nday, and strong tea and thistles
through the week," replied Fanny Fitz in furious sarcasm.

"Yes, that's what she looks like," said Rupert Gunning thoughtfully.
"Connolly tells me you want to send her to the show--Barnum's, I
suppose--as the skeleton dude?"

"I believe you want to buy her yourself," retorted Fanny, with a vicious
dab of the soap in the daughter's eye.

"Yes, she's just about up to my weight, isn't she? By-the-bye, you
haven't had her backed yet, I believe?"

"I'm going to try her to-day!" said Fanny with sudden resolve.

"Ride her yourself!" said Mr. Gunning, his eyebrows going up into the
roots of his hair.

"Yes!" said Fanny, with calm as icy as a sudden burst of struggles on
the part of the daughter would admit of.

Rupert Gunning hesitated; then he said, "Well, she ought to carry a
side-saddle well. Decent shoulders, and a nice long--" Perhaps he caught
Fanny Fitz's eye; at all events, he left the commendation unfinished,
and went on, "I should like to look in and see the performance, if I
may? I suppose you wouldn't let me try her first? No?"

He walked on.

"Puppy, _will_ you stay quiet!" said Fanny Fitz very crossly. She even
slapped the daughter's soap-sud muffled person, for no reason that the
daughter could see.

"Begorra, miss, I dunno," said Johnny Connolly dubiously when the
suggestion that the filly should be ridden there and then was made to
him a few minutes later; "wouldn't ye wait till I put her a few turns
under the cart, or maybe threw a sack o' oats on her back?"

But Fanny would brook no delay. Her saddle was in the harness-room:
William O'Loughlin could help to put it on; she would try the filly at
once.

Miss Fitzroy's riding was of the sort that makes up in pluck what it
wants in knowledge. She stuck on by sheer force of character; that she
sat fairly straight, and let a horse's head alone were gifts of
Providence of which she was wholly unconscious. Riding, in her opinion,
was just getting on to a saddle and staying there, and making the thing
under it go as fast as possible. She had always ridden other people's
horses, and had ridden them so straight, and looked so pretty,
that--other people in this connection being usually men--such trifles as
riding out a hard run minus both fore shoes, or watering her mount
generously during a check, were endured with a forbearance not frequent
in horse owners. Hunting people, however, do not generally mount their
friends,