a! trump the queen of diamonds and play out the king!
well, I never! ha, ha, ha!"

CAPTAIN BARNABAS (in tenor).--"Ha, ha, ha!"

SQUIRE.--"Ho, ho, ho! bless my soul! ho, ho, ho!"

CAPTAIN BARNABAS (in bass).--"Ho, ho, ho!"

Parson's voice raised, but drowned by the laughter of his adversaries
and the firm, clear tone of Captain Barnabas.--"Three to our
score!--game!"

SQUIRE (wiping his eyes).--"No help for it; Harry, deal for me. Whom
ought I to ask, Mrs. Dale?" (Waxing angry.) "First time I ever heard the
hospitality of Hazeldean called in question!"

MRS. DALE.--"My dear sir, I beg a thousand pardons, but listeners--you
know the proverb."

SQUIRE (growling like a bear).--"I hear nothing but proverbs ever since
we had that Mounseer among us. Please to speak plainly, ma'am."

Mrs. DALE (sliding into a little temper at being thus roughly
accosted).--"It was of Mounseer, as you call him, that I spoke, Mr.
Hazeldean."

SQUIRE.--"What! Rickeybockey?"

MRS. DALE (attempting the pure Italian accentuation).--"Signor
Riccabocca."

PARSON (slapping his cards on the table in despair).--"Are we playing at
whist, or are we not?"

The squire, who is fourth player, drops the king to Captain
Higginbotham's lead of the ace of hearts. Now the captain has left
queen, knave, and two other hearts, four trumps to the queen, and
nothing to win a trick with in the two other suits. This hand is
therefore precisely one of those in which, especially after the fall
of that king of hearts in the adversary's hand, it becomes a matter of
reasonable doubt whether to lead trumps or not. The captain hesitates,
and not liking to play out his good hearts with the certainty of their
being trumped by the squire, nor, on the other hand, liking to open the
other suits, in which he has not a card that can assist his partner,
resolves, as becomes a military man in such dilemma, to make a bold push
and lead out trumps in the chance of finding his partner strong and so
bringing in his long suit.

SQUIRE (taking advantage of the much meditating pause made by
the captain).--"Mrs. Dale, it is not my fault. I have asked
Rickeybockey,--time out of mind. But I suppose I am not fine enough for
those foreign chaps. He'll not come,--that's all I know."

PARSON (aghast at seeing the captain play out trumps, of which he, Mr.
Dale, has only two, wherewith he expects to ruff the suit of spades, of
which he has only one, the cards all falling in suits, whil