The waiter cleared the table, in a leisurely way, made up the fire, also in a leisurely way, and contrived to spend a quarter of an hour upon work that might have been done in five minutes; but Allan questioned him no further. He flung himself back in an easy-chair, rested his slippered feet upon the fender, and meditated with closed eyes. Yes, it was a bore, a decided bore, to have a double in the neighbourhood. A double richer, more important, and altogether better placed than himself; a double in a Lancer regiment--there is at once chic and attractiveness in a cavalry soldier--a double who owned just the fine old manorial estate, and fine old manorial mansion which he, Allan, would have liked to possess. Beechhurst might be a snug little property; the house might be perfection, as Lord Hambury had averred; but when a house of that calibre is said to be perfect, the adjective rarely means anything more than a good kitchen, and a convenient butler's pantry, roomy cellars, and a well-planned staircase; whereas, to praise a fine old manor house implies that it contains a panelled hall, and a spacious ballroom, a library with a groined roof, and a music gallery in the dining-room. After hearing of Wornock's old house, Allan felt that Beechhurst was distinctly middle-class, and that his sailor uncle must have been a poor creature to have found pride and pleasure in such a cockney paradise. He jumped up out of his easy-chair, shook himself, and laughed aloud at his own pettiness. "What an envious brute I am!" he said to himself. "I dare say, when Wornock comes home, I shall find him a decent fellow, and we shall get to be good friends. If we do, I'll tell him how I was gnawed with envy of his better fortune before ever I saw his face." CHAPTER II. ALLAN CAREW'S PEOPLE. Allan Carew spent the best part of the following day at Beechhurst, better pleased with his inheritance than he would confess even to himself. The Admiral's Chinese experiences had not been without tangible result. The hall was decorated with curios whose value their present possessor could only guess, and if the greater part of the house was prim and commonplace, there was one room which was both handsome and original--this was the smoking-room and library, a spacious apartment which the Admiral had added to the original structure, and which was built on the model of a Mandarin's reception-room. Yes, on the whole, Allan was inclined to think his lot had fallen on a pleasant heritage. He went up to town in good spirits; spent ten days in looking at hunting studs at Tattersall's, and made his modest selection with care and prudence, content to start his stable with four good hunters, a dog-cart horse, a pony to fetch and carry, two grooms and a stable-help.