126 William Waggleton. 



run he takes a line of his own ; wide of the hounds, but 

 still never very far off, for his wonderful hands seem to have 

 the power of shoving his horse just wherever he pleases- 

 Besides being a good and bold rider he is a good sports- 

 man in every way, whether whipping for trout, following 

 the hounds, or ranging the stubbles with dog and gun. 

 William Waggleton, in short, would be, to use Tom 

 Chirpington's words, a '' devilish good fellow if he were 

 not so confoundedly quarrelsome." ** But it is his nature to," 

 as Doctor Watts has it, so we suppose he can't help it. . 

 . . . . . The hounds are not running. Everybody 

 is going over a gap in a large fence, and we are preparing 

 on our pony to follow suit. Not so Waggleton, who is on a 

 new horse he has just bought, and means to have the 

 fence — a large one. We hear him soliloquising to his horse 

 thus : *' Now look here, you fool, here's a big ditch this 

 side, and I think there's a big ditch on the other — there's 

 a good big fence, as you can see, between. If you make 

 a mistake you'll come to grief and hurt yourself. Come 

 up, you brute ! " 



