PUGILISTS 177 



It was on a morning preceding the day on whicli a 

 long-expected battle was to come off, that I was directed 

 by my way-bill to take up three persons at the " Cherry 

 Tree," Kingsland Road. I had three other insides, one a 

 young and beautiful lady, whose husband, a clergyman, 

 was my companion on the box. Before I got to the 

 stones' end, a gentleman on the roof said, '' Yon have 

 got some fighting men going down with you." 



" Have I ? " I replied, carelessly ; but the gentleman 

 on the box, pricking up his ears, said he would not allow 

 any such characters to sit in the coach with his wife. 



Pulling up, for my three customers were waiting, and, 

 while telling my box companion that I had no power to 

 exclude any one on account of his profession from the 

 coach who had taken his seat, his mind was set at rest by 

 two coarse-lookino- fellows, in rouirh irreat-coats, o-ettins: 

 on the outside, and a well-dressed, genteel-looking young 

 man getting in. In this way we travelled to our place 

 of refreshment, the husband lookino; in when we chano;ed 

 horses to see that all was right. 



On his assisting her out (they had not been long 

 married) she asked him who was the gentleman who grot 

 in last, for his conversation had been extremely inter- 

 esting, and she was sure, by his general information, he 

 must be a gentleman of distinction at the University. 



The individual referred to entered the luncheon room 

 alone, dressed in an elegant suit of black, sat down at the 

 table, and displayed on his delicate white hand a ring, in 

 Avliich was set a valuable diamond. His manners corre- 

 sponded with his appearance, and no one could have 

 suspected him of being a fighting man. 



VOL. II. N 



