14 THE BRIDLE BITS. 



and that the titles and escutcheons that they gained for 

 their gallant lords, and which are secured by patents 

 royal to succeeding generations, are no empty heirlooms 

 to be lost in the lapse of time, or battled for again. 

 Their work is done, and they now hang in the dust and 

 cobwebs of ancient halls, and the nooks and corners of 

 castles that they won. These very castles gave shelter 

 to sovereigns and subjects, generals and glittering staffs, 

 nobles in armor, assembled armies, and brilliant gather- 

 ings of the beautiful and admiring fair. All this con- 

 tributed to the pride and power that followed in the train 

 of the war-horse and the bit, and the indei^endence of a 

 great and a mighty emj^ire. 



It is therefore to the study and practical knowledge of 

 the special uses of the more modern bits, in these days of 

 more peaceful pursuits in private life, that we invite the 

 attention of the would-be horsemen who have taste and 

 talents for equestrian enjoyments. 



We cannot refer to history without being reminded of 

 triumphant entries of vast armies returning from foreign 

 wars to cities and capitals of their resjoective nations, 

 headed by their leaders, be they sovereign or subject, 

 mounted on chargers of *'high and lofty mien," champ- 

 ing on their bits dripping with foam, while the tinseled 

 and dazzling bridles of scarlet and gold shivered in the 

 breeze, to the wonder of the vulgar and the envy of the 

 great. 



The bit long since established its virtues, both in peace 

 and war, and it is still called upon in a figurative way to 

 adorn the painter's canvas by tlirowing the Arab steed 

 into all the graceful attitudes portrayed by art. Here we 

 see pictured in all the shades and brilliant coloring of 

 semi-barbaroiis tribes, the Arab chief, the Eastern prince, 

 the Cossack of the Don, the nimble Circassian and the 

 Spanish grandee, mounted upon horses to match their 

 respective spheres. The bridles, of various degrees of 



