196 PETER GOFF, THE MAN WITH HIS MOUTH OPEN. 



" Peter would have been glad to stop, but he had no voice in that 

 matter, for why? his voice was dead within him. e Stop ! stop!' 

 says old Sol, but finding Peter had no design of stopping, and Sol 

 being in a sort of bank-like as he passed, he made a catch at him, 

 but it was like catching at a post ; so to save himself from being 

 dragged he sprang up behind Peter. At this the horse got to be in 

 a sort of antic and furious way by this time, and drove a-head like a 

 whirlwind, so that Sol, in the room of stopping him, found himself 

 carried away. But he was determined not to give up, so he kept 

 fast hold, astride of the animal behind Peter." 



" Peter's long hair, for he had lost his hat in the river, stuck out 

 with frozen locks on all sides. Old Sol was crook-backed and hump- 

 shouldered, so that both of them together flying along at full speed 

 might have been taken for the great beast in the Revelations, with seven 

 heads and ten horns. As you may suppose, the dialogue that passed 

 between them during the journey was all on one side, like the handle 

 of a jug. Old Sol kept calling out ' stop ! stop ! why don't you 

 stop? I'm a tything-man I'm an elder of the church ! Ill fine ye, 

 I'll imprison ye !' and all that sort of talk ; but whisht ! on the old 

 horse galloped faster than ever, and Peter never said a word. Old 

 Sol began to wonder a little, but presently he grew somewhat scared, 

 for the horse got to be right-down furious, and pulled a-head as if 

 bewitched. * Stop ! stop !' said Sol, ' let me get off ! stop ! stop, 

 and I'll let you go !' but not a straw did the old horse care for all 

 that. On they drove like a stream o' chalk, and Old Sol was 

 frightened out of his wits. By-and-by they came to Artichoke 

 Bridge, and it happened the bridge was a little out of repair, some 

 of the timber and planks being rotten. So as they were going thun- 

 dering over it at a furious pace, the bridge gave way and down they 

 went. Old Sol expected to be drowned in the river, so he kept hold 

 of Peter to save himself; and as to Peter, he stuck fast to the horse 

 of course, so in the upshot they all three got safe to land. Well, off 

 they set again, for Sol had not time to dismount, the horse was so 

 antic ; and it was not long before he found himself froze as stiff as 

 Peter, and all three of them were stuck as hard together as the bricks 

 in that chimney " 



Whether I looked a little incredulous at this part of the story, I do 

 not know ; but the landlord seemed to think so, for he continued : 



" Pooh ! I never heard any one object to that, because the first 

 part being true, the rest follows of course : it stands to reason. 

 Away they went frightening every body on the road. Peter in front 

 with his horrible wide mouth, yawning like the bottomless pit, and 

 Old Sol behind, screaming and roaring like mad. I'fags ! 'twas a 

 sight to see. I can seem to imagine the whole bunch of them right 



before my eyes there they go ! Peter, Sol, and old Fire-the- 



Faggot, all in a bunch ! There they go full chisel ; hurrah ! j^The 

 colonel here became highly animated.] Peter gaping; Old Sol 

 roaring ; the old horse kicking up his heels and making the gravel 

 fly ; the people staring and running away frightened. On they 

 drive through Dogtown ! and Grab-all ! and Pigwocket ! and Mun- 

 kifunk ! " 



