" DICKY GOSSOP, DICKY GOSSOP IS THE MAN." 407 



dozen horses in his establishment, and certainly 

 never bought as many by auction in London in any 

 other : but I think my estimation of Mr. R. Tat- 

 tersall is pretty near the mark, when I say I should 

 as soon suspect him of making a guinea by any means 

 that could be construed into bordering on what was 

 dishonourable, as I could conceive him neglecting 

 to make it where it was to be got in a perfectly ho- 

 nourable way. I think I could scarcely prove my 

 perfect conviction of his integrity more strongly. 



Mr. Dixon's Repository I have been in perhaps a 

 dozen times, never but once on business ; it is quite 

 out of my beat when in London. I once attended 

 the sale of a friend's horse there, received every civility 

 and attention, and the horse was sold in a satisfactory 

 way. Here ends my knowledge of Dixon's. Mr. 

 Robinson's I never was in in iny life. Aldridge's 

 u wot was," I once bought a horse at, and on that 

 occasion, and also once at the King Street Bazaar, I 

 have great pleasure in mentioning the urbanity of 

 manners of Mr. Haughton : here ends my knowledge 

 of London horse auctions. Doubtless there are 

 Nickems enough in London, though not at the places 

 I have mentioned. 



But whether in London or the country, let us re- 

 turn to friend Nickem, and see how he would manage 

 with a horse placed in his hands to be sold, if not by 

 private sale, by auction. I think I see him chuckling 

 at this double chance afforded him. Now where there 

 are a couple of hundred horses put up every week by 

 auction, a man can go perfectly straightforward, and 

 must make money ; but where his average is perhaps 

 twenty, those twenty must be twisted and turned so 

 as to stand in the place of two hundred, or how is 



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