o great place for meat," said Mrs Pritchard, "that is fresh
meat, for sometimes a fortnight passes without anything being killed in
the neighbourhood. I am afraid at present there is not a bit of fresh
meat to be had. What we can get you for dinner I do not know, unless you
are willing to make shift with bacon and eggs."

"I'll tell you what I'll do," said I, "I will have the bacon and eggs
with tea and bread-and-butter, not forgetting a pint of ale--in a word, I
will box Harry."

"I suppose you are a commercial gent," said Mrs Pritchard.

"Why do you suppose me a commercial gent?" said I. "Do I look one?"

"Can't say you do much," said Mrs Pritchard; "you have no rings on your
fingers, nor a gilt chain at your waistcoat-pocket, but when you said
'box Harry,' I naturally took you to be one of the commercial gents, for
when I was at Liverpool I was told that that was a word of theirs."

"I believe the word properly belongs to them," said I. "I am not one of
them; but I learnt it from them, a great many years ago, when I was much
amongst them. Those whose employers were in a small way of business, or
allowed them insufficient salaries, frequently used to 'box Harry,' that
is, have a beaf-steak, or mutton-chop, or perhaps bacon and eggs, as I am
going to have, along with tea and ale, instead of the regular dinner of a
commercial gentleman, namely, fish, hot joint, and fowl, pint of sherry,
tart, ale and cheese, and bottle of old port, at the end of all."

Having made arrangements for "boxing Harry" I went into the tap-room,
from which I had heard the voice of Mr Pritchard proceeding during the
whole of my conversation with his wife. Here I found the worthy landlord
seated with a single customer; both were smoking. The customer instantly
arrested my attention. He was a man, seemingly about forty years of age
with a broad red face, with certain somethings, looking very much like
incipient carbuncles, here and there, upon it. His eyes were grey and
looked rather as if they squinted; his mouth was very wide, and when it
opened displayed a set of strong, white, uneven teeth. He was dressed in
a pepper-and-salt coat of the Newmarket cut, breeches of corduroy and
brown top boots, and had on his head a broad, black, coarse, low-crowned
hat. In his left hand he held a heavy whale-bone whip with a brass head.
I sat down on a bench nearly opposite to him and the landlord.

"Well," said Mr Pritchard; "did you find your