OF FARRIERY. 



429 



was determiried to have a peep at the pheno- 

 menon, and quietly walked one fine morning 

 into the Mews where the beauty was pre- 

 served, and requested to be gratified with a 

 peep. The nag was paraded and viewed, 

 and the following short colloquy passed be- 

 tween the Greeks : — " There, Romford, is not 

 he a top-sawyer ? You complain that I have 

 not bought any Horses of vou lately : bring 

 such a sort as that, and I'll buy a hundred." 

 Romford picked up his ash plant, slapped it 

 smartly on his boot-top, and walking quietly 

 out of the yard by his friend's side, said, 

 " Weil, Piccadilly, 'tis a nice Horse, and he 

 looks fresh and well, and I bought him about 

 eight months ago at Howden fair for thirty- 

 five sovereigns !" — Such was the fact. 



TURNED OUT FOR LIFE. 



There seems to be some difference of 

 opinion, even in the minds of humane sports- 

 men, whether the " bullet," be not the most 

 desirable finale for a Horse who has had iiis 

 day. That there are men who have an equal 

 affection for the Horse, dispute upon the point 

 we know, some advocating the system of 

 " turning out for life," whilst others prefer the 

 " bullet;" both parties still making humanity 

 the ground of the dispute. We shall leave 

 'he settlement of this question to the con- 

 .sideration and decision of our readers, after 

 they have perused the following observations, 

 which seem to embrace both sides of the 

 question : — 



Turned out for hfe ! a billet, or a bullet ! 

 a billet, that consigns him to the daised field, 

 the grassy mead, the happy groves, and purl- 

 ing streams; or the bullet, that sends him 

 "here the " weary be at rest." Help us ! oh, 

 All ye great and good ! to decide which of 



these is the best. Too old to do any services 

 (though only sweet five-and-twenty), as well 

 as to seek a new one turned out of the stud, 

 but neither "spavined nor wind-galled," with 

 the remains of a beautiful form, an undaunted 

 heart, and an unalterable spirit of gentleness, 

 generous, attached, and faithful. " Blow his 

 brains out!" "Oh, tie! oh, fie! (swearing 

 don't look well in print) : where is your gra- 

 titude?" said an old and excellent mau and 

 good sportsman, in reply to another, with 

 a character made up of the most perfect and 

 kindly feelings. " What is the life of a Horse ? 

 It is fine talking of the sunshine of life, of ver- 

 dant lawns, delicious variegated herbage, 

 dewy gri)ss, so cooling to the heated feet and 

 feverish body ; and, above all, that love of 

 liberty, &c., which 1 adore as much as you," 

 said he in haste : " And what then ?" answer- 

 ing himself Then comes a chilling frost, 

 benumbed limbs, the wasted back set up i«n 

 vain to ward off the pitiless storm. The Jove 

 of liberty, it is true, may remain a few short 

 days longer, but the power of enjoying it is 

 lost for ever; and to furnish him with the 

 comforts of his younger days is next to impos- 

 sible. Where is the fortune that could pro- 

 vide the warm stable, the clean straw bed, 

 the well preserved nutritious food, the good 

 warm clothing, the regular stable discipline, 

 with air and exercise sufficient to preserve 

 health ? A man with an establishment of 

 twenty Horses might soon have a hundred 

 pensioners. It reads well, I grant, to consign 

 a true and faithful servant to him that tempers 

 the wind to the shorn lamb ; but the artificial 

 way in which he has been kept for more than 

 twenty years renders this wise dispensation 

 ineffective, without a miracle. I also grant 

 that our Indian brethren, who brine: their a^^il 

 6 g 



