rmounted by persons, who, taking advantage of their elevated and
secure position, hurled their abuse upon the police and military with
double bitterness. These sallies of invective were always accompanied by
some humorous allusion, which created a laugh among the crowd beneath;
to which, as the objects of the ridicule were by no means insensible,
the usual reply was by charging on the people, and a command to keep
back,--a difficult precept when pressed forward by some hundreds behind
them. As I made my way slowly through the moving mass, I could see that
a powerful body of horse patrolled between the mob and the front of the
College, the space before which and the iron railings being crammed with
students of the University, for so their caps and gowns bespoke them.
Between this party and the others a constant exchange of abuse and
insult was maintained, which even occasionally came to blows whenever
any chance opportunity of coming in contact, unobserved by the soldiery,
presented itself.

In the interval between these rival parties, each member's carriage was
obliged to pass; and here each candidate for the honors of one and the
execrations of the other, met his bane and antidote.

"Ha, broken beak, there you go! bad luck to you!" "Ha, old vulture,
Flood!"

"Three cheers for Flood, lads!" shouted a voice from the College; and
in the loud cry the yells of their opponents were silenced, but only to
break forth the next moment into further license.

"Here he comes, here he comes!" said the mob; "make way there, or he
'll take you flying! it 's himself can do it. God bless your honor, and
may you never want a good baste under ye!"

This civil speech was directed to a smart, handsome-looking man of about
five and forty, who came dashing along on a roan thoroughbred, perfectly
careless of the crowd, through which he rode with a smiling face and a
merry look. His leathers and tops were all in perfect jockey style,
and even to his long-lashed whip he was in everything a sportsmanlike
figure.

"That's Greorge Ponsonby," said a man beside me, in answer to my
question. "And I suppose you know who that is?"

A perfect yell from the crowd drowned my reply; and amid the mingled
curses and execrations of the mass, a dark-colored carriage moved slowly
on, the coachman evidently fearful at every step lest his horses should
strike against some of the crowd, and thus license the outbreak that
seemed only waiting an opportunity t