anything; but I never said you should have it.'

Rashe meanwhile clapped her hands with exultation, and there was a
regular chatter of eager voices--'I should like to know how you would get
the hackles out of a suburban poultry fancier.'

'Out of him?--no, out of his best Dorking. Priced at 120 pounds last
exhibition--two years old--wouldn't take 200 pounds for him now.'

'You don't mean that you've seen him?'

'Hurrah!' Lucilla opened a paper, and waved triumphantly five of the
long tippet-plumes of chanticleer.

'You don't mean--'

'Mean! I more than mean! Didn't you tell us that you had been to see
the old party on business, and had spied the hackles walking about in his
yard?'

'And I had hoped to introduce you.'

'As if we needed that! No, no. Rashe, and I started off at six o'clock
this morning, to shake off the remains of the ball, rode down to
Brompton, and did our work. No, it was not like the macaw business, I
declare. The old gentleman held the bird for us himself, and I promised
him a dried salmon.'

'Well, I had flattered myself--it was an unfair advantage, Miss
Sandbrook.'

'Not in the least. Had you gone, it would have cast a general clumsiness
over the whole transaction, and not left the worthy old owner half so
well satisfied. I believe you had so little originality as to expect to
engage him in conversation while I captured the bird; but once was enough
of that.'

Phoebe could not help asking what was meant; and it was explained that,
while a call was being made on a certain old lady with a blue and yellow
macaw, Lucilla had contrived to abstract the prime glory of the
creature's tail--a blue feather lined with yellow--an irresistible charm
to a fisherwoman. But here even the tranquil Eloisa murmured that Cilly
must never do so again when she went out with HER.

'No, Lolly, indeed I won't. I prefer honesty, I assure you, except when
it is too commonplace. I'll meddle with nothing at Madame Sonnini's this
afternoon.'

'Then you cannot come with us?'

'Why, you see, Honor, here have Rashe and I been appointed band-masters,
Lord Chamberlains, masters of the ceremonies, major-domos, and I don't
know what, to all the Castle Blanch concern; and as Rashe neither knows
nor cares about music, I've got all that on my hands; and I must take
Lolly to look on while I manage the programme.'

'Are you too busy to find a day to spend with us at St. Wulstan's?'

A discussion of engagem