B
.
P.
masculine
wear
boots
that
wo
n't
creak
,
and
coats
that
do
n't
wrinkle
,
and
take
off
its
hat
without
a
jerk
as
though
it
were
a
wooden
puppet
hung
on
very
stiff
strings
.
Or
one
might
—
—
"
"
Talk
the
greatest
nonsense
under
the
sun
!
"
laughed
the
Seraph
.
"
For
mercy
's
sake
,
are
you
mad
,
Bertie
?
"
"
Inevitable
question
addressed
to
Genius
!
"
yawned
Cecil
.
"
I
'm
showing
you
plans
that
might
teach
a
whole
nation
good
style
if
we
just
threw
ourselves
into
it
a
little
.
I
do
n't
mean
you
,
because
you
'll
never
smash
,
and
one
do
n't
turn
bear-leader
,
even
to
the
B
.
P.
,
without
the
primary
impulse
of
being
hard-up
.
And
I
do
n't
talk
for
myself
,
because
,
when
I
go
to
the
dogs
,
I
have
my
own
project
.
"
"
And
what
's
that
?
"
"
To
be
groom
of
the
chambers
at
Meurice
's
or
Claridge
's
,
"
responded
Bertie
,
solemnly
.
"
Those
sublime
creatures
with
their
silver
chains
round
their
necks
,
and
their
ineffable
supremacy
over
every
other
mortal
!
—
one
would
feel
in
a
superior
region
still
.
And
when
a
snob
came
to
poison
the
air
,
how
exquisitely
one
could
annihilate
him
with
showing
him
his
ignorance
of
claret
;
and
when
an
epicure
dined
,
how
delightfully
,
as
one
carried
in
a
turbot
,
one
could
test
him
with
the
éprouvette
positive
,
or
crush
him
by
the
éprouvette
negative
.
We
have
been
Equerries
at
the
Palace
,
both
of
us
,
but
I
do
n't
think
we
know
what
true
dignity
is
till
we
shall
have
risen
to
head
waiters
at
a
Grand
Hotel
.
"
With
which
Bertie
let
his
charger
pace
onward
,
while
he
reflected
thoughtfully
on
his
future
state
.
The
Seraph
laughed
till
he
almost
swayed
out
of
saddle
,
but
he
shook
himself
into
his
balance
again
with
another
clash
of
his
brilliant
harness
,
while
his
eyes
lightened
and
glanced
with
a
fiery
gleam
down
the
line
of
the
Household
Cavalry
.
"
Well
,
if
I
went
to
the
dogs
,
I
would
n't
go
to
Grand
Hotels
,
but
I
'll
tell
you
where
I
would
go
,
Beauty
.
"
"
Where
's
that
?
"
"
Into
hot
service
,
somewhere
.
By
Jove
,
I
'd
see
some
good
fighting
under
another
flag
—
out
in
Algeria
,
there
,
or
with
the
Poles
,
or
after
Garibaldi
.
I
would
,
in
a
day
—
I
'm
not
sure
I
wo
n't
now
,
and
I
bet
you
ten
to
one
the
life
would
be
better
than
this
.
"
Which
was
ungrateful
in
the
Seraph
,
for
his
happy
temper
made
him
the
sunniest
and
most
contented
of
men
,
with
no
cross
in
his
life
save
the
dread
that
somebody
would
manage
to
marry
him
some
day
.
But
Rock
had
the
true
dash
and
true
steel
of
the
soldier
in
him
,
and
his
blue
eyes
flashed
over
his
Guards
as
he
spoke
,
with
a
longing
wish
that
he
were
leading
them
on
to
a
charge
instead
of
pacing
with
them
towards
Hyde
Park
.
Cecil
turned
in
his
saddle
and
looked
at
him
with
a
certain
wonder
and
pleasure
in
his
glance
,
and
did
not
answer
aloud
.
"
The
deuce
—
that
's
not
