ABOUT BUYING A HORSE. 145 



ScJioolfor Scandal, to " take his oath of that/' whatever it 

 is. I notice that our eyes do not meet. I am sure that I 

 should make a very bad swindler; and as to Murgle, he'd be 

 taken up and sent into penal servitude before he had barely 

 commenced his nefarious career. 

 Jelfcr, feeling the knees, asks, " Ever been down ? " 

 Now then. My Good Angel and my Evil Angel arc in 

 the stable-yard. "Do as you'd be done by," says one. 

 '• Do as you were done," says t'other. 



Happy Thought. — Split the difference. 



I say, carelessly, and with much candour (despising myself 

 all the time as a humbug"", " Well, you see for yourself the 

 Chestnut's knocked a little hair off, but that's nothing ; that'll 

 come all right again. He's not up to my weight, and there 

 was a grip, or something, but he didn't come down." 



"Ah!" says Jelfer. "I suppose he's all right in harness?" 



Good Angel nowhere now. Gone out of the stable-yard, 

 and weeping at the gate. 



" First-rate in harness. I suppose you only n-ant to drive 

 him in a pony- trap ? " 



" That's all." 



" Ah, he'll do that well enough/' 



The Good Angel looks in just for a secoivd, ^^■ith a tear in 

 his eye. I relent a bit, because I picture to myself poor 

 Jelfer coming a cropper vvhile going down-hill. I say to 

 him, -^ I should always keep the bearing-rein on, because 

 he's been accustomed to that, and you must keep him well 

 in hand down-hill." 



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