Now if these had been the only facts in the case, I should have said that this lady was entitled to recover the value of her damaged costume from the omnibus company, because it is undoubtedly part of the conductor’s duties to ring his bell and stop to take up and set down passengers, and if a passenger is going outside he ought not to start the omnibus until the passenger has secured his seat, or without giving him warning or taking other reasonable means to see that he gets his seat in safety. But in this also the plaintiff was nonsuited, and, although it did not appear so in the report, the learned judge must have thought that there was some negligence on the part of the lady. Possibly she had got on to the omnibus whilst it was in motion, as so many ladies do nowadays. This would at once put her out of court. If there had not been contributory negligence of some kind, this lady would have won her case. If you meet with an accident through getting on or off an omnibus whilst it is in motion, you contribute to the accident in not ordering the conductor to stop, and you have only yourself to blame; if, however, you had ordered the conductor to stop and he had neglected or refused to do so, you would probably succeed in an action against the company. Nowadays, when nearly all the omnibus companies issue tickets, you are not bound to show your tickets whenever they are demanded by a conductor or inspector, but it is wiser to do so because the absence of a ticket will generally be regarded by the magistrate as evidence of your not having paid your fare, and unless you have any friends travelling with you who are ready to come forward and swear that they saw you purchase a ticket, you will very likely be fined and have to pay costs as well. If you are travelling in a train or a tram, you are bound to produce and deliver up your ticket whenever it is demanded by a servant of the company, the railway and the tramway companies having special powers to make bye-laws to this effect. The muzzling orders still remain in force for the Metropolis, although in the country the dogs are freed of their muzzles. A man who was summoned the other day for allowing his dog to run about unmuzzled, tried to make a point by pleading that he did not permit the dog to run about unmuzzled. Whenever he took the dog out he always put his muzzle on, but on this occasion the dog had gone out without his permission. However, the magistrate fined him all the same, just as he did Your affectionate cousin, BOB BRIEFLESS. THE HOUSE WITH THE VERANDAH. BY ISABELLA FYVIE MAYO, Author of “Other People’s Stairs,” “Her Object in Life,” etc. CHAPTER XIII. STARTLED!