NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 11 



quired I. "Mr. Chomley, " answered the colonel, " for I assure you he 

 does not think small beer of himself ; but you will find him a most civil 

 and entertaining fellow-traveller, and, for all 1 know to the contrary, a 

 good whip." Of the last-mentioned qualification I soon had an opportunity 

 of judging, for he had a young horse at wheel which was never in a 

 coach before, and he handed him down the hill into Rochester — very 

 pushing ground by the bye — in a masterly way ; particularly so as his 

 mouth was any thing but good. Of the first, his colloquial powers, we 

 had a specimen as I was in the act of mounting the box. *' Take especial 

 care of this gentleman," said the colonel to him, " if you break his neck, 

 you'll have the sporting world in mourning." " You may depend upon that, 

 colonel, and of myself too,'' replied Mr. Chomley, as he let his thong 

 fall gently on the young one, to keep him up to his collar, for he was get- 

 ting somewhat impatient; and with the old-fashioned whistle through his 

 teeth — for Mr. Chomley is of the old school— we were off. 



I make it a rule never to say much to a coachman till he is clear of the 

 town which he starts from, as all his attention is wanting in the arrange- 

 ment of his passengers and their luggage, and many things besides. But 

 I soon found that this was not likely to be one of Mr. Chomley's brightest 

 days, from the answer he gave at our first stop in Rochester, to the usual 

 question, among a certain class of people, of, " How be you, Mr. Chom- 

 ley?" from a friend who stood in the street. " Why that is more than 

 I can tell you," said Chomley ; " but I've ad — d bad head-ache to begin 

 with." The fact was, he had had a blow-out at his cottage the night be- 

 fore, with a few choice spirits like himself, which had been kept up till 

 rather a late hour, and Richard was not himself again. I could, however, 

 discern in the conversation I had with this person on our journey, as well 

 as from the description he gave me of his cottage and its contents, that he 



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