guages, quite out of your way--he understands some
twenty; what do you say to that?"

"Is he a sound man?"

"Why, as to that, I scarcely know what to say: he has got queer notions
in his head--wrote a book to prove that all words came originally from
the earth--who knows? Words have roots, and roots, live in the earth;
but, upon the whole, I should not call him altogether a sound man, though
he can talk Greek nearly as fast as Parr."

"Is he a round man?"

"Ay, boy, rounder than Parr; I'll sing you a song, if you like, which
will let you into his character:--

"'Give me the haunch of a buck to eat, and to drink Madeira old,
And a gentle wife to rest with, and in my arms to fold,
An Arabic book to study, a Norfolk cob to ride,
And a house to live in shaded with trees, and near to a river side;
With such good things around me, and blessed with good health withal,
Though I should live for a hundred years, for death I would not
call.'

Here's to Whiter's health--so you know nothing about the fight?"

"No, sir; the truth is, that of late I have been very much occupied with
various matters, otherwise I should, perhaps, have been able to afford
you some information--boxing is a noble art."

"Can you box?"

"A little."

"I tell you what, my boy; I honour you, and, provided your education had
been a little less limited, I should have been glad to see you here in
company with Parr and Whiter; both can box. Boxing is, as you say, a
noble art--a truly English art; may I never see the day when Englishmen
shall feel ashamed of it, or blacklegs and blackguards bring it into
disgrace! I am a magistrate, and, of course, cannot patronise the thing
very openly, yet I sometimes see a prize-fight: I saw the Game Chicken
beat Gulley."

"Did you ever see Big Ben?"

"No, why do you ask?" But here we heard a noise, like that of a gig
driving up to the door, which was immediately succeeded by a violent
knocking and ringing, and after a little time, the servant who had
admitted me made his appearance in the room.

"Sir," said he, with a certain eagerness of manner, "here are two
gentlemen waiting to speak to you."

"Gentlemen waiting to speak to me! who are they?"

"I don't know, sir," said the servant; "but they look like sporting
gentlemen, and--and"--here he hesitated; "from a word or two they
dropped, I almost think that they come about the fight."

"About the fight," said the magistrate.