warm to his work, and he took me round the stables, with that peculiar loose hobble which grooms somehow seem to acquire in the stable.
“Ah! that were the master’s own hoss,” he exclaimed, affectionately patting an old hunter, “and this ’ere one carried the missus; she were a rare comely lady, and wanted some good stuff to be up to her weight, she did; and this was the pony that the young squire as was to be, used to ride, only he died; and poor master, he took on so about it, I do believe it was the death on him.”
“And this one,” said I, espying the bay with the black legs.
“Ah! sir,” he said, “now you have hit it. I see you baint a bad judge of hosses. I see this ain’t the first time you have had to do wi’ ’em.”
“Well,” thought I to myself, “if this excellent old man wants to be sold with the lot, I won’t object. He’s just the sterling trustworthy old man I would like to trust my Beaty to.”
It would almost seem as though the old servitor divined my thoughts, for he said,—
“Ain’t he handsome as paint, sir? That was he as carried Miss Grace, she as is dead and gone now, sir, wi’ her first babe. Lord, sir, the whole village used to come out to see Miss Grace a-riding, and I scarcely knowed which looked the handsomest, she or this ’ere hoss;” and the old man rubbed his eyes with his sleeve.
I stopped for a moment, and whilst I appeared to be busy looking over the animals, I was thinking to myself what a wide difference there was between servants. Here was an old fellow, as rough and as dry, to all outward appearance, as the bark of a tree, yet as tender-hearted as a child. What a contrast, I thought, to the “spick-and-span-new” grooms of the present day, whose only thought is, how they can do the animals out of their oats! There can be no doubt here, I thought, of the rare service of the antique world. This is one of the good old servants we used to hear our fathers talk about.
To return to business, however, the “horse of great beauty” was in a loose box, which showed off his points to perfection. He was a small horse, splendidly groomed, and in superb condition. He was, in short, the ideal horse for my Beaty; and I flattered myself that she would look quite as becoming upon him as Miss Grace.
“I suppose Squire will allow a trial and give a warranty with him,” I said, carelessly, and as a mere matter of form.
“In course,” said the old man; “the conditions is, that anybody that is likely to suit may have him as long as they like, to try ’un, and if they don’t like ’un, they have only to bring ’un back and have their money.”
Nothing could be more straightforward.
“When will Squire be here,” I inquired.
“Well, sir, I did hear tell that he had to attend a Bible meeting, at Exeter Hall, and that he might look in as he came by, about one; but, Lord bless’e, sir, they kind of gemmen as goes to the hall don’t take no count of hoss-flesh; and all he cares about is, that they shall get into some kind hand as likes hosses. Besides, sir, he don’t much care about selling this ’ere one, as he thinks he has a friend who will take the lot.”
“Very well, John,” I said, liking the look of the affair more and more, “I will be here at one.”
At the appointed time I was at the stable, and, fortunately, the squire looked in.
He saw me, but took not the slightest notice of my presence, but conversed with the old groom in an undertone, and was evidently giving some directions to him about one of the animals. He was on the point of going away, when the old groom hinted to me that that was the squire, and if I had anything to say I had better make haste, as he was off again to an afternoon prayer-meeting at the hall.
Having apologised for my intrusion, I at once explained the object of my visit; and, as I did so, I could not help remarking the appearance of the squire and executor. He was dressed in black, and wore a white cravat, with an old-fashioned deep frill to his shirt, and gave me the idea of belonging to one of the learned professions—either a clergyman or physician of the old school; there was a leanness about his face, too, which gave him the air of an ascetic, but that his nimble eyes somewhat belied that character.
The principal gave me the same story about the horses as the old groom. He should be glad to get them off his hands, if he could find a good master for them; and, really, he knew very little about horses, and the charge of them interfered with business on which he had come up to town, which, he gave me to understand, was to attend the May meetings. At the same time, he felt it a duty to attend to the last wishes of his old friend, who was, he thought, a little sentimental about his horses, but these little weaknesses were just the things that ought to be respected. He said this very carelessly, as though he were talking to himself rather than to me.
Everything was so fair and above-board, that I determined to conclude the deal at once.