PONY AGAINST COACH. 
59 
him. My friend, M. Granval, pharmacien at Granval, assisted me 
in conducting the operations, which were all made in the presence 
of the farmer. 
First we exposed three of the gobes on a shovel brought to a 
white heat, and there was not the slightest vapour of garlick. We 
then exposed others to various preparations of iron, and copper, 
and mercury, but there was not the slightest change of colour or 
precipitate. We then, in order to convince this man, who scarcely 
seemed to understand the purport or result of our proceedings, beat 
up one of these gobes with arsenic. The smell of garlick was then 
plain enough. We afterwards made the same experiment with 
verdigris and corrosive sublimate, and the result of the second ex- 
periment was altogether different from that of the first, but there 
was no poison from the gobe , unless we produced it by the addition 
of these substances. He began now to be convinced, and returned 
home disabused of his error. 
Mem. de la Soc. du Calvados , 1842. 
PONY AGAINST COACH. 
The match in which Burke, of trotting notoriety, undertook for 
a wager, at the rate of three to one, to drive his pony Bobby, 
twelve and a half hands high and nine years old, from Bedford to 
London and from London to Bedford in one day, and from Bedford 
to London back again on the following day — keeping the usual 
time of the coach, five hours and a half, each journey — was fixed to 
come off on Monday and Tuesday last. Burke undertook to drive, 
and it was stipulated that he should not use a whip. Rather to 
the surprise of some of those who regarded the performance of the 
match not only as impossible, but cruel, it was discovered that the 
little animal was not to work alone, but that Burke was to have as 
many leaders as he chose, in succession, to assist him in drawing 
the vehicle — thus, in fact, saving the pony from much of the la- 
bour of draught, and confining its exertions to merely going over 
the ground, a distance each way of fifty-two miles ; that is to say, 
104 miles on the first day, and 52 miles on the second, in all, 
156 miles — a herculean task for a much more powerful creature. 
The start took place from the Swan Inn, Bedford, with the coach* 
The pony in the shafts of a light gig, and preceded by a leader, 
which was changed four times, viz. at Shefford, Welwyn, Barnet, 
and Finchley. The pony reached the George and Blue Boar, 
Holborn, twenty minutes before the coach, apparently fresh and 
full of play. At two o’clock the journey back was commenced, 
