SADDLERY AND HARNESS. 501 



upon the groom may not be very apparent to the reader, therefore his 

 indulgence is requested while the author proceeds briefly to explain the 

 matter. 



Nothing can possibly be more extravagant than passion. It is heed- 

 less of consequences, and destruction is its delight. The author formerly 

 knew a gentleman who used to indulge in the most violent fits of un- 

 bridled temper. He made his home miserable, and a moderate income 

 was sadly crippled by expenses resulting from gusts of constitutional 

 irritability. The last consequence, it is melancholy to relate, alone in- 

 duced thoughts of amendment. When this individual, in later life, became 

 conscious that what he termed his cloudy mood threatened to darken 

 his intellect, he would retire to some soUtaiy apartment : there, he would 

 station himself before a looking-glass, and begin simpering and blandly 

 talking to his own image. He would then tear or break something, 

 generally a wooden or a paper match, and, having thus gratified that 

 which he named his destructive impulse, after a few more antics would 

 return, all smiles, to the bosom of his family, exclaiming, "Thank 

 Heaven ! It's all over now 1" 



But the great majority of grooms, imbued with the pride of ignorance, 

 cannot afford to acknowledge a failing. Conceit makes them rather lend 

 strength to an affliction by striving to conceal its existence. The master 

 may never discover, if he cares not to search for, the truth. But the 

 servant is necessarily empowered with absolute control in the stable. 

 The implements speedily are damaged ; certain duties are either neg- 

 lected or imperfectly performed ; the horse loses its fat ; the coat never 

 looks well; the eye becomes restless from the natural timidity of the 

 animal being perpetually awakened. Nothing promotes thrift in a quad- 

 ruped like the placidity of its attendanf ; whereas the constant alarm 

 excited by the habitual anger of its superior is inimical to that glossy 

 outside and blooming aspect in which the larger number of horse owners 

 80 much delight. 



The groom, in most situations, is greatly trusted with valuable prop- 

 erty. In a large stable the cost of the trappings alone would form no 

 inconsiderable possession to a needy man. There must be either sad- 

 dlery or harness. There is no one to overlook the treatment of either. 

 Such articles are expensive, and each is composed of numerous compli- 

 cations. Harness for one horse consists of a bridle, of a collar, of a pad, 

 of a martingale, of reins, of traces, of a breeching or of a loin strap, of a 

 crupper, etc.; all of which should be solidly and well constructed. The 

 whole should be formed of the very best leather, for any defect in this 

 ^miture may be fruitful with the greatest danger. Hence the advantage 

 of dealing with a maker whose warranty represents more than a wordy 



