THE GROOM 127 



behindhand servant. We will suppose the master 

 shaving, at which critical period, instead of seeing the 

 stable door open, and the horse going away, Tom is 

 running about in his fustians ; then, when at length 

 he does appear booted, the saddle and bridle make 

 their appearance, and have to be put on, till at last the 

 master, in ungovernable fury, hurries on his things, 

 vowing he'll go out and lick him, when he sees Tom 

 rushing out of the stable, scrambling on to the horse, 

 and cutting away at the rate of ten miles an hour. 

 An unpunctual man is always an irregular man, he 



never knows where he has anything. We like to see 

 a quiet, orderly, methodical Groom, who knows where 

 to lay hands on what he wants, and who does his 

 work as though it were his daily custom, and not 

 something out of his usual way. 



There is nothing so bad as a hurrying, scuttling, 

 muddle-headed servant in a stable — a fellow who 

 never knows where he has anything, and who is 

 always applying the wrong article for want of know- 

 ing where the right one is ; " making shift," as they 

 call it. Again, we have seen fellows who thought to 



