PUECHASING HOESES. 113 



horsemen by threes and fours pass, or are passec', 

 while with stentorian lungs they keep up an astound- 

 ing talk (for we will not call it conversation) among 

 themselves ; odd horses, or led ones of twos or threes 

 (not strings, for they are long since located), are 

 seen going to the fair, some of them creating a laugh 

 at themselves — in other cases, the men taking them 

 indulging in a laugh at the expense of some unfor- 

 tunate wayfarer on the road. 



On entering the town, horses neigh, donkeys bray, 

 pigs commence to squeak — all seeming by joint effort 

 endeavouring to drown the efforts of Eichardson's 

 band. All this shows that whoever goes to a fair 

 must be prepared to meet the public gaze unflinch- 

 ingly. 



Arrived at the inn, the man unaccustomed to such 

 places inevitably expects ostler, waiter, perchance the 

 landlord, or landlady, coming out to welcome him. 

 All these functionaries and their assistants? if they 

 could be divided and subdivided, would not thus be 

 able to attend to the calls of each guest. Finding 

 application at the front door useless, he dives into the 



I 



