A CHARACTER. 151 



I doubt if ever he even met with so 

 strange a character. 



Peculiar in his dress, which he never 

 altered to suit the fashion of the day; 

 quaint in his manners, and simple in his 

 habits, he attracted such notice only from 

 the passer-by as a bird of a different 

 plumage from its fellows. To those who 

 knew him there was something more under 

 that broad brim than a first acquaintance 

 would perceive something more humorous 

 in that countenance that a high snow-white 

 shirt collar" like a sheet of note-paper, more 

 than partially hid than the casual observer 

 would expect. The long black waistcoat 

 that came over his hips covered with a cut- 

 off coat, into the outside pockets of which 

 his hands were usually thrust enveloped a 

 heart which beat in unison with the best 

 feelings of our nature; in addition were 

 well-polished top-boots, which supported a 

 figure singular for its oddity and in- 

 elegance. 



