utilise his talents
and make use of his capabilities. In this great Parliament of the Field,
therefore, Spicer sat; and though for a very small and obscure borough,
yet he had his place, and was "ready when wanted."

"How d'ye do, Spicer?" said Lady Lackington, arranging the folds of her
dress as he came forward, and intimating by the action that he was not
to delude himself into any expectation of touching her hand. "My Lord
told me you were here."

Spicer bowed, and muttered, and looked, as though he were waiting to be
formally presented to the other lady in company; but Lady Lackington
had not the most remote intention of bestowing on him such a mark of
recognition, and merely answered the mute appeal of his features by a
dry "Won't you sit down?"

And Mr. Spicer did sit down, and of a verity his position denoted no
excess of ease or enjoyment. It was not that he did not attempt to
appear perfectly at home, that he did not assume an attitude of the very
calmest self-possession, maybe he even passed somewhat the frontier of
the lackadaisical territory he assumed, for he slapped his boot with his
whip in a jaunty affectation of indifference.

"Pray, don't do that!" said Lady Lackington; "it worries one!"

He desisted, and a very awkward silence of some seconds ensued; at
length she said, "There was something or other I wanted to ask you
about; you can't help me to it, can you?"

"I'm afraid not, my Lady. Was it anything about sporting matters?"

"No, no; but now that you remind me, all that information you gave me
about Glaucus was wrong, he came in 'a bad third.' My Lord laughed at me
for losing my money on him, and said he was the worst horse of the lot."

"Very sorry to differ with his Lordship," said Spicer, deferentially,
"but he was the favourite up to Tuesday evening, when Scott declared
that he'd win with Big the Market. I then tried to get four to one on
Flycatcher, to square your book, but the stable was nobbled."

"Did you ever hear such jargon, my dear?" said Lady Lackington. "You
don't understand one syllable of it, I'm certain."

Spicer smirked and made a slight approach to a bow, as though even this
reference to him would serve for an introduction; but Lady Grace met the
advance with a haughty stare and a look, that said, as plainly as any
words, "At your peril, Sir!"

[Illustration: 044]

"Well, one thing is certain!" said Lady Lackington, "nothing that you
predicted turned out afterward