266 PREPARING FOR A SHAVE. 



riably, do) make his selection out of three ways of 

 proceeding : he would be afraid to enter the stall at 

 all, but stand squinting round the post, forgetting a 

 horse was in the next very likely to resent his pro- 

 pinquity to him ; or if he did venture into the stall, 

 lie would do so in that hesitating manner that Avould 

 show the horse he was afraid of him, and induce him 

 to take some very rougli liberties if so inclined; or he 

 would (from not knowing his danger) go so suddenly 

 into the stall as to take the horse by surprise, who 

 would in return probably very much surprise the 

 gentleman by his heels or mouth, for his looking to 

 see if the rack-chain was loose or on the head collar 

 would be out of the question. In either of these last 

 cases, I will answer for it he places himself just in 

 that situation in the stall that, should a horse strike 

 or bite, he is sure to nail my gentleman against the 

 standing, or eject him by a very summary process: 

 serves him right : he was as much out of his place in 

 a dealer's stable as the dealer would be in the Mav- 

 chioness of Londonderry's drawing-room. But sup- 

 posing so funeste a catastrophe not to have occurred, 

 the dealer is by this time satisfied beyond doubt how 

 to treat this customer, who, of course, considers him- 

 self quite equal to purchase for himself, or he would 

 not have gone there. He therefore begins something 

 in this strain : " I see. Sir, you are no bad judge ; 

 you have not picked out a very bad 'un. I saw you 

 looked at all the best horses I have." Nothing but 

 oil runs so smoothly down the back as a little well- 

 timed flattery. — "I say, Jem," says one of the helpers 

 to another, " master's giving him the soap pretty well, 

 I thank ye." The soap, however, as Tom elegantly 



