378 THREATENING A STORM. 



good hands, and as from going away I was obliged to 

 sell him so much under his value, I arn glad a gentle- 

 man has got him." " I like your horse exceedingly," 

 replies the purchaser ; " but 1 think I gave as much 

 as his fair value for him." "I assure you," replied 

 the first owner, " I gave ninety for him six months 

 since, and consider him worth it, and you have him 

 at fifty-eight." " Excuse me, Sir," said the purchaser, 

 " I gave eighty guineas for him." " Eighty ! " cried 

 the former : " and did you buy him at Nickem's ? " 

 "I did," says the purchaser. "Then," replies the 

 seller, " you must allow Mr. Nickem is neither more 

 nor less than a robber and a scoundrel ! " 



"Now, Sir!" says the coachman. "No," replies 

 the gentleman, " I shall not go on." " Eight ! " cries 

 the guard exit mail. The gentleman orders a 

 chaise "directly." "Hostler, if you please, Sir."- 

 " Porter, Sir, if you please." "Go on, boy:" and 

 now exit post-chaise. "The French swore terribly 

 in Flanders," says Corporal Trim, or my uncle Toby, 

 I forget which. (I dare say they did, for I have 

 heard them swear pretty well in their own country,) 

 but that was with a kind of shut teeth grating sacre 

 sound, quite unlike the fine round volume of sound 

 with which the oaths came from the mouth of our 

 vengeful gentleman : the chaise could not hold them, 

 so he opened the windows, and they escaped on each 

 side like soap-and-water bubbles from a boy's tobacco- 

 pipe. The current of air one might think during the 

 ten miles would have cooled the gentleman, but it did 

 not, or his anger. The curses bestowed on the well- 

 known Obadiah were tolerably particular and multi- 

 farious ; but tkey were fcw in number and mild in 

 import to those fulminated against the culprit Nickem. 



