Is
this young gentleman a new pupil that you have brought me?"
"No, indeed," Lord Fairholm said; "this is Master Rupert Holliday,
a cornet in the 5th regiment of dragoons, who is also about to
start for Holland."
"I have had the advantage of learning from a countryman of yours,
Monsieur Dalboy," Rupert said, "a Monsieur Dessin, who is good
enough to teach the noble art in the town of Derby."
"Dessin! Dessin!" Maitre Dalboy said, thoughtfully "I do not
remember the name among our maitres d'escrime."
"The Earl of Marlborough himself vouches for the skill of Master
Holliday with the sword. His grandfather, Colonel Holliday, was, I
believe, noted as one of the finest blades at the court of Saint
Germains."
"I have heard of him," Monsieur Dalboy said, with interest. "Let me
think; he wounded the Marquis de Beauchamp, who was considered one
of the best swordsmen in France. Yes, yes, his fame as a swordsman
is still remembered. And he is alive yet?"
"Alive and active," Rupert said; "and although, as he says himself,
he has lost some of his quickness of reposte, there are, Monsieur
Dessin says, few fencers who could even now treat him lightly."
"And you have had the benefit of his instruction as well as that of
my countryman?" Monsieur Dalboy asked.
"Yes," Rupert said, "my grandfather, although he cares not at his
age for prolonged exercise, has yet made a point of giving me for a
few minutes each day the benefit of his skill.
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