A man took hold of his knee, and threw him upon the horse: he was in his seat in a trice; then clinging by the mane of his horse, he scrambled for the bridle, which was under the other horse’s feet--reached it, and, well satisfied with himself, looked round at Paddy, who looked back to the chaise-door at my angry servants, “secure in the last event of things.” In vain the Englishman in monotonous anger, and the Frenchman in every note of the gamut, abused Paddy: necessity and wit were on Paddy’s side; he parried all that was said against his chaise, his horses, himself, and his country, with invincible comic dexterity, till at last, both his adversaries, dumb-foundered, clambered into the vehicle, where they were instantly shut up in straw and darkness. Paddy, in a triumphant tone, called to _my_ postilions, bidding them “get on, and not be stopping the way any longer.” Without uttering a syllable, they drove on; but they could not, nor could I, refrain from looking back to see how those fellows would manage. We saw the fore-horses make towards the right, then to the left, and every way but straight forwards; whilst Paddy bawled to Hosey--“Keep the middle of the road, can’t ye? I don’t want ye to draw a pound at-all-at-all.” At last, by dint of whipping, the four horses were compelled to set off in a lame gallop; but they stopped short at a hill near the end of the town, whilst a shouting troop of ragged boys followed, and pushed them fairly to the top. Half an hour afterwards, as we were putting on our drag-chain to go down another steep hill,--to my utter astonishment, Paddy, with his horses in full gallop, came rattling and _chehupping_ past us. My people called to warn him that he had no _drag_: but still he cried “Never fear!” and shaking the long reins, and stamping with his foot, on he went thundering down the hill. My Englishmen were aghast. “The turn yonder below, at the bottom of the hill, is as sharp and ugly as ever I see,” said my postilion, after a moment’s stupified silence. “He will break their necks, as sure as my name is John.” Quite the contrary: when we had dragged and undragged, and came up to Paddy, we found him safe on his legs, mending some of his tackle very quietly. “If that had broken as you were going down the steep hill,” said I, “it would have been all over with you, Paddy.” “That’s true, plase your honour: but it never happened me going down hill--nor never will, by the blessing of God, if I’ve any luck.”