s_ a beautiful nosegay!' exclaimed he, turning upon her
in precisely the same way, with a bang of the hand and a dive of his nose
into Emily's.

She did not offer him any, and his lordship continued his attentions to her
until Mrs. Jawleyford entered.

Dinner was presently announced; but his lordship, instead of choosing to
sit with his back to the fire, took the single chair opposite, which gave
him a commanding view of the young ladies. He did not, however, take any
advantage of his position during the repast, neither did he talk much, his
maxim being to let his meat stop his mouth. The preponderance of his
observations, perhaps, were addressed to Amelia, though a watchful observer
might have seen that the spectacles were oftener turned upon Emily. Up to
the withdrawal of the cloth, however, there was no perceptible advantage on
either side.

[Illustration]

As his lordship settled to the sweets, at which he was a great hand at
dessert, Amelia essayed to try her influence with the popular subject of a
ball. 'I wish the members of your hunt would give us a ball, my lord,'
observed she.

'Ah, hay, hum--ball,' replied he, ladling up the syrup of some preserved
peaches that he had been eating; 'ball, ball, ball. No place to give it--no
place to give it,' repeated he.

'Oh, give it in the town-hall, or the long room at the Angel,' replied she.

'Town-hall--long room at the Angel--Angel at the long room of the
town-hall--oh, certainly, certainly, certainly,' muttered he, scraping away
at the contents of his plate.

'Then that's a bargain, mind,' observed Amelia significantly.

'Bargain, bargain, bargain--certainly,' replied he; 'and I'll lead off with
you, or you'll lead off with me--whichever way it is--meanwhile, I'll
trouble you for a piece of that gingerbread.'

Having supplied him with a most liberal slice, she resumed the subject of
the ball.

'Then we'll fix it so,' observed she.

'Oh, fix it so, certainly--certainly fix it so,' replied his lordship,
filling his mouth full of gingerbread.

'Suppose we have it on the day of the races?' continued Amelia.

'Couldn't be better,' replied his lordship; 'couldn't be better,' repeated
he, eyeing her intently through his formidable specs.

His lordship was quite in the assenting humour, and would have agreed to
anything--anything short of lending one a five-pound note.

Amelia was charmed with her success. Despite the spot on her nose, she felt
she was win