200 DOING A LITTLE BUSINESS. 



of sovereigns ; he rejects them at once and for ever. 

 If he then sees a pair by no means intrinsically so 

 good, and finds he is to get ten, he considers of 

 them, and leaves the deal open till he sees if he 

 cannot do better (for himself). Now, if he finds a 

 pair of very fine-looking horses in the hands of some 

 low dealers, both of which he knows to be screws, 

 and he is to get fifteen sovereigns if they are 

 purchased, in such a case the master or mistress 

 trusting to his judgment, they are purchased. Now, 

 here will follow very different treatment to what 

 befel the unfortunate horses where the dealer did not 

 "come down handsomely." These horses will be 

 kept in the finest possible condition: no notice is 

 taken of any unsoundness in them; should one go 

 half blind in a month, and the other lame, if not 

 very visibly so, nothing is said about the matter ; 

 and while no complaints are made on the part of the 

 coachman, probably no inquiries are made on that 

 of the master or mistress: the horses look well, do 

 their work probably as well as sound horses, and the 

 owner continues to be drawn by a blind one and a 

 lame one, till coachee begins to think the horses 

 having done their work for twelve months it is 

 time to begin thinking of making a little more 

 money for himself. Then the half-blind one has 

 taken a bad cold ever since that wet night when 

 they waited so long at Lady So-and-so's rout, and 

 it has fallen into his eyes : and the other suddenly 

 falls lame while in the carriage. Coachee pulls up, 

 gets down, and looks at him ; " supposes it a little 

 strain; he did observe him slide a bit turning the 

 corner; dares say it will go off." N. B. It never 

 does though ; nor does the other recover his sight. 

 The few days' rest that was to have set all to rights has 



