CHAPTER XIV. 



ON DRESSING RACE-HORSES. 



From the repeated and strict orders which a boy, 

 when first put to look after a race-horse, has given 

 him by the groom and head lad, and from his observa- 

 tions on what he daily sees other boys doing, together 

 with the precise regularity of the stable-hours, &c. he 

 must naturally conclude, in his own mind, that there 

 can be nothing on earth of so much importance as 

 a race-horse ; at least, such was my idea when, as 

 a boy, I first entered the stables. Nor is it by any 

 means an improper idea for a boy to entertain. Each 

 boy is made accountable for every thing used about 

 what he calls his own horse, nor does he even give 

 a thought to any other. If caught in the rain when at 

 exercise, he must take care to have his horse's clothes 

 thoroughly dried. If his horse's boots are wet or dirty, 

 they must also be dried, rubbed, and brushed. When 



