‘Very,’ replied Cutitfat, in the same key, adding, in a whisper, with a shrug of his shoulders, ’Wonder what made him ask half the people that are here!’

‘The black and white one isn’t a bad un,’ observed Bouncey, nodding his head towards the cows, adding in an undertone, ’Most of them asked themselves, I should think.’

‘Admiring the cows.  Captain Bouncey?’ asked the beautiful and tolerably virtuous Miss Glitters, of the Astley’s Royal Amphitheatre, who had come down to spend a few days with her old friend, Lady Scattercash.  ’Admiring the cows, Captain Bouncey?’ asked she, sidling her elegant figure between our friends in the bay.

’We were just saying how nice it would be to have two or three pretty girls, and a sillabub, under those cedars,’ replied Captain Bouncey.

‘Oh, charming!’ exclaimed Miss Glitters, her dark eyes sparkling as she spoke.  ‘Harriet!’ exclaimed she, addressing herself to a young lady, who called herself Howard, but whose real name was Brown—­Jane Brown—­’Harriet!’ exclaimed she, ’Captain Bouncey is going to give a fete champetre under those lovely cedars.’

‘Oh, how nice!’ exclaimed Harriet, clapping her hands in ecstasies—­theatrical ecstasies at least.

‘It must be Sir Harry,’ replied the billiard-table man, not fancying being ‘let in’ for anything.

‘Oh!  Sir Harry will let us have anything we like, I’m sure,’ rejoined Miss Glitters.

‘What is it (hiccup)?’ asked Sir Harry, who, hearing his name, now joined the party.

‘Oh, we want you to give us a dance under those charming cedars,’ replied the lady, looking lovingly at him.

‘Cedars!’ hiccuped Sir Harry, ‘where do you see any cedars?’

‘Why there,’ replied Miss Glitters, nodding towards a clump of evergreens.

‘Those are (hiccup) hollies,’ replied Sir Harry.

[Illustration]

‘Well, under the hollies,’ rejoined Miss Glitters; adding, ’it was Captain Bouncey who said they were cedars.’

‘Ah, I meant those beyond,’ observed the captain, nodding in another direction.

‘Those are (hiccup) Scotch firs,’ rejoined Sir Harry.

‘Well, never mind what they are,’ resumed the lady; ’let us have a dance under them.’

‘Certainly,’ replied Sir Harry, who was always ready for anything.  ’We shall have plenty of partners,’ observed Miss Howard, recollecting how many men there were in the house.

‘And another coming,’ observed Captain Cutitfat, still fretting at the idea.

‘Indeed!’ exclaimed Miss Howard, raising her hands and eyebrows in delight; ‘and who is he?’ asked she, with unfeigned glee.

‘Oh such a (hiccup) swell,’ replied Sir Harry; ’reg’lar Leicestershire man.  A (hiccup) Quornite, in fact.’

‘We’ll not have the dance till he comes, then,’ observed Miss Glitters.

‘No more we will,’ said Miss Howard, withdrawing from the group.