THE NOBLE SCIENCE. 139 



can be made lighter than a hat, and either should be 

 substantial enough to resist a fall. One word upon a 

 whip must be superfluous ; the less I offer of the lash 

 the better, after the incontestible evidence adduced 

 by Mr. Smith in favour of such an appendage as 

 "the thong." Spurs have been pronounced by some 

 very " learned Thebans," to be far more devoted to orna- 

 ment than use, to be more important to the cavaher 

 in Hyde Park, who 



" With the left heel assiduously aside, 

 Provokes the capei- he pretends to chide," 



than to the sportsman ; and I believe that, as far as 

 they are supposed to be the means of persuasion, as 

 many races have been lost as won by their stimulus. 

 — Spurs, however, if not indispensable, are, unquestion- 

 ably, useful when properly applied: if a horse require 

 them to quicken his progress, he may be as well without 

 them ; but they may very much aid the hand, if used 

 in concert, in keeping a horse straight, preventing him 

 swerving from his fences, and are important upon any 

 sudden occasion of rousing his energies. They must, 

 therefore, be numbered in the inventory of hunting 

 requisites. The vocation of the sportsman leads him 

 constantly amidst "the war of elements"; — experience 

 will best direct him, as to the efficacy of his equipment 

 from head to foot. He should ever be mindfid of the 

 precept of old Parr, and " keep his feet warm by 



