o'clock, I cannot conceive. I could not touch a
mouthful."

The dinner was excellent, and I paid the encomiums which were its due.

"Do not be afraid, my dear fellow--my cook is an _artiste
extraordinaire_--a regular _Cordon Bleu_. You may eat any thing without
fear of indigestion. How people can live upon the English cookery of
the present day, I cannot conceive. I seldom dine out, for fear of
being poisoned. Depend upon it, a good cook lengthens your days, and no
price is too great to insure one."

When the ladies retired, being alone, we entered into friendly
conversation. I expressed my admiration of his daughters, who certainly
were very handsome and elegant girls.

"Very true; they are more than passable," replied he. "We have had many
offers, but not such as come up to my expectations. Baronets are cheap
now-a-days, and Irish lords are nothings; I hope to settle them
comfortably. We shall see. Try this claret; you will find it
excellent, not a headache in a hogshead of it. How people can drink
port, I cannot imagine."

The next morning he proposed that I should rattle round the park with
him. I acceded, and we set off in a handsome open carriage, with four
greys, ridden by postilions at a rapid pace. As we were whirling along,
he observed, "In town we must of course drive but a pair, but in the
country I never go out without four horses. There is a spring in four
horses which is delightful; it makes your spirits elastic, and you feel
that the poor animals are not at hard labour. Rather than not drive
four, I would prefer to stay at home."

Our ride was very pleasant, and in such amusements passed away one of
the most pleasant weeks that I ever remembered. Willemott was not the
least altered--he was as friendly, as sincere, as open-hearted, as when
a boy at school. I left him, pleased with his prosperity, and
acknowledging that he was well deserving of it, although his ideas had
assumed such a scale of magnificence.

I went to India when my leave expired, and was absent about four years.
On my return, I inquired after my friend Willemott, and was told that
his circumstances and expectations had been greatly altered. From many
causes, such as a change in the Government, a demand for economy, and
the wording of his contracts having been differently rendered from what
Willemott had supposed their meaning to be, large items had been struck
out of his balance sheet, and, instead of being a mil