THE YORK ROAD 311 



lighting of the pipe, while Black Bess was still at full 

 stretch, was a worthier effort in the way of showing con- 

 tempt, and caused one of the enemies who pursued, 

 whose name was Titus, who rode " a big Roman-nosed, 

 powerful, flea-bitten Bucephalus," to call out on his 

 " mother who bore him," and thump the wind out of his 

 horse with his calves. Shortly after which extraordinary 

 manoeuvre the pursuers lost sight of Turpin altogether, 

 till, encouraged by a wagoner's assurance that they would 

 find the great highwayman at York, they caught a 

 glimpse of him just outside Ware (twenty-one miles 

 from London measured from Shoreditch Church), stand- 

 ing with his bridle in his hand coolly quaffing a tankard 

 of ale. 



Here the pursuers changed horses, either at the Bull 

 or the Fox and Hounds, and again " pursued their 

 onward course. Night now spread her mantle over the 

 earth ; still it was not wholly dark. A few stars were 

 twinkling in the deep, cloudless heavens, and a pearly 

 radiance in the eastern horizon heralded the rising of the 

 orb of night," after which atmospheric eccentricities, it 

 appears to me that we had better get forward as quickly 

 as possible — as Turpin did. Whether from the atmo- 

 spheric eccentricities already alluded to, or from some 

 occulter cause, peculiar physical symptoms might at this 

 moment have been detected in Turpin himself, had a 

 medical man been riding by him armed with a stetho- 

 scope. His blood " spun through his veins ; wound round 

 his heart ; and mounted to his brain." Where it next 

 went to is not on record ; but the possessor of 

 this peculiar circulation went "away," away! Hall, 

 cot, tree, tower, glade, mead, waste, woodland, and 

 other etceteras to travel are seen, passed, left behind 

 — vanish as in a dream. To be plain, Turpin rode 

 as hard as he could, I suppose, through Wades Mill, 

 Puckeridge, Buntingford, Royston, till the limits of two 

 shires have already been passed, and as he surmounts the 

 " gentle hill that slips into Godmanchester," he enters 



