n the contrary, my dear Reynolds, we never sit
down until about this hour. How people can dine at four or five o'clock,
I cannot conceive. I could not touch a mouthful."

The dinner was excellent, and I paid it the encomiums which were its
due.

"Do not be afraid, my dear fellow--my cook is an _artiste
extraordinaire_--a regular _Cordon Bleu_. You may eat anything without
fear of indigestion. How people can live upon the English cookery of the
present day, I cannot conceive. I seldom dine out, for fear of being
poisoned. Depend upon it, a good cook lengthens your days, and no price
is too great to insure one."

When the ladies retired, being alone, we entered into friendly
conversation. I expressed my admiration of his daughters, who certainly
were very handsome and elegant girls.

"Very true; they are more than passable," replied he. "We have had many
offers, but not such as come up to my expectations. Baronets are cheap
now-a-days, and Irish lords are nothings; I hope to settle them
comfortably. We shall see. Try this claret; you will find it excellent,
not a headache in a hogshead of it. How people can drink port, I cannot
imagine."

The next morning he proposed that I should rattle round the park with
him. I acceded, and we set off in a handsome open carriage, with four
greys, ridden by postilions at a rapid pace. As we were whirling along,
he observed, "In town we must of course drive but a pair, but in the
country I never go out without four horses. There is a spring in four
horses which is delightful; it makes your spirits elastic, and you feel
that the poor animals are not at hard labour. Rather than not drive
four, I would prefer to stay at home."

Our ride was very pleasant, and in such amusements passed away one of
the most pleasant weeks that I ever remembered. Willemott was not the
least altered--he was as friendly, as sincere, as open-hearted, as when
a boy at school. I left him, pleased with his prosperity, and
acknowledging that he was well deserving of it, although his ideas had
assumed such a scale of magnificence.

I went to India when my leave expired, and was absent about four years.
On my return, I inquired after my friend Willemott, and was told, that
his circumstances and expectations had been greatly altered. From many
causes, such as a change in the government, a demand for economy, and
the wording of his contracts having been differently rendered from what
Willemott had supposed their