176 THE POCKET AND THE STUD. 



purse, inclination, or folly of the purchaser ; such 

 a pair would be a little fortune to an owner, if the 

 young and beautiful wife of a rich old man took 

 a fancy to them ; the fortunate owner would not 

 only get a heavy addition to his purse, but the 

 good will of the lady, by making the old gentle- 

 man evince to the world the fervour of his adora- 

 tion, by the price he paid to gratify her whim. 



But to return to the supposed case of the valua- 

 ble horse before mentioned: it is true, in one 

 particular the owner acted as I recommend, in 

 taking the advice of two experienced men. He 

 did so ; but he must recollect that he acted on his 

 own judgment first, by telling them he was show- 

 ing a valuable horse. They therefore recom- 

 mended what was judicious to do with such a 

 one, but not, perhaps, what was advisable to do 

 with the one in question. Probably, had they 

 been allowed to form their own estimate of his 

 value, they might have thought, and perhaps have 

 said, they did not think he was worth a heavy 

 expense, and would have recommended a few 

 days' rest, and putting him up for sale, when 

 they might estimate him at about the 40/. The 

 owner would probably think them rogues, fools, 

 or mad, to thus undervalue his hundred-guinea 

 nag; I would, however, back such men to be 

 pretty near the mark. 



It is a common idea that an owner is the best 



