90 PREPARATION. 



perforce abandon the practice for one more trying — the 

 Turkish bath. The Turkish bath, in many instances beyond 

 the endurance of the human race, many having succumbed to 

 its enervating influence, has proved to horses httle short of 

 annihilation. 



This tendency is, as I have said, a national faihng. We 

 have Mr. Darwin's theory, arising out of Lord Monboddo's 

 idea. His lordship said over a century ago, " that in some 

 countries the human species have tails like other beasts," 

 and traces monkeys up to men. The wonderful rope trick 

 was known many years ago, though introduced as something 

 new by the Davenport Brothers, and ascribed to spiritualism. 

 The great horse-tamer Mr. Rarey, again, introduced as 

 the greatest novelty and successfully palmed off on us a 

 trick long before both known and forgotten. 



These, on their introduction, had their believers ; and the 

 Turkish bath, like other wild and utterly chimerical schemes, 

 found its followers who, only when too late, saw the folly ot 

 their credulity. In various parts stables were turned into 

 horse-baths, or places were built for the purpose of carrying 

 out the sweating process with all its adjuncts. There was, 

 however, a strong feeling adverse to such an experiment, and 

 comparatively speaking few subjected their horses to the 

 ordeal. As no benefit followed its use it was speedily given 

 up ; not however until several horses had died and others 

 had suffered severely from the process. 



