CURIOSA.—PLEASING. 
295 
hung about me like a sheet spread upon a fire-screen. I say, 
although my late companions would have been ashamed of me, 
and of my employment too, yet I w^as not ashamed of it, nor am 
I ashamed even yet to say lhat I gloried in it. 
I was, however, but a very brief period employed as a strapper, 
as from the care and pains which I took in cleaning and watering 
the horses they soon mended in their jaded, worn-out appearance, 
for they were regularly fed, because I was regularly sober, 
a state, I have been informed, in which my predecessor was 
never in after mid-day. In a few weeks more I was exclusively 
employed in feeding and looking after the horses, and this em¬ 
ployment, at eight shillings a week, bed, board, and washing, 
with the sweet smiles of a blue-eyed, cherry-cheeked bar-maid, 
were enouoh to have turned a wiser head than I at that time 
possessed ; but I was a canny Scot, and my blood had not reached 
its meridian, and the side-long love-glances of the bar-maid fell 
as lightly on me as snow upon the ocean, and they did me as 
little mischief as water thrown upon a clacking hen. In a few 
days after I had been made chancellor of the corn and bean chests, 
a circumstance occurred which called forth my scientific acquire¬ 
ments : it was this,—one of the horses was brought home, as 
the driver said, summat poorly f and the regular mis-named 
doctor was sent for, who pronounced it a case of inflammation of 
the bowels, and bled the poor animal with a vengeance. I had 
never said to any one who or what I was; and every body about 
the place knew that I had been employed as the lowest of the 
lowfi an understrapper, and I said nothing about the profound 
ignorance of the doctor; but I saw, from every symptom which 
the horse exhibited, that it was a case of irritation, and not in~ 
fiammation, as the doctor supposed. I, of course, informed 
master oi what was going on in the stable, and entreated him to 
order the bleeding to be stopped immediately, as the horse was 
rapidly sinking under it; and if I was found to be wrong, al¬ 
though I was sure that I was not, I would serve him for two 
years for nothing. The bleeding was stopped ; and after I had 
received a sufficient quantum of angry cursing from the doctor, 
for interfering with his cures, or rather kills, and who called me a 
beggarly, lousy, Scotch blackguard, master paid him oflT that 
very hour. Then followed such a scene as I cannot well describe, 
I was so confused : but I was raised to the peerage, and although 
the astonishment of all the natives was great at seeing such a 
great change (even greater than at the dissolution of the late 
whig ministers) yet 1 was not greatly surprised at it, and I will 
tell you why—because, some years before—some twenty years 
before—my granny often said, speaking of me, that she was 
sure that callant would come to something yet; for," added she. 
