Ravenshoe. By Henry Kingsley.

LORD WELTER'S MENAGE. 223
greater number of them had their wicked will; but the worst of
it was, that he always won. Sometimes, at a game of chance, he
might lose enough to encourage his enemies to go on; but at
games of skill no one could touch him. His billiard-playing was
simply masterly. And Dick Ferrers will tell you, that he and
Hornby, being once, I am very sorryto say, together at G-n-ch
F-r, were accosted in the park by a skittle-sharper, and that
Hornby (who would, like Faust, have played chess with Old
Gooseberry) allowed himself to be taken into a skittle-ground,
from which he came out in half an hour victorious over the skittlesharper, beating him easily.
In the heyday of his fame, Lord Welter was told of him, and
saying, " Give me the daggers," got introduced to him. They
had a tournament at ecarte, or billiards, or something or another
of that sort, it don't matter; and Lord Welter asked him up to
St. John's Wood, where he saw Ellen.
He lost that night liberally, as he could afford to; and, with
very little persuasion, was induced to come there the next. He
lost liberally again. He had fallen in love with Ellen.
Lord Welter saw it, and made use of it as a bait to draw on
Hornby to play. Ellen's presence was, of course, a great attraction to him, and he came and played; but unluckily for Lord
Welter, after a few nights his luck changed, or he took more care,
and he began to win again; so much so that, about the time when
Adelaide came home, my Lord Welter had had nearly enough of
Lieutenant IHornby, and was in hopes that he should have got rid
of Ellen and him together; for his lordship was no fool about
some things, and saw plainly this, - that Hornby was passionately
fond of Ellen, and, moreover, that poor Ellen had fallen deeply
in love with Hornby.
So, when he came home, he was surprised and angry to find
her there. She would not go. She would stay and wait on
Adelaide. She had been asked to go, but had refused sharply
the man she loved. Poor girl! she had her reasons, and we
shall see what they were. Now you know what I meant when
I wondered whether or no Charles would have burnt Hornby's
house down if he had known all. But you will be rather inclined to forgive Hornby presently, as Charles did when he came
to know everything.
But the consequence of Ellen's staying on as servant to Adelaide brought this with it, that Hornby determined that he would
have the entree of the house in St. John's Wood at any price.
Lord Welter guessed this, and guessed that Hornby would be
inclined to lose a little money in order to gain it. When he
brushed Charles's knee in Piccadilly, he was deliberating whether or no he should ask him back there again. As he stood un