EXPERIMENTALISING. 295 



to do, throws a damp 011 the seller's hopes. He had 

 perhaps made up his mind, if he found he could not 

 do better, to take ten or fifteen pounds less than he 

 asked ; and, had they talked of forty instead of sixty, 

 he would consider either he asked twenty too much, 

 or that they wanted to get his horse at too little. 

 But to be told to ASK twenty (which of course means 

 that less would be offered (if he did) for a sixty-pound 

 nag) is such a choker, that the owner (if he is not 

 used to such things) hardly knows whether he or his 

 horse stand on their heads or heels. He cannot 

 conceive any man would have the impudence to make 

 such a remark unless he had seen something radically 

 bad about the horse that had escaped the owner's 

 notice. He is almost tempted to look at his horse's 

 eyes to ascertain whether he has gone blind. Now 

 if one of these worthies perceive any thing of this, 

 though, when he courteously begged to be asked 20/., 

 he had not the remotest idea he should get him, he 

 now begins to think the thing, though still impro- 

 bable, by no means impossible, and as, if he fails, it will 

 cost him nothing, he resolves to " try it on;" and 

 something like the following very refined remark will 

 probably be made to some other worthy : "I say, 

 Jack, I think the gammon fits a bit, don't it ?" " Go 

 after Johnny, and tell him I want to show him the 

 Queen's face." 



From this moment our respectable acquaintance 

 and his friend determine that they will have the 

 horse, or that he shall not be sold at all. They cer- 

 tainly cannot determine he shall be theirs; but if they 

 set about it, they certainly will, in nineteen cases out 

 of twenty, prevent his being bought by any one else. 



u 4 



