HORSE SHOWS AND REMOUNTS 423 



recognising many of them ; out of about 150 thus picked 

 out some 120 bore the famihar brand, and he at once wrote 

 to me to acquaint me with the incident. 



We first commenced to purchase from the great dealers, 

 and at the auctions and fairs ; but we soon began to map 

 the country into districts, and then advertised places where 

 horses could be brought for inspection on a given day, by any- 

 body who chose. I thus became acquainted with all the little 

 dealers from Carlisle to Land's End, and also with the men, 

 chiefly gipsies, who make a business of knowing all about 

 every horse in their vicinity, getting, as a rule, a guinea for 

 their information if a purchase is effected. I thus had the 

 whole country covered with a network of workers, and when 

 once the plan had been thoroughly started there was no 

 difficulty in supplying any number of horses on the receipt 

 of a telegram. For three years I was at work almost every 

 day of the week, except Sundays, beginning at Carlisle, and 

 working along the eastern portion of England, through 

 Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. I 

 then visited some of the dealers and auctions in London, 

 especially Tattersalls and Aldridge's; and then taking up 

 the tale again at Taunton, proceeded down one coast of 

 Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall, and returned by 

 the other coast. This tour just took five weeks, and as soon 

 as finished I returned at once to Carlisle to recommence the 

 same route. The correspondence was necessarily immense, 

 besides the keeping of the accounts and books, and, having 

 no secretary, every letter had to be written by myself, and a 

 copy kept of all the important ones. During the three years 

 I inspected 12,614 horses, rejecting 6,189, and purchasing 

 6,425 at a cost of £239,617 ; and I have in my books the 

 colour, markings, and ages of almost every horse inspected, 

 and the reason why it was rejected, if not purchased. 



When going the round for the last time, and saying 

 goodbye to those with whom friendly relations had been 

 established, the remark was quite frequently made, " Oh, 

 no ! Not goodbye ! You are sure to be round this way 

 again ! " But when I replied that there was practically no 

 chance of this, for a new Inspector of Remounts would be 



