200 THE STREATHAM FARMER 



converted into a nio;ht coach ; and thouo^h it mio'ht, and 

 did, lessen our monthly dividends, it was no longer an 

 eye-sore, except to my friend and partner Robert, Avho 

 generally met it as it came from Lynn, and always on the 

 Tuesday — that being the market-day — his old acquaint- 

 ance, the Streatham Farmer, having hold of the reins. 



It so happened that one fine summer evening, as Bob 

 was going into Lynn with his own drag, he met his old 

 friend comino; out Avith the " Rover," as the nijiht coach 

 was called. The road was wide enough, but the farmer, 

 being a very bad hand, suffered his leaders to swerve. 

 Comino; closer to Robert than he liked, and he not willino^ 

 to let an opportunity escape of showing the tender regard 

 he had for his quondam friend, doubled up his thong, and 

 fetched the farmer such a wipe over the face on passing 

 as to leave the marks of a very sore impression. 



It was impossible so sudden and so unexpected an 

 attack could be resented in kind ; therefore the farmer 

 sought an alternative, more congenial to his feelings, by 

 punishing Bob, as he thought, in a pecuniary way. 



Two or three days after this, mv friend Walker had 

 occasion to go to London. He sat on the roof behind me, 

 the box-seat being occupied, and a letter was put into 

 his hand as we were about to start. When we got out of 

 the town, he handfed it over to me. It proved to be a 

 letter from one of the loAvest of the members of the legal 

 profession, intimating that if an apology for the assault 

 on j\lr. W. R. Avere not immediately published in the 

 Cambridge papers, an action would be commenced ; the 

 same time demandino- 6s. Sd. for the letter. 



" What do you mean to do with it ? " I inquired. 



