CHOICE OF A HORSE. 11 



migratory instinct is dominant in the race. We are ever 

 seeking " fresh woods and pastures new." For those whose 

 fortune it is to live at home in ease, riding may be regarded 

 as a luxury, and not a necessity ; but to others — military 

 men, Indian and other civilians, whose lot is cast beyond 

 these pleasant shores, and Colonials — it is a something that 

 must be learnt as thoroughly as possible. 



I conclude my "preliminary" by quoting from one of the 

 most perfect horsemen of bygone times, His Grace of 

 Newcastle : '' Those things which to you, perhaps, seem not 

 very concise, but too proHx, might if shorter have left you 

 in darkness ; whereas you (will) have now a full sunshine to 

 look on you with the splendour of the knowledge of horse- 

 manship. This art does not consist only in study and 

 mental contemplation, but in bodily practice likewise. You 

 ought to be well informed that the art of horsemanship 

 cannot be collected together in a proverb, in a short 

 aphorism, or reduced to a syllogism, or brought into a 

 little compass as the poesy of a ring; nor can there be 

 one universal lesson, as many desire this art. For my part, 

 I am very sure there is nothing universal in horsemanship, 

 nor in anything else I know." 



CHAPTER H. 



CHOICE OF A HORSE. 



If a man merely desires to ride for amusement, for air and 

 exercise, or for the mere " pomp and circumstance " of the 

 thing, he can, always providing he has a long purse and 

 a thoroughly dependable, competent judge at his elbow, 



