76 THE TURF 



or ten days are quite sufficient for a rider 

 to reduce himself from his natural weight 

 to sometimes a stone and a half below it. 

 What food do they live on ? For break- 

 fast, a small piece of bread and butter, 

 with tea in moderation. Dinner is taken 

 very sparingly; a very small piece of pudding 

 and less meat ; and when fish is to be 

 obtained, neither one nor the other is 

 allowed. Wine and water is the usual 

 beverage, in the proportion of one pint 

 to two of water. Tea in the afternoon, 

 with little or no bread and butter, and no 

 supper. What exercise do they get, and 

 what hours of rest ? After breakfast, having 

 sufficiently loaded themselves with clothes, 

 that is, with five or six waistcoats, two 

 coats, and as many pairs of breeches, a 

 severe walk is taken, from ten to fifteen 

 miles. After their return home, dry clothes 

 are substituted for those that are wet with 

 perspiration, and, if much fatigued, some 

 of them lie down for an hour or so before 

 their dinner; after which no severe exercise 

 is taken, but the remaining part of the 

 day is spent in a way most agreeable to 

 themselves. They generally go to bed by 



