advantageous to her brother. If I were about to open such
a house as the Moonbeam the first thing I should look for would be
a discreet, pleasant-visaged lady to assist me in the bar department,
not much under forty, with ringlets, having no particular leaning
towards matrimony, who knew how to whisper little speeches while she
made a bottle of cherry-brandy serve five-and-twenty turns at the
least. She should be honest, patient, graceful, capable of great
labour, grasping,--with that wonderful capability of being greedy for
the benefit of another which belongs to women,--willing to accept
plentiful meals and a power of saving L20 a year as sufficient
remuneration for all hardships, with no more susceptibility than a
milestone, and as indifferent to delicacy in language as a bargee.
There are such women, and very valuable women they are in that trade.
Such a one was Miss Horsball, and in these days the sweetest of her
smiles were bestowed upon the young Squire.

Ralph Newton certainly liked it, though he assumed an air of laughing
at it all. "One would think that old Hossy thought that I am going to
go on with this kind of thing," he said one morning to Mr. Pepper as
the two of them were standing about near the stable doors with pipes
in their mouths. Old Hossy was the affectionate nickname by which Mr.
Horsball was known among the hunting men of the B. B. Mr. Pepper and
Ralph had already breakfasted, and were dressed for hunting except
that they had not yet put on their scarlet coats. The meet was within
three miles of their head-quarters; the captain and the lieutenant
were taking advantage of the occasion by prolonged slumbers; and
Ralph had passed the morning in discussing hunting matters with Mr.
Pepper.

"He don't think that," said Mr. Pepper, taking a very convenient
little implement out of his pocket, contrived for purposes of
pipe-smoking accommodation. He stopped down his tobacco, and drew the
smoke, and seemed by his manner to be giving his undivided attention
to his pipe. But that was Mr. Pepper's manner. He was short in
speech, but always spoke with a meaning.

"Of course he doesn't really," said Ralph. "I don't suppose I shall
ever see the old house again after next week. You see when a man has
a place of one's own, if there be hunting there, one is bound to take
it; if there isn't, one can go elsewhere and pick and choose."

"Just so," said Mr. Pepper.

"I like this kind of thing amazingly, you know