GEORGE SPINDLES. 17 



as the colour of " a bright chestnut." The same " party," having 

 borrowed the five shillings of George Spindles and failed to 

 return the loan at the appointed time, was heard to call it 

 "carrots." This great discrepancy, therefore, leaves the histo- 

 rian no certain clue as to the particular shade of the hair of the 

 head lad of the Great Stable of the North. That his eyes were 

 light and grey, and took opposite directions in being brought 

 to bear upon the same object, so as to give him the appearance 

 of circumventing remote corners, no two antagonistic opinions 

 prevailed. That his nose seemed designed exclusively for useful 

 purposes, being devoid of that ornamental part known as " the 

 bridge," was conceded by the universal voice of everybody; 

 and a corresponding theory met with unanimous support, from 

 the same quarters, concerning the form of his mouth, which, if 

 chiselled at all, must have been chiselled by a very large tool. 

 That his body was long, and supported by thin, short legs, in 

 the shape of a parenthesis, no one ventured to dispute ; and 

 that his feet were large and toes square might be proved be- 

 yond the possibility of cavil by having recourse to the simple 

 method of " seeing," which insured, as a matter of course, 

 " believing." 



And yet the grand total of "a good-looking feller" was 

 figured on the slate of George Spindles' memory, never to be 

 rubbed out. 



In " getting himself up," as the head lad of the Great Stable 

 of the North designated making his toilet, originality and care 

 were blended in equal proportions. Entertaining a shrewd 

 notion about " the respectability of a black coat and a white 

 choker," George Spindles seldom presented himself to public 

 gaze in any other established mode of dress. The " choker," 

 from its stiff, unyielding shape, seemed, indeed, modelled from 

 that instrument of capital punishment known as the garotte, 

 and gave the wearer an appearance of being capable of looking 

 over it only while standing on his toes. A waistcoat, of great 

 length, matched the coat in shade and texture, and trousers as 



B 



