5(5 TROLLING IN STAFFORDSHIRE. 



and approaching not unfrequently towards his 

 mouth, which was unusually wide and studded with 

 a few irregular teeth of great length, at some dis- 

 tance from each other. When I first saw him, he 

 was reposing in one of those old fashioned high- 

 backed upright chairs, which have a small uncom- 

 fortable looking seat. His legs were extended, his 

 black silk small clothes hardly reached his knees, 

 and he wore a pair of silk stockings which had been 

 washed to a sort of whitish-brown, and were un- 

 commonly wrinkled. What however struck me 

 more than anything else in his appearance, was a 

 most extraordinary obliquity of vision. He seemed 

 to be occasionally looking at his ears, his nose, and 

 his forehead, and now and then nothing but the 

 whites of his eyes were visible. 



After I had been formally introduced to him, 

 some common remark was made, which was fol- 

 lowed by a laugh or rather shout from Sir Hagger- 

 stone, which made me start. On turning towards 

 him I found that not one muscle of his face had 

 moved. He was apparently looking at his stock- 

 ings. His laugh had suddenly ceased, and he 

 appeared to be wrapt in thought. Another burst 

 came soon afterwards, and as suddenly stopped. 

 Nothing particular had been said, and it was then 

 clear that the baronet was enjoying his own thoughts, 

 and had contracted this extraordinary habit of ex- 

 pressing his satisfaction. Indeed this was proved to 



