38 



here sent to the hammer. Many a horse will do 

 very well for harness that is unsafe for the saddle ; 

 and in fact very few, even of the most showy and 

 '' splendid " horses, are broken into harness, until 

 they have proved their inability to carry weight. 



Two or three friends have entreated me to except 

 various commission stables from this sweeping cen- 

 sure. I regret that I cannot oblige them. Yet I 

 feel bound to say, that although I have never 

 dealt there, I have frequently been through Mr. 

 Shackel's stables in Oxford Street, and have noticed 

 many horses in them of first-rate pretensions ; while 

 the courtesy and professional intelligence of Mr. 

 Shackel himself have almost made me regret that 

 I had no occasion to avail myself of his services. 



The Horse and Carriage Registry, mentioned in 

 the introductory chapter to this edition, undoubt- 

 edly affords the best means that could be devised 

 of facilitating the purchase of a horse. The simple 

 course of describing the animal wanted in terms 

 well understood by the trade, and sending this 

 description by a twopenny-post letter to an office 

 which must necessarily become the great market 

 for horses, and where every animal registered is 

 similarly described, according to his character and 

 qualities, cannot fail in supplying purchasers with 

 little trouble, little cost, and perhaps as little risk. 



