ot refrain laughing at the mixture of dirt and finery which it
exhibited. In vain, when he got into the midst of the formidable circle,
he looked to his friends, the young Sweepstakes, for their countenance
and support. They were amongst the most unmerciful of the laughers. Lady
Diana also seemed more to enjoy than to pity his confusion.

'Why could you not keep your hat upon your head, man?' said she in her
masculine tone. 'You have been almost the ruin of my poor uniform habit;
but I've escaped rather better than you have. Don't stand there, in the
middle of the circle, or you'll have an arrow in your eyes just now,
I've a notion.'

Hal looked round in search of better friends.

'Oh, where's my uncle? Where's Ben?' said he.

He was in such confusion that, amongst the number of faces, he could
scarcely distinguish one from another; but he felt somebody at this
moment pull his elbow, and, to his great relief, he heard the friendly
voice and saw the good-natured face of his cousin Ben.

'Come back--come behind these people,' said Ben, 'and put on my
greatcoat; here it is for you.'

Right glad was Hal to cover his disgraced uniform with the rough
greatcoat which he had formerly despised. He pulled the stained,
drooping cockade out of his unfortunate hat; and he was now sufficiently
recovered from his vexation to give an intelligible account of his
accident to his uncle and Patty, who anxiously inquired what had
detained him so long, and what had been the matter. In the midst of the
history of his disaster, he was just proving to Patty that his taking
the hatband to spin his top had nothing to do with his misfortune, and
he was at the same time endeavouring to refute his uncle's opinion that
the waste of the whipcord that tied the parcel was the original cause of
all his evils, when he was summoned to try his skill with his _famous_
bow.

'My hands are benumbed; I can scarcely feel,' said he, rubbing them and
blowing upon the ends of his fingers.

'Come, come,' cried young Sweepstakes, 'I'm within one inch of the mark;
who'll go nearer? I shall like to see. Shoot away, Hal! But first
understand our laws; we settled them before you came upon the green. You
are to have three shots with your own bow and your own arrows; and
nobody's to borrow or lend under pretence of other's bows being better
or worse, or under under any pretence. Do you hear, Hal?'

This young gentleman had good reasons for being so strict in thes