Sedate Mr. Arabel, set on, without doubt, by his inquisitive lady, even waylaid me in a narrow lane, and insisted upon my looking in at the farm, and partaking of casual hospitality. "Ye'll just have three drars and a spet," said he (meaning by that farm of expression a few whiffs of a pipe), "and take a glass of ale;" and when I declined the first offer upon the ground of not being a smoker, and the second on the plea that it was only eleven o'clock, A.M., and consequently rather early for ale, he confessed that his missus was a-waiting for me with a bottle of cowslip wine, and a seed-cake of her own making. It was rather difficult to escape from hospitable snares of this kind, but I revealed as little as possible without giving absolute offence. On the other hand, I received some information, the details of which had not been confided to me by Mr. Long. "Well, sir," remarked Mrs. Arabel, after I had told her all I meant to tell, which was not much, "and it's no wonder as Mr. Marmaduke <i>should</i> have run away, I'm sure." "My good lady," observed I, "pray, be particular; I never said he ran away; I said his horse ran away." "Yes, of course, sir," responded the mistress of the Grange, winking in a manner that made me quite uncomfortable; "you are very right to say that, Mr. Meredith, very right. But Sir Massingberd's opinion is, that it was all planned from first to last, only he says you nearly overdid it." "Ah, indeed," said I; "how was that?" "Well, it seems Sir Massingberd was quite deceived about that horse he bought for his nephew; instead of being quiet, and fit for the lad, it was a perfect demon; and it was sheer madness of you young gentlemen to go racing in order to make it run away; then, to arrange with Mr. Gerard all beforehand; well, I must say I shouldn't have thought that either of you would have had the depth." "Thank you, Mrs. Arabel," said I, laughing; "I am sorry you entertained so low an idea of our intelligence." "Well, sir," returned the farmer's wife, with an air of excessive candour, "my husband, you see, he often has said to me, says he, 'That young squire Marmaduke, I'm darned if he ain't little better than a fool; he don't know what shot to use for rabbits, that he don't; I never saw his equal for ignorance. And as for that lad from the Ingies--that was you, you know, sir--well, of all the young fellows turned of seventeen as I ever saw, he's the'--" Here Mrs. Arabel crimsoned, and stopped short, as if she had been very nearly betrayed into saying something which was not entirely complimentary. "Pray, go on, my dear madam," said I; "'of all the young fellows turned of seventeen whom he had ever seen, I was the'--" "Well, sir, he'd just the same opinion of you as he had of Master Marmaduke; but, for my part, I always said, that although you might neither on you know so much as you ought to, and though you might seem, as it were--"