"Amongst those whose ears Mr Darsy's want of a pair of horses reached, was a certain dealer in horse-flesh, of the name of William Craig, as great a rascal as Scotland perhaps ever had the honour of producing; but he was withal a pleasant knave, and always cheated with the greatest good-humour imaginable. The smile was never off his countenance, excepting when he saw it for his interest to look grave, and then he could put on a face of sympathy and sentiment that it would break your heart to look at. He was, in short, a most plausible and most accomplished scoundrel--clever, and well-informed. "On hearing that Mr Darsy wanted a couple of horses, and that he had already rejected several that had been offered him-- "'I'll try my hand on him,' said Willie; 'and if I dinna fix him, blame me.' "'Do you mean by gi'ein him a fair bargain, Willie?' inquired the friend to whom he had made the boast above quoted. "'Never did that in my life to onybody, and I'm no gaun to begin now,' replied Willie. "'Then, how do you propose to fix him, Willie, as ye ca't?' "'Leave that to me,' said the honest horse-jockey. 'I'll do him owre as clean's a leek. I'll _trot_ him out as cleverly as I ever did ony beast wi' four legs. I hae the secret o' him.' "'What do you ca' the secret o' him, Willie? What do you mean by that?' "'Aha, lad! How's your mother?' replied Willie, laughing, and touching the side of his nose emphatically with the point of his forefinger. 'I'll keep my thumb on that till I hae tried it.' "On that very afternoon, Willie posted off to Dryfield with a couple of horses on which he had practised every secret of his art to give them a passable appearance. On one of the horses Willie himself was mounted; the other he led by a halter; and, thus disposed, arrived at a swinging trot at Mr Darsy's. That gentleman had seen his approach from a window, and, guessing the purpose of his visit, was now at the door to receive him. "Willie touched his hat:-- "'Heard, sir, that ye war in want o' a pair o' guid workin beasts,' said Willie, 'and hae broucht ye twa prime anes here to look at. No a bonnier or better pair between this and Johnny Groat's, and just a real bargain as to price.' "'Why, my good fellow, I certainly do want a couple of good draught horses,' replied Mr Darsy, eyeing Willie's bargain with a scrutinising look; for he had already been so often the subject of attempted imposition in the way of horse-dealing, that he could not help entertaining suspicions of the intentions of every one who approached him for such a purpose. 'I certainly do want a couple of good draught horses,' he said; 'but really, being no great judge myself, and some attempts having been made to take me in, I--I----'