A PAGE. 83 



with a pair of queerish ill-matched cobs, and a page 

 covered with buttons by his side. They were travel- 

 ling along quietly enough, but I saw something was 

 wrong, as each cob seemed by the turn of his head as 

 if he was intently looking for something in the hedge 

 on his own side of the road. Before they quite came 

 up to me, I had discovered the occasion of this, and 

 as there were ladies in the carriage, I took the liberty 

 of stopping the turn-out, and asked the gentleman if 

 he considered the way in which his reins were buckled 

 to his bits as advantageous? in which case, I of 

 course should bow to his superior judgment. " He 

 was not aware of any peculiarity in their application ! " 

 This was enough. I altered them. The fact was, 

 instead of crossing his coupling reins, he had applied 

 each to its own side ; so of course his horses' heads 

 were pulled into the position of the flukes of an 

 anchor. I had not quite done with him yet ; for 

 finding his traces not drawing quite in the usual line, 

 I found he had passed them through the hip-straps 

 of his breeching, the cobs half carrying the fore-car- 

 riage of the phaeton on their rumps, and of course 

 tightening the pole-pieces, so they were kept to- 

 gether as lovingly as possible, so far as their bodies 

 went ; their necks and heads, however, being in the 

 direction above described. After altering this also, I 

 took my leave ; my friend did the same, very coolly. 

 I am quite confident he thought the alteration of no 

 earthly consequence, and probably considered me an 

 impertinent fellow for my interference. I puzzled 

 myself all the way home as to who my friend might 

 be, and how his horses got put together in such a 

 novel manner : but it was of no use ; I could come to 

 no conclusion on the subject. Having occasion some 



G 2 



