396 ZACHARIAH SIMPSON, ESQ. 



same value, for about half the price he had given 

 for the one, if he had but a chopper thrown in ; 

 for which purpose the dealer, knowing his man, 

 generally had ' the very animal on the spot that 

 would suit him above all others.' He was also fond 

 of trotting and other ponies, and mostly had a 

 few kept in the stable to look at. For these he 

 would give large sums, and when tired of seeing 

 them, they would be got rid of in the same way 

 as his hunters, only to make room for fresh and 

 more useless creatures. It was with him an infatua- 

 tion ; and though he knew he lost by it, he could not 

 resist the temptation to dabble in these profitless 

 animals of whose value he knew nothing. Thus it 

 came about that in the same ratio that his expenses 

 increased, his income diminished ; and ultimately he 

 had to seek the indulgence of his creditors, ending 

 in everything that he had being sold. Happily for 

 his sake and for that of his family, they had separate 

 fortunes, and so escaped engulfment in the wreck 

 which his negligence and his eccentric, not to say 

 insensate, diversions brought about. 



I have referred to the fact that his stud-groom was 

 paid a pound a week. He, Sturgeon by name, could 

 neither read nor write. An incident connected with 

 him will admirably show his master's eccentric way 

 of viewing practical matters. He lived in a house 

 neither commodious nor comfortable, had a wife and 

 ten children besides, whom by some mystery he 



