ing at all," answered Coates; "suffer me, however, to
proceed:--'_Is by trade a butcher_,'--you, sir, I believe, never had any
dealings in that line?"

"I have some notion how to dispose of a troublesome calf," returned
Jack. "But Turpin, though described as a butcher, is, I understand, a
lineal descendant of a great French archbishop of the same name."

"Who wrote the chronicles of that royal robber Charlemagne; I know him,"
replied Coates--"a terrible liar!--The modern Turpin '_is about five
feet nine inches high_'--exactly your height, sir--exactly!"

"I am five feet ten," answered Jack, standing bolt upright.

"You have an inch, then, in your favor," returned the unperturbed
attorney, deliberately proceeding with his examination--"'_he has a
brown complexion, marked with the smallpox_.'"

"My complexion is florid--my face without a seam," quoth Jack.

"Those whiskers would conceal anything," replied Coates, with a grin.
"Nobody wears whiskers nowadays, except a highwayman."

"Sir!" said Jack, sternly. "You are personal."

"I don't mean to be so," replied Coates; "but you must allow the
description tallies with your own in a remarkable manner. Hear me out,
however--'_his cheek bones are broad--his face is thinner towards the
bottom--his visage short--pretty upright--and broad about the
shoulders_.' Now I appeal to Mr. Tyrconnel if all this does not sound
like a portrait of yourself."

"Don't appeal to me," said Titus, hastily, "upon such a delicate point.
I can't say that I approve of a gentleman being likened to a highwayman.
But if ever there was a highwayman I'd wish to resemble, it's either
Redmond O'Hanlon or Richard Turpin; and may the devil burn me if I know
which of the two is the greater rascal!"

"Well, Mr. Palmer," said Coates, "I repeat, I mean no offence.
Likenesses are unaccountable. I am said to be like my Lord North;
whether I am or not, the Lord knows. But if ever I meet with Turpin I
shall bear you in mind--he--he! Ah! if ever I _should_ have the good
luck to stumble upon him, I've a plan for his capture which couldn't
fail. Only let me get a glimpse of him, that's all. You shall see how
I'll dispose of him."

"Well, sir, we _shall_ see," observed Palmer. "And for your own sake, I
wish you may never be nearer to him than you are at this moment. With
his friends, they say Dick Turpin can be as gentle as a lamb; with his
foes, especially with a limb of the law like yourself, he's been foun