nces, my lord,' replied Ralph.

'On your lordship's circumstances,' interposed Colonel Chowser of the
Militia--and the race-courses.

The gallant colonel glanced at Messrs Pyke and Pluck as if he thought
they ought to laugh at his joke; but those gentlemen, being only engaged
to laugh for Sir Mulberry Hawk, were, to his signal discomfiture, as
grave as a pair of undertakers. To add to his defeat, Sir Mulberry,
considering any such efforts an invasion of his peculiar privilege,
eyed the offender steadily, through his glass, as if astonished at his
presumption, and audibly stated his impression that it was an 'infernal
liberty,' which being a hint to Lord Frederick, he put up HIS glass,
and surveyed the object of censure as if he were some extraordinary wild
animal then exhibiting for the first time. As a matter of course, Messrs
Pyke and Pluck stared at the individual whom Sir Mulberry Hawk stared
at; so, the poor colonel, to hide his confusion, was reduced to the
necessity of holding his port before his right eye and affecting to
scrutinise its colour with the most lively interest.

All this while, Kate had sat as silently as she could, scarcely daring
to raise her eyes, lest they should encounter the admiring gaze of Lord
Frederick Verisopht, or, what was still more embarrassing, the bold
looks of his friend Sir Mulberry. The latter gentleman was obliging
enough to direct general attention towards her.

'Here is Miss Nickleby,' observed Sir Mulberry, 'wondering why the deuce
somebody doesn't make love to her.'

'No, indeed,' said Kate, looking hastily up, 'I--' and then she stopped,
feeling it would have been better to have said nothing at all.

'I'll hold any man fifty pounds,' said Sir Mulberry, 'that Miss Nickleby
can't look in my face, and tell me she wasn't thinking so.'

'Done!' cried the noble gull. 'Within ten minutes.'

'Done!' responded Sir Mulberry. The money was produced on both sides,
and the Honourable Mr Snobb was elected to the double office of
stake-holder and time-keeper.

'Pray,' said Kate, in great confusion, while these preliminaries were
in course of completion. 'Pray do not make me the subject of any bets.
Uncle, I cannot really--'

'Why not, my dear?' replied Ralph, in whose grating voice, however,
there was an unusual huskiness, as though he spoke unwillingly, and
would rather that the proposition had not been broached. 'It is done in
a moment; there is nothing in it. If the gentleme