302 DOING A MAGISTRATE. 



finding one of the two must be wrong, requested the 

 stranger to walk in, and he would see into the merits 

 of the case ; and he left the room to go to him. On 

 his return, he found Barrington gone, who of course 

 did not wish any interview with the stranger, who 

 consequently took himself off also. This was well 

 enough ; but, on wishing to see the hour, his wor- 

 ship discovered that his watch was gone too. He 

 now remembered the hook. Barrington, not daring 

 to keep it, returned with it next day, when, if report 

 says true, the magistrate presented it to him for his 

 ingenuity : if so, he was a trump. 



I hope my friends will believe me when I say, that 

 a horse in the hands of a certain set is to be made as 

 efficacious an instrument for picking pockets as George 

 Barrington's hooks. They may forget themselves, and 

 be induced (if not to look out of window as the worthy 

 magistrate was) to do something that puts their 

 pockets in quite as much danger. Whether in buying 

 or selling, the only way is to have nothing to do with 

 these gentry : never fancy you can guard against their 

 tricks : they have a dodge at every turn. Nice lads 

 to get a bargain of ! Yes, they will give you a bar- 

 gain, " with a liook" 



We will shortly show how these fellows act when a 

 gentleman or any other individual wants to buy ; for 

 they will have a finger in the pie here too. I have 

 before said, these scamps do not come to fairs (in the 

 common acceptation of the term) to buy, that is, 

 they do not come to buy a certain number of horses 

 to take away to be sold at a proper and a general 

 profit. If they can buy, as I have represented, a 

 horse for a quarter of his value, in which so far as 



