80 THE POST AND THE PADDOCK. 



and his eyes had been bandaged, he obeyed orders 

 rather more readily ; and as he chanced to hit one 

 of his front legs against the step as he left the stable, 

 he stepped so ludicrously high on crossing the move- 

 able stage to the vessel that he took very little note 

 of it. Once more in the light he had another frenzy- 

 fit, and was sadly uproarious all the voyage. 



Mr. Kirby might well say, in the language of his 

 country, "he was a parlous horse " but we have 

 been told that his old trainer, Fobert, has still a ten- 

 der recollection of the days they spent at Holywell 

 together, and had sent a commission to purchase him 

 at something under a hundred, when war was pro- 

 claimed. Merlin was also one of the brilliant sa- 

 vages, and was obliged to be double-chained to the 

 rack in the painting-room, when he visited Mr. 

 Herring senior, at Six-Mile Bottom. His temper 

 failed him when he was slung for a broken leg, and 

 he made an early use of his liberty by killing his 

 groom. The Bard, we believe, committed homicide 

 once, if not twice ; and Mundig is said not only to 

 have meant well on a similar occasion, but not to 

 have allowed any one to go near him for a fortnight. 

 Una and Malton could hardly be got into a van or 

 railway box ; Chanticleer took such a strange preju- 

 dice against the latter mode of conveyance on a sud- 

 den, that it was found impossible to taKe him to 

 Goodwood one year ; and we think it was Cranebrook 

 who steadily refused for three weeks to let any one 

 shoe him. Violante had a permanent horror of a 

 blacksmith, and Mr. Robert Heathcoate's Georgiana, 

 one of the first horses that Sam Chifney rode, was 

 always obliged to be backed out of the stable and 

 backed in again. There is also a story in Northamp- 

 tonshire, to the effect that the celebrated fifteen-one 

 " Candlestick horse " took offence at his groom's 

 style of friction, and was only cleaned for several 

 seasons by a series of judicious dashes with a besom. 



