basket and his feet.  A few seconds to recover breath; one withering, fiery look from Timothy, returned by his antagonist, one flash of the memory in each to tell them that they each had the la on their side, and “Take that!” was roared by Timothy, planting a well-directed blow with his dexter and dexterous hand upon the sinister and sinisterous eye of his opponent.  “Take that!” continued he, as his adversary reeled back; “take that, and be d——­d to you, for running against a gentleman.”

He of the rubicund hair had retreated, because so violent was the blow he could not help so doing, and we all must yield to fate.  But it was not from fear.  Seizing a vile potation that was labelled “to be taken immediately,” and hurling it with demoniacal force right on the chops of the courageous Timothy, “Take that!” cried he, with a rancorous yell.  This missile, well directed as the spears of Homer’s heroes, came full upon the bridge of Timothy’s nose, and the fragile glass shivering, inflicted divers wounds upon his physiognomy, and at the same time poured forth a dark burnt-sienna coloured balsam, to heal them, giving pain unutterable.  Timothy, disdaining to lament the agony of his wounds, followed the example of his antagonist, and hastily seizing a similar bottle of much larger dimensions, threw it with such force that it split between the eyes of his opponent.  Thus with these dreadful weapons did they commence the mortal strife.

The lovers of good order, or at least of fair play, gathered round the combatants, forming an almost impregnable ring, yet of sufficient dimensions to avoid the missiles. "Go it, red-head!” “Bravo! white apron!" resounded on every side.  Draughts now met draughts in their passage through the circumambient air, and exploded like shells over a besieged town.  Bolusses were fired with the precision of cannon shot, pill-boxes were thrown with such force that they burst like grape and canister, while acids and alkalies hissed, as they neutralised each other’s power, with all the venom of expiring snakes, “Bravo! white apron!” “Red-head for ever!” resounded on every side as the conflict continued with unabated vigour.  The ammunition was fast expending on both sides, when Mr Ebenezer Pleggit, hearing the noise, and perhaps smelling his own drugs, was so unfortunately rash and so unwisely foolhardy, as to break through the sacred ring, advancing from behind with uplifted cane to fell the redoubtable Timothy, when a mixture of his own, hurled by his own red-haired champion, caught him in his open mouth, breaking against his only two remaining front teeth, extracting them as the discharged liquid ran down his throat, and turning him as sick as a dog.  He fell, was taken away on a shutter, and it was some days before he was again to be seen in his shop, dispensing those medicines which, on this fatal occasion, he would but too gladly have dispensed with.