266 Did you ever Drive a Jibber down to a Fight ? 



a fight of it as we could. The Capten was obstinate, and swore he 

 would not be beat ; so, by dint of double-thonging and leading, we 

 managed to come into the road which ran across the common, as 

 it were, horizontally with us. Now, on this road was a continuous 

 stream of carriages of every description, perhaps a mile long, all 

 heading to our right, and we just cut the road about the middle of 

 the line. They were not so closely packed as to leave any diffi- 

 culty for us to fall in; but when we were in, the cart just behind 

 us, in which sat four of about the biggest roughs I have ever seen, 

 was far too close to be pleasant. The Capten, to my surprise, was 

 now very quiet ; in fact, he was meditating, and if I had only 

 known what a master-stroke of policy he was just then revolving in 

 his mind to cut the whole concern, I should not have been surprised 

 at his silence. It was not long before the horse stopped again, 

 which, of course, brought up all directly behind us j and if the chaff 

 and advice which we received on our starting from Littlebury was 

 severe, they were classical compared with the taunts and epithets 

 which were now showered upon us. I was out of the cart in an 

 instant, to start the horse ; and this performance had to be repeated 

 about once in every five minutes. However, everything in this life 

 must have an end, and on looking ahead I saw the cart which was 

 heading the procession suddenly turn from the road on to the com- 

 mon, followed by all the rest. This cart contained no less a per- 

 sonage than the commissary of the P.R. (described in All the 

 Year Round in the notice of the Farnborough fight in 1860, as a 

 sage of hoary and venerable aspect") with the important material, 

 the ropes and stakes. He drove a little way on to the common, 

 where he proceeded to pitch the ring. 



We had now not much farther to go, and I began to wonder 

 inwardly to myself what the Capten would do with the horse and 

 cart, for it seemed to me perfect madness to take them to the side 

 of a crowded ring ; and the only house that I could see was a lone 

 red-brick house at the further end of the common, about one mile 

 and a half distant. But I need have been under no apprehension 

 on the Capten 's account, for we no sooner came to where the first 

 cart had turned off (at which point the horse again resolutely shut 



