The Hon. Adolphus Lightfoot. 93 



Practical joking is a favourite amusement of his, and his 

 little bachelor dinners at the Pre usually finish up with some- 

 thing of that sort. In one notable case, however, Dolly's little 

 joke came off the wrong way, it was a regular case of '' sold 

 again," in fact. This is how it was. Old Captain Dabber, 

 whom we have already had the pleasure of introducing to 

 our readers, whenever he dined out in his immediate 

 neighbourhood always made a practice of driving over in 

 a chaise of antique pattern, drawn by a sturdy black pony 

 of mature age. Mrs. Plummer, the Captain's fat house- 

 keeper, often protested against this arrangement, telling her 

 master that she was sure that some night or other he would 

 be waylaid and robbed, besides which, it was not at all the 

 correct thing, in her opinion, for a gentleman of his position 

 to drive about like that without a liveried servant. To 

 which the Captain replied that he feared no man ; which 

 was true, for old Charlie, besides being what they call 

 a stiff-built fellow, was a rare hand with his fists, on 

 occasion, as a poacher whom he once caught redhanded 

 one day could have testified ; he rather liked a "breather," 

 indeed, than not. And as for appearances he added, " I've 

 got too old to care for appearances, Plummer." So the house- 

 keeper, finding her remonstrances of no use, held her peace 

 for the future, and left her master and the black pony to 

 "gang their ain gait," as the Scotch say. Now it so 

 happened that our volatile friend, the Honourable Dolly, 

 also possessed a black pony, not at all unlike his neighbour 

 the Captain's in appearance, though intensely unlike him in 

 manners and general deportment. He was best described, 

 in fact, as not a bad one to look at, but decidedly a 

 rum 'un to drive, for, having a very capricious will of his own, 

 if he took it in his head not to go in the direction he was 



