Did you ever Drive a Jihher down to a Fight ? 265 



horse and his driver, the horse's temper seemed to go too. We had 

 hardly got him well out of the sight of the inn, before he shut up 

 again, and I dare say he did this five-and-twenty times in the first 

 four miles. But it would tire the reader's patience out to describe 

 that drive. There is, moreover, something so monotonous in jibbing 

 — the same thing over and over again. Carriages, gigs, dog-carts 

 kept passing us, and every one who drove by had some little bit of 

 consolation to offer to us. The Capten's temper and patience — never 

 great at the best of times — soon became fairly exhausted. The 

 doubled thong was now never still — behind the collar, before the 

 collar, over the ears, across the flank ; in fact, he now seemed bent 

 upon acting up to the old Irishman's advice to his son in a row, 

 "Wherever you sec a head, hit at it." I hardly know which came 

 in for the greatest share of abuse, the horse, the ostler, or myself. 

 " If it hadn't been for me, he'd never have thought of coming. He 

 might have been quietly down at Newmarket, instead of exposing 

 himself in this manner before so many men who knew himj" and 

 as for the poor ostler, if he could only have heard half the epithets 

 which were showered upon his head for putting such a brute in 

 harness, he might truly have said that the Capten was, indeed, " a 

 hawful man." 



There was only one plan to keep us going, and that was, directly 

 the horse stopped, for one to jump down, get to his head, lead him 

 on a bit, when he would start and take us on a little way before he 

 stopped again; and I was thus kept in very good exercise, con- 

 tinually hopping out of that dog-cart. Beyond the annoyance of 

 the thing, we suffered little inconvenience just then, for we had lots 

 of time before us. The road was wide, and although a good many 

 vehicles were driving to the same point as ourselves, there was 

 plenty of room to pass us. 



I may add that, notwithstanding all the horse's good behaviour 

 in the morning, I had not forgotten the ostler's warning, and I tried 

 at Littlebury if I could not hire another horse, instead of this to 

 take us on. But there was not one to be had for love or money. 

 We had nothing, therefore, to do but to go on, and make as good 



