‘Come, that won’t do,’ cried Lady Bowmant, as she touched up Belle and made her do her share; ‘you’re not going to leave all the hard work to Beau, miss, not if I know it. Pull up, like a good girl, and leave off fooling. ‘Aren’t they a pair of darlings?’ she continued, addressing Nora. ‘I value them above everything, because they were one of my dear old man’s wedding presents to me; but they are distinctly precious in themselves. Here we are at the commencement of Usk, and now you’ll see some fun, Lady Ilfracombe. See how all the people--boys and girls, men and women--fly before me, tumbling over each other to get out of my way. I might be King Herod coming to massacre the innocents, by the manner they scuttle out of the road. Whoa, my beauty; there, go gently, gently, Belle. For heaven’s sake, don’t kick up any of your shines here, or they’ll call the policemen. Have you heard that I have twice been stopped and once fined for furious driving, Lady Ilfracombe?’ ‘No, indeed, I haven’t,’ replied Nora, who was enjoying the fun immensely. On they flew through the village and out on the open road, the cobs having now settled seriously to their work, and skimming over the ground like a pair of swallows. When they had driven half the way into Newport, Lady Bowmant turned their heads homewards, and trotted them gently up a long hill. She had them so completely under her control, that it was a pleasure to see her handle the reins and guide them with a flick of her whip. ‘I’d give anything to drive as you do,’ said Lady Ilfracombe, with genuine admiration of the prowess of her companion. ‘I should not be afraid whatever happened whilst you had the reins.’ Lady Bowmant looked pleased, but she answered lightly,-- ‘Dear me, it is nothing, only practice. I bet you could manage them quite as well as I do if you tried. They are thoroughly well trained, you see, and that’s half the battle; and they are thoroughbred into the bargain. You can do twice as much with a well-bred horse as you can with an outsider. Their mouths are like velvet. You could guide them with a bit of string; and as for their jumping about a little, that’s only their fun, you know; there’s no vice in it; in fact, there’s not a grain of vice between the two of them. I don’t know what I should do without the darlings. They are the very joy of my life.’ At this juncture they came across a cottage, which seemed to recall something to Lady Bowmant’s mind. ‘By the way,’ she exclaimed suddenly, ‘I wonder how Phil Farley is, or if the poor old man is still alive. He used to be a _protégé_ of mine last summer, and I often visited him; but I have quite forgotten to ask after him since my return. Would you mind my jumping down for a minute, Lady Ilfracombe? I _should_ like just to inquire how the old man is.’ ‘Of course not,’ said her companion cordially. ‘You will hold the reins for me? You will not be afraid of them?’