urse!" shouted she, "help! help!" Up scuffled all the
other Dowagers--in rushed the dancers. "Mamma! mamma!" squeaked Lady
Julia North Pole. "Lead me to my mother," howled Lady Aurorer: and both
came up and flung themselves into her arms. "Wawt's the raw?" said Lord
Fitzurse, sauntering up quite stately.

"Protect me from the insults of this man," says her Grace. "Where's
Tufthunt? he promised that not a soul in this house should speak to me."

"My dear Duchess," said Tufthunt, very meek.

"Don't Duchess ME, sir. Did you not promise they should not speak;
and hasn't that horrid tipsy wretch offered to embrace me? Didn't his
monstrous wife sicken me with her odious familiarities? Call my people,
Tufthunt! Follow me, my children!"

"And my carriage," "And mine," "And mine!" shouted twenty more voices.
And down they all trooped to the hall: Lady Blanche Bluenose and Lady
Max among the very first; leaving only the Field-Marshal and one or two
men, who roared with laughter ready to split.

"Oh, Sam," said my wife, sobbing, "why would you take me back to them?
they had sent me away before! I only asked the Duchess whether she
didn't like rum-shrub better than all your Maxarinos and Curasosos:
and--would you believe it?--all the company burst out laughing; and the
Duchess told me just to keep off, and not to speak till I was spoken to.
Imperence! I'd like to tear her eyes out."

And so I do believe my dearest Jemmy would!

A DAY WITH THE SURREY HOUNDS.

Our ball had failed so completely that Jemmy, who was bent still
upon fashion, caught eagerly at Tagrag's suggestion, and went down to
Tuggeridgeville. If we had a difficulty to find friends in town, here
there was none: for the whole county came about us, ate our dinners and
suppers, danced at our balls--ay, and spoke to us too. We were great
people in fact: I a regular country gentleman; and as such, Jemmy
insisted that I should be a sportsman, and join the county hunt. "But,"
says I, "my love, I can't ride." "Pooh! Mr. C." said she, "you're always
making difficulties: you thought you couldn't dance a quadrille; you
thought you couldn't dine at seven o'clock; you thought you couldn't lie
in bed after six; and haven't you done every one of these things? You
must and you shall ride!" And when my Jemmy said "must and shall," I
knew very well there was nothing for it: so I sent down fifty guineas to
the hunt, and, out of compliment to me, the very next week, I receive