lly led to the remark on this
occasion. Lady Chiltern was very short with her, not loving Lady
Gertrude. Cox bestowed upon her two "my lady's," and then turned from
her to some peccant hound. But Spooner was partly gratified, and
partly incapable, and underwent a long course of questions about the
Duke and the poisoning. Lady Gertrude, whose father seemed to have
owned half the coverts in Ireland, had never before heard of such
enormity. She suggested a round robin and would not be at all ashamed
to put her own name to it. "Oh, for the matter of that," said
Spooner, "Chiltern can be round enough himself without any robin."
"He can't be too round," said Lady Gertrude, with a very serious
aspect.

At last they moved away, and Phineas found himself riding by the side
of Madame Goesler. It was natural that he should do so, as he had
come with her. Maule had, of course, remained with Miss Palliser, and
Chiltern and Spooner had taken themselves to their respective duties.
Phineas might have avoided her, but in doing so he would have seemed
to avoid her. She accepted his presence apparently as a matter of
course, and betrayed by her words and manner no memory of past
scenes. It was not customary with them to draw the forest, which
indeed, as it now stood, was a forest only in name, and they trotted
off to a gorse a mile and a half distant. This they drew blank,--then
another gorse also blank,--and two or three little fringes of wood,
such as there are in every country, and through which huntsmen run
their hounds, conscious that no fox will lie there. At one o'clock
they had not found, and the hilarity of the really hunting men as
they ate their sandwiches and lit their cigars was on the decrease.
The ladies talked more than ever, Lady Gertrude's voice was heard
above them all, and Lord Chiltern trotted on close behind his hounds
in obdurate silence. When things were going bad with him no one in
the field dared to speak to him.

Phineas had never seen his horse till he reached the meet, and there
found a fine-looking, very strong, bay animal, with shoulders like
the top of a hay-stack, short-backed, short-legged, with enormous
quarters, and a wicked-looking eye. "He ought to be strong," said
Phineas to the groom. "Oh, sir; strong ain't no word for him," said
the groom; "'e can carry a 'ouse." "I don't know whether he's fast?"
inquired Phineas. "He's fast enough for any 'ounds, sir," said the
man with that tone of assurance w