INTRODUCTION. V 



I was disposed to ramble, and not choosing to follow 

 the advice of my parents, or to subject myself any 

 longer to their control, 1 ran away from home, and 

 was shortly after taken into the employment of Mr. 

 Crooke, who kept race-horses. Mr. Crooke had a 

 farm at Redland, in Gloucestershire, at which place 

 his horses usually wintered. There was also at this 

 season of the year, a large breeding establishment for 

 racing produce. The stallions which at that time com- 

 posed part of the stud were King Fergus, Aurelius, 

 and a third young stallion by Highflyer. There were 

 also a number of brood mares and foals, together with 

 several weanlings and yearlings. The string of race- 

 horses which were at this time in the stables, were 

 Prizefjghte) , Brush, Harvest, Needle, Victory, Euph- 

 rosyne, and Thalia, (the two last mares.) Besides 

 these, there were two or three young ones in the 

 string, which were not named. 



It was autumn when I went to live in the above- 

 mentioned stables, in the humble but active capacity 

 ofstable hoy. I had every thing to learn, and as I could 

 not be immediately entrusted with the care of a race- 

 horse, I was taught, or rather ordered, to do those 

 things in w^hich boys are generally employed on first 

 coming into stables of this description, — such as merely 

 rubbing the legs of the horses, assisting in setting the 

 stables fair, and in cleaning up the yard. Sometimes I 

 was sent out with a horse to walking exercise, to work 

 off his physic, — at other times, I had to ride a steady 

 one at the tail of the string, — and now and then, I had 



