to turn away, up tools Timothy Truman in his buggy, and he, too, began to crane and look into the abyss—­and a terrible place it was, I assure you—­quite frightful, and he liked it no better than myself.  Seeing this, I takes courage, and said, ’Why, Tim, your ’oss will do it!’ ‘Thank’e, Mr. J——­,’ said he, ‘I’ll follow you.’  ‘Then,’ said I, ’if you’ll change wehicles’—­for, mind ye, I had no notion of damaging my own—­’I’ll bet you a hat I gets over.’  ‘Done,’ said he, and out he got; so I takes his ’oss by the head, looses the bearing-rein, and leading him quietly up to the place and letting him have a look at it, gave him a whack over the back, and over he went, gig and all, as clever as could be!”

Stubbs.  Well done, Mr. J——­, you are really a most wonderful man!  You have the most extraordinary adventures of any man breathing—­but what did you do with your own machine?

Jorrocks.  Oh! you see, I just turned round to Binjimin, who was with me, and said, You may go home, and, getting into Timothy’s buggy, I had my ride for nothing, and the hat into the bargain.  A nice hat it is too—­regular beaver—­a guinea’s worth at least.  All true what I’ve told you, isn’t it, Binjimin?

“Quite!” replied Benjamin, putting his thumb to his nose, and spreading his fingers like a fan as he slunk behind his master.

“But come, gentlemen,” resumed Mr. Jorrocks, “let’s be after going upstairs.—­Binjimin, announce the gentlemen as your missis taught you.  Open the door with your left hand, and stretch the right towards her, to let the company see the point to make up to.”

The party ascend the stairs one at a time, for the flight is narrow and rather abrupt, and Benjamin, obeying his worthy master’s injunctions, threw open the front drawing-room door, and discovered Mrs. Jorrocks sitting in state at a round table, with annuals and albums spread at orthodox distances around.  The possession of this room had long been a bone of contention between Mr. Jorrocks and his spouse, but at length they had accommodated matters by Mr. Jorrocks gaining undivided possession of the back drawing-room (communicating by folding-doors), with the run of the front one equally with Mrs. Jorrocks on non-company days.  A glance, however, showed which was the master’s and which the mistress’s room.  The front one was papered with weeping willows, bending under the weight of ripe cherries on a white ground, and the chair cushions were covered with pea-green cotton velvet with yellow worsted bindings.

The round table was made of rosewood, and there was a “whatnot” on the right of the fire-place of similar material, containing a handsomely-bound collection of Sir Walter Scott’s Works, in wood.  The carpet-pattern consisted of most dashing bouquets of many-coloured flowers, in winding French horns on a very light drab ground, so light, indeed, that Mr. Jorrocks was never allowed to tread upon it except in pumps or slippers.  The bell-pulls were made