entary
halt, and Tommy wisely embraced the opportunity of letting himself slide
off upon a soft and yielding bed of mire. The servant now came up to
Tommy and rescued him from his disagreeable situation, where, however,
he had received no other damage than that of daubing himself all over.

William had been at first very much frightened at the danger of his
master; but when he saw that he had so luckily escaped all hurt, he
could not help asking him, with a smile, whether this too was a stroke
of Arabian horsemanship? Tommy was a little provoked at this reflection
upon his horsemanship; but, as he had now lost something of his
irritability by repeated mortification, he wisely repressed his passion,
and desired William to catch his horse, while he returned homewards on
foot to warm himself. The servant, therefore, endeavoured to approach
the pony, who, as if contented with the triumph he had obtained over his
rider, was quietly feeding at a little distance; but the instant William
approached, he set off again at a violent rate, and seemed disposed to
lead him a second chase not inferior to the first.

In the meantime Tommy walked pensively along the common, reflecting on
the various accidents which had befallen him, and the repeated
disappointments he had found in all his attempts to distinguish himself.
While he was thus engaged, he overtook a poor and ragged figure, the
singularity of whose appearance engaged his attention. It was a man of
middle age, in a dress he had never seen before, with two poor children
that seemed with difficulty to keep up with him, while he carried a
third in his arms, whose pale emaciated looks sufficiently declared
disease and pain. The man had upon his head a coarse blue bonnet instead
of a hat; he was wrapped round by a tattered kind of garment, striped
with various colours, and at his side hung down a long and formidable
sword.

Tommy surveyed him with such an earnest observation, that at length the
man took notice of it, and, bowing to him with the greatest civility,
ventured to ask him if he had met with any accident, that he appeared in
a disorder which suited so little with his quality. Tommy was not a
little pleased with the discernment of the man, who could distinguish
his importance in spite of the dirtiness of his clothes, and therefore
mildly answered, "No, friend, there is not much the matter. I have a
little obstinate horse that ran away with me, and after trying in vain
to