He knew exactly how far to go, and having expressed his previous
objection to the horse, he now most handsomely made the _amende honorable_
by patting him on the neck, and declaring that he really thought he should
keep him.
It is said that every man has his weak or 'do-able' point, if the sharp
ones can but discover it. This observation does not refer, we believe, to
men with an innocent _penchant_ for play, or the turf, or for buying
pictures, or for collecting china, or for driving coaches and four, all of
which tastes proclaim themselves sooner or later, but means that the most
knowing, the most cautious, and the most careful, are all to be come over,
somehow or another.
There are few things more surprising in this remarkable world than the
magnificent way people talk about money, or the meannesses they will resort
to in order to get a little. We hear fellows flashing and talking in
hundreds and thousands, who will do almost anything for a five-pound note.
We have known men pretending to hunt countries at their own expense, and
yet actually 'living out of the hounds.
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