rly.'

'What has she been doing now, Gabriel?'

'Ordering the bishop to have The Derby Winner removed, mother.'

'The Derby Winner,' repeated Mrs Pendle, in puzzled tones; 'is that a
horse?'

'A public-house, mother; it is in my district, and I have been lately
visiting the wife of the landlord, who is very ill. Mrs Pansey wants the
house closed and the woman turned out into the streets, so far as I can
make out!'

'The Derby Winner is my property,' said Sir Harry, bluffly, 'and it
sha'n't be shut up for a dozen Mrs Panseys.'

'Think of a dozen Mrs Panseys,' murmured Lucy, pensively.

'Think of Bedlam and Pandemonium, my dear! Thank goodness Mrs Pansey is
the sole specimen of her kind. Nature broke the mould when that clacking
nuisance was turned out. She--'

'Harry! you really must not speak so loud. Mrs Pansey might hear. Come
with me, dear. I must look after our guests, for I am sure mother is
tired.'

'I _am_ tired,' assented Mrs Pendle, with a faint sigh. 'Thank you,
Lucy, I willingly make you my representative. Gabriel will stay beside
me.'

'Here is Miss Tancred,' observed Harry Brace, in an undertone.

'Oh, she must not come near mother,' whispered Lucy, in alarm. 'Take her
to the supper-room, Harry.'

'But she'll tell me the story of how she lost her purse at the Army and
Navy Stores, Lucy.'

'You can bear hearing it better than mother can. Besides, she'll not
finish it; she never does.'

Sir Harry groaned, but like an obedient lover intercepted a withered old
dame who was the greatest bore in the town. She usually told a
digressive story about a lost purse, but hitherto had never succeeded in
getting to the point, if there was one. Accepting the suggestion of
supper with alacrity, she drifted away on Sir Harry's arm, and no doubt
mentioned the famous purse before he managed to fill her mouth and stop
her prosing.

Lucy, who had a quiet humour of her own in spite of her demure looks,
laughed at the dejection and martyrdom of Sir Harry; and taking the
eagerly-proffered arm of a callow lieutenant, ostentatiously and
hopelessly in love with her, went away to play her part of deputy
hostess. She moved from group to group, and everywhere received smiles
and congratulations, for she was a general favourite, and, with the
exception of Mrs Pansey, everyone approved of her engagement. Behind a
floral screen a band of musicians, who called themselves the Yellow
Hungarians, and individually possessed