Winter 'Hay -making. 73 



into a predicament ridiculously unpleasant. Fortu- 

 nately, a dexterous and sudden thought, furnished a 

 plausible excuse for untoward appearances. I re- 

 lieved myself, in addition to this, by a forfeit of sundry 

 Irish shillings, to the self created janitrices ; and 

 amused the main body, by throwing some small coins 

 among them. I retreated with plaudits instead of 

 curses, during the scramble ; and, no doubt, escaped 

 some comfortable huslings and ' not a few vollies of 

 poissarde rhetorick ; in which those Jiowenj oratrixes 

 are copiously fluent. I avoided, ever after, any rnun- 

 dungus or smell fungus appearances, or expressions, 

 on this delicate subject, I perceived that some Cork 

 acquaintances, to whom I related my adventure, not 

 deeming the penance for my heresy sufiicient, were 

 not perfectly pleased with the handsome retreat I had 

 effected ; which really had required some generalship. 

 Nevertheless, I had been punished, by fine and ini- 

 prisonment, in a tribunal whose proceedings are al- 

 vi^ays rapid and summary, for a venial offence. 



A very intelligent American^ lately returned from 

 England^ favoured me with a visit ; and informed me 

 that an English horse^ kept hungry for the purpose of 

 experiment, utterly refused Fiorin hay sent over by 

 Dr. Richardson. K\\ American horse alike unused 

 to musty winter- made hay, as most probably this was, 

 would have thus conducted himself. 



Having, recently, occasion to write to a respectable 

 citizen of Massachusetts^ on the subject of Fiorin^ I 

 stated the foregoing fact, as to the squeamishness of 

 the English horse, and my observations on Irish hay 

 and grain ; as a mode of accounting for the circuni- 

 VOL. III. k: 



