240 THE HUNTING FIELD 



is a decided nuisance ; it is dangerous to open one's 

 lips in his presence, and they may be looked upon 

 as the kites and vultures of society. We never see 

 a young man with a clasped book and metallic pencil 

 without reckoning him ruined. They always are 

 sooner or later. 



The " I'll sell you a horse," friend, is a much more 

 innocent creature than the betting one. The " I'll 

 sell you a horse," sometimes arises from a paucity of 

 ideas ; it is a sort of " come uppermost thought," 

 spoken perhaps just for the sake of something to say, 

 like the passenger who, on a voyage to India, used 

 to address the captain every morning after the usual 

 salutation, with " Pray, sir, what do you think of 

 Napoleon Bonaparte?" 



Again, some men indulge in it from excessive 

 delight at the novelty of ownership. Many people 

 wouldn't know they had a horse if they did not adver- 

 tise the fact in that way. The course of life runs 

 thus : watch, gun, top-boots, and then a horse. The 

 possession of a horse converts the boy into a man. 

 Instead of being whipped himself, he gets something 

 to whip. 



After aping a stage coachman, there is nothing so 

 disgusting as seeing a young man acting the groom 

 or horse-dealer : we mean dressing the character as 

 well as acting it. 



Doubtless there is something very pleasant and 

 attractive in horse dealing. There is the sort of 

 excitement peculiar to the lottery about it. We have 

 known men who could not be trusted at a horse 

 auction, so sure were they to come home with some 

 ^^ tre??iendoiis bargain." A private deal is very en- 

 gaging. The greatest ignoramus — the man who would 

 not know which side of a horse to get on at, will 

 nevertheless go out of his way to accompany a friend 

 to look at a horse. That interest is a good deal 

 excited by a desire to see an animal of which he is 



