OF FARRIERY. 



299 



Hill, Blackfiiars' Bridge, and other metropo- 

 litan hills, with little allowance made for their 

 acclivity punishing the poor animals, and dis- 

 tressing their wind ; when perhaps only the 

 dilFerence of five or ten minutes' delay in the 

 journey, might have enabled the horses to 

 have performed it with comparative ease. 



The French must have noticed our barba- 

 rous treatment of the Horse ; for they say, 

 " England is a hell for Horses." It is true, 

 they accompany this censure of us by a com- 

 pliment that " England is a paradise for 

 women." The French are too polite to speak 

 such a home-truth without flattering us a little 

 on the score of our behaviour to the softer sex. 

 We much doubt, however, whether this will 

 be allowed by the French ladies themselves ; 

 for we can not forget the triumphant tone in 

 which a Parisian lady finished half-an-hour's 

 badinage with us, when she exclaimed " the 

 empire of woman is in France." Her manner 

 and the seeming conviction of the truth with 

 which she uttered it, prevented on our part 

 any replication. There may be some differ- 

 ence, however, between dominion and para- 

 dise ; though we think we know some ladies 

 who would not acknowledge it to be paradise 

 without it. 



We think it a great national disgrace to be 

 said " England is a hell for Horses." It is a 

 verdict of barbarity against us ; and the 

 justice of such a verdict cannot be denied 

 by those sons of England, who, however they 

 may regret such imputation, feel that it is too 

 true, and the only reparation they can make 

 for the disgrace of so severe a stigma, is to 

 strenuously exert themselves, anf endeavour 

 to erase it from the catalogue of England's 

 crimes- 



It lias been in England, where the most 



crying barbarities have been inflicted ag&'jist 

 the lower animals. Cock-fighting, dog-fio-ht- 

 ing, bull-baiting, bear-baiting, &c., have been 

 till within these few years, the general sports of 

 the lower order of Englishmen, and encou- 

 raged too often, even by the presence of the 

 aristocracy. The Legislature has, however, 

 succeeded in making these sports penal ; and 

 has placed them, with the Horse, under pro- 

 tection. It is, however, to be hoped that the 

 morality of the nation is still on the increase, 

 and will second the enliohtened views of the 

 Legislature, so that in a little time, we may 

 speak of such barbarities as the crimes of other 

 days, and that the cruelties at present prac- 

 tised upon the Horse will be prevented, from 

 a proper feeling and consideration to the ani- 

 mal, rather than to any police restraints. 



We have thought that licensing public 

 drivers might prove some restraint to careless 

 and violent driving. That if a man obtained 

 a recommendation for steadiness and sobriety, 

 (no others should be licensed,) it might be the 

 means of weeding or taking away the worst 

 characters from the box, as well as to shew 

 them the necessity of reforming their habits ; 

 as without the qualification of sobriety, they 

 should not be deemed worthy of public em- 

 ployment. 



Now we cannot but think that this plan 

 would guarantee some security to the public. 

 The driver's residence would be known, and 

 he would be he\.d responsible for any improper 

 conduct, which would prevent the present 

 collusions so often practised by proving an 

 alibi, which in old Weller's opinion (and he 

 was a coachman) was the best defence that 

 could be offered. We, however, look upon it 

 only as a restraint, conscious of the difficulty 

 of proposing any thing which might nol meet 



