DUCKEYS* FATHER. HIS DEATH. 269 



an oath on his lips, " damning" the horse to 

 "stand still" when it became restive, so he 

 was suddenly destroyed without remedy. This 

 happened more than twenty years ago, and I 

 have heard nothing of Duckey Phillips for 

 more than twenty years. 



Old Phillips was the only man I ever 

 remember as trying to swear me down before 

 the magistrates. I always made it a rule, 

 before summoning a man for poaching, to have 

 a perfectly clear case against him, always 

 allowing him the benefit of any doubt, before 

 issuing a summons. 



