THE "BIG OF BONES." 109 



few hundred yards from the inn, and walked into the 

 house as if he were a perfect stranger to the other. 

 This one accosted the traveller with 



" A nice mare you are driving, sir ; she looks like 

 trotting/' said he. 



" Yes, she's a fair goer, sir a very fair goer," said 

 the traveller. 



There were several more people in the parlour at the 

 time, one heing the butcher, who lived hard by, and 

 who knew the traveller well from the fact of his always 

 treating him when he called at that house, and also 

 from a little similarity in their tastes, especially in 

 trotting matters. At this juncture the landlord en- 

 tered, and after shaking hands with the traveller, they 

 retired ; the footsteps of the landlord were immediately 

 heard on the stairs, and in another minute or two he 

 descended, a brief interval elapsed, when the pen and 

 inkstand were fetched from a shelf in the bar, then a 

 rattling of gold and silver was heard in the distance, 

 and all was over but a low murmuring, which sounded 

 very like kilderkins, barrels, ale, porter, empty casks, 

 &c., &c. But while all this was going on in the little 

 snuggery, the conversation between the butcher and 

 coper had commenced ; mildly enough at first, it is 

 true, but it had now waxed very warm about the re- 

 spective merits of the bay mare. The coper thought 

 his old " bag of bones" in the stable could trot faster. 

 The butcher strongly advocated the traveller's opinion, 

 with the addition of sundry thumps of his mutton fist 



