S34 GROOMS. 



eleven stone. This is the pad groom, whose peculiar duty it is to ride 

 after his master or mistress, when either indulge in equestrian exercise. 

 The man, being a personal servant, should be active and attentive. 

 When on the road, he should follow his employer at such a distance as 

 will prevent him from overhearing conversation, and will render it im- 

 possible for the horse he is riding to challenge or to excite the animal 

 on which his superior is mounted. At the same time, he should be suffi- 

 ciently close to observe the slightest action of his employer; and, so 

 soon as his master shall stop, he ought to appear on the off side, ready 

 to hold the rein while the gentleman dismounts. 



The nag is, however, at the present time more the property of the 

 servant than of the proprietor. It is more ridden by other persons than 

 by its nominal master. The groom rides to exercise ; the smith rides from 

 the forge. When a message is sent, the servant never walks ; if a parcel 

 has to be fetched or left, the man always carries it upon another's back 

 than his own. In short, the steed has to work whenever the hired 

 domestic is employed beyond the walls of the mansion. 



Now, to work the master's horses is no part of his duties who is en- 

 gaged to attend upon the inhabitants of his master's stables. It may 

 be more pleasant to ride ; but which, does he imagine, would prove most 

 advantageous to the animals ? To him whose province it is to " look 

 after " the quadrupeds, their welfare ought to be more studied than his 

 personal convenience. There is an accepted maxim about "serving two 

 masters;" but this is that which all horses have to do; and very often 

 the tyrant of the mews is far more exacting than the ruler of the man- 

 sion. People, before they complain of the expense attendan,t upon keep- 

 ing a small stud, should ponder over the foregoing facts ; for where two 

 duties have to be simultaneously discharged, we may anticipate that 

 health will occasionally fail, and " accidents " will frequently occur. 



Gentlemen are not safe, if they mount horses which have not received 

 the morning's exercise. Grooms are seldom to be absolutely depended 

 on for the invariable discharge of early duties. Hence arise the majority 

 of those terrible misfortunes which condemn wide circles to adopt sad- 

 colored garments. When the master is thrown, the servant's neglect is 

 too frequently the cause of the supposed "accident." Therefore, where 

 saddles are much employed, the stable attendant should never be free 

 from all supervision during the performance of his essential duties. 



After long confinement within a tainted atmosphere, the- pure air 

 seems to intoxicate the inhabitants of the stable. People, subsequent to 

 severe sickness, generally suffer when first leaving the house. But a 

 human chamber is kept ventilated, and the patient commonly sits near 

 an open window before venturing abroad. The equine apartment is 



