CAPTAIN BLEATEB'8 COUP. 11 



the sheets on The Screw's glossy quarters, and exclaims : 

 " By gum, Capting, what a heye you 'ave, and what a 'ed 

 to plan these little amoosements for them as goes racin' ! 

 We keeps 'osses for their pleasure, do we 1 " 



The little town of Market Caistor is in an unusual state of 

 bustle. The mid-day train has brought in a tremendous 

 crowd of people, and vehicles of all descriptions are rapidly 

 tilling the hotel and livery yards, each conveyance laden with 

 its burden of ladies and gentlemen, evidently bent on enjoy- 

 ment. The centre of the market place is occupied by a steam 

 roundabout, and is surrounded by shooting galleries, cocoanut 

 shies, and other side shows ; but they seem to be attracting 

 little attention at the present, for the stream of foot people 

 and carriages is Avinding out of the town, as though, having 

 got safely through its narrow approaches into the heart of 

 the place, the great object now is to get out of it as soon as 

 possible. And what a mixture the stream of humanity is 

 composed of! Ladies in neat tailor-made frocks or the 

 creation of deft female fingers ; gentlemen in long brown 

 overcoats, with race glasses slung over their shoulders ; 

 others, in suits of a pronounced check, carrying hat-boxes, 

 easels, boards, boxes, and large gay coloured umbrellas ; 

 niggers, wandering musicians, and gamins with " krect cards " 

 to sell ; all tending in one direction, where some white tents 

 and a few flags can be seen in the distance. Now and then a 

 smart four-in-hand makes its way with difficulty through the 

 crowd ; a well filled brake and pair, a dog-cart, or the in- 

 evitable country " fly " ; while here and there a clean-shaved 

 man in breeches and gaiters is seen leading a horse so care- 

 fully wrapped in clothing and bandages, that an uninitiated 

 stranger wonders if it has contracted a severe cold. What 

 does it all mean ? Why, it is one of the two red-letter days 

 of the year for Market Caistor, one of which is the day of the 



