Ravenshoe. By Henry Kingsley.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY. 7
from Ravenshoe, James Horton by name, - for the first time in
his life disobeyed orders; for, on being told to return home by
Densil, he firmly declined doing so, and carried his top-boots and
white neckeloth triumphantly into the Fleet, there pursuing his
usual avocations with the utmost nonchalance.
"A very distinguished fellow that of yours, Curly," (they all
had nicknames for one another in those days,) said Lord Saltire.
"If I were not Saltire, I think I would be Jim. To own the
only clean face among six hundred fellow-creatures is a preeminence, a decided pre-eminence. I'11 buy him of you."
For Lord Saltire came to see him, snuff-box and all. That
morning Densil was sitting brooding in the dirty room with the
barred windows, and thinking what a wild, free wind would be
sweeping across the Downs this fine Ndvember day, when the
door was opened, and in walks me my lord, with a sweet smile on
his face.
He was dressed in the extreme of fashion,- a long-tailed blue
coat with gold buttons, a frill to his shirt, a white cravat, a wonderful short waistcoat, loose, short nankeen trousers, low shoes,
no gaiters, and a low-crowned hat. I am pretty correct, for I
have seen his picture, dated 1804. But you must please to re-.
member that his lordship was in the very van of the fashion, and
that probably such a dress was not universal for two or three
years afterwards. I wonder if his well-known audacity would be
sufficient to make him. walk along one of the public thoroughfares
in such a dress to-morrow, for a heavy bet. I fancy not.
He smiled sardonically. " My dear fellow," he said, "when a
nian comes on a visit of condolence, I know it is the most wretched taste to say,'I told you so'; but do me the justice to allow
that I offered to back the priest five to one. I had been coming
to you all the week, but Tuesday and Wednesday I was at 1Newmarket; Thursday I was shooting at your cousin Ascot's; yesterday I did not care about boring myself with you; so I have
come to-day because I was at leisure, and had nothing better to do."
Densil looked up savagely, thinking he had come to insult
him; but the kindly compassionate look in the piercing gray eye
belied the cynical curl of the mouth, and disarmed him. He
leant his head upon the table, and sobbed.
Lord Saltire laid his hand kindly on his shoulder, and said,"You have been a fool, Ravenshoe; you have denied the
faith of your forefathers. Pardieu, if I had such an article, I
would not have thrown it so lightly away."
" You talk like this? Who next? It was your conversation
led me to it. Am I worse than you? What faith have you, in
God's name?"
"The faith of a French Lycee, my friend; the only one I
ever had. I have been sufficiently consistent to that, I think."