100 THE ADVENTURES OF A GENTLEMAN 



one day fell with him. He injured his knees 

 very seriously, but in a few weeks recovered his 

 usual action, having been well cured by Mr. Woodin. 

 After this, I drove him for several months, and 

 considered him sound ; but for reasons best known 

 to himself, he twice broke down, even in harness, 

 as suddenly as if he had been shot : of course I 

 parted with him. I never could discover any other 

 defect in this horse than a large '' double splent," 

 as it is called, in his off fore leg. He was sold at 

 Tattersall's, without a warranty, to a dealer. I 

 inquired about him two months after the sale, but I 

 did not learn that he had ever been down again. 



There is not a dealer in London who will not tell 

 you that splents are of no consequence ; and if 

 by this they mean, as I believe they generally do, 

 that those little tubercles or excrescences on the 

 bone which usually go by the general name of 

 splents, are immaterial, perhaps they are right ; but 

 nevertheless, I should always regard their appear- 

 ance as a serious blemish, if I found them near the 

 knee-joint, or seated in the posterior part of the leg, 

 or wherever situated, if so large as to be prominent, 

 and distinctly visible to the eye. As regards the 



