206 The Best Fourteen-Hander in England. 



ing her over the gate into the stable-yard, and triumphantly 

 exclaiming as he slid off her back, when she pulled up, that for 

 her inches he never saw her equal in "lepping." What would 

 the poor consumptive young lady have thought, could she only have 

 seen her little favourite handled as she was this afternoon ! 



On the Thursday morning I rode over to the magistrates' meet- 

 ing, with my old friend, whose testimony I felt certain would clear 

 me. The only anxiety he laboured under was that " old Bung " 

 would be chairman on this occasion. I may add, in parenthesis, 

 that "old Bung" was a rich brewer in the town, and possessed of 

 considerable landed property, over which my old friend was con- 

 tinually trespassing with his greyhounds the only kind of poaching 

 which he cared for and more than once had been brought up for 

 trespass before this very bench. The magistrates met at twelve, 

 and, after three or four affiliation cases had been disposed of, my 

 charge was called on. I may add that I had no want of counsellors j 

 and, as I entered the court, Jack Russell (whose experience as a 

 defendant in charges before the magistrates was acknowledged to 

 be great) pulled me on one side, and, after whispering to me "that 

 I had no occasion to answer any questions which would criminate 

 myself," he pushed me into the room, bidding me "keep up my 

 head and fight low, for they could not hang me this time." As it 

 was market-day, most of the hard-riding farmers in the district had 

 strolled into court to watch the proceedings on my behalf. The 

 case for the prosecution had evidently been got up with much care, 

 and the weight of evidence against me, as the editor (who was 

 sitting close to the magistrates' clerk to take notes) observed to a 

 friend, was "crushing." Old Giles, the pikeman, the dreadful old 

 lady with the umbrella, the two Miss Simpkinsons, and the nurse- 

 maids, were all gathered together in a little group as witnesses 

 against me j and, on looking towards the bench, I not only saw to 

 my dismay that "old Bung" was chairman, but I also saw the 

 owner of Chunee Villa seated on a chair to his right hand. The 

 two other magistrates were, as my old friend whispered to me, 

 " the right sort," and we had nothing to fear from them. After 



