“Yes, my last three years have been very costly ones,” said Colonel Bramleigh, sighing. “I lost heavily by the sale of Earlshope, and my unfortunate election, too, was an expensive business. It will take some retrenchment to make up for all this. I tell the boys they'll have to sell their hunters, or be satisfied, like the parson, to hunt one day a week.” The self-complacent, mock humility of this speech was all too apparent. “I take it,” said Culduff, authoritatively, “that every gentleman”--and he laid a marked emphasis on the “gentleman”--“must at some period or the other of his life have spent more money than he ought--more than was subsequently found to be convenient.” “I have repeatedly done so,” broke in Cutbill, “and invariably been sorry for it afterwards, inasmuch as each time one does it the difficulty increases.” “Harder to get credit, you mean?” cried Jack, laughing. “Just so; and one's friends get tired of helping one. Just as they told me, there was a fellow at Blackwall used to live by drowning himself. He was regularly fished up once a week, and stomach-pumped and 'cordialled' and hot-blanketed, and brought round by the Humane Society's people, till at last they came to discover the dodge, and refused to restore him any more; and now he's reduced to earn his bread as a water-bailiff--cruel hard on a fellow of such an ingenious turn of mind.” While the younger men laughed at Cutbill's story, Lord Culduff gave him a reproving glance from the other end of the table, palpably intended to recall him to a more sedate and restricted conviviality. “Are we not to accompany you?” said Lord Culduff to Marion, as she and her sister arose to retire. “Is this barbarism of sitting after dinner maintained here?” “Only till we finish this decanter of claret, my Lord,” said Colonel Bramleigh, who caught what was not intended for his ears. “Ask the governor to give you a cigar,” whispered Jack to Cutbill; “he has some rare Cubans.” “Now, this is what I call regular jolly,” said Cutbill, as he drew a small spider table to his side, and furnished himself with a glass and a decanter of Madeira, “and,” added he in a whisper to Jack, “let us not be in a hurry to leave it. We only want one thing to be perfect, Colonel Bramleigh.” “If I can only supply it, pray command me, Mr. Cutbill.” “I want this, then,” said Cutbill, pursing up his mouth at one side, while he opened the other as if to emit the smoke of a cigar. “Do you mean smoking?” asked Colonel Bramleigh, in a half-irritable tone. “You have it.” “Are you a smoker, my Lord?” asked the host, turning to Lord Culduff. “A very moderate one. A cigarette after breakfast, and another at bed time, are about my excesses in that direction.”