24 THE POCKET AND THE STUD. 



sibly makes him look very Black, till he again 

 sells, and again buys one who, on his mounting 

 him, makes him look very Pale, and throws him. 

 This makes him Black-and-blue : he sells him, 

 and gets another bargain. Before mounting, he 

 looks at his bruises; he finds they are Green; and 

 when he is mounted, the people look at him, and 

 declare he is Mr. Green again. I have given 

 what I know to be good advice to such persons ; 

 that is- not to buy at all. If, however, they 

 are determined to run the risk of doing so, I will 

 tell them the sort of horse they will have a 

 chance of not losing much by ; and, on the other 

 hand, the sort by which they must lose. 



Every man knows the purpose or purposes for 

 which he wants a horse ; but as possibly he does 

 not know the sort fit for the purpose, let him 

 at least show this much judgment let him buy 

 one that has been satisfactorily doing the same 

 sort of work he wants him for, and one that has 

 been seasoned to it. Such a horse, from many 

 circumstances, he may have the opportunity of 

 buying at a fair price ; in short, at something like 

 his ordinary value. I am now only alluding to 

 road horses, for we will not suppose any man 

 insane enough to contemplate buying hunters 

 unless he is a good judge of them ; and, indeed, 

 unless he is this, and a good horseman to boot, he 

 will have no occasion, or, I should think, inclina- 



