238 THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



sir, you are not going to expend hay and corn on horses 

 when they do no work ! The expense of hunters is quite 

 enough in the winter months ; but surely, sir " 



"Leave those matters to me," said Frank Raby ; "if 

 the Squire has no very good old oats, purchase twenty 

 quarters of the best for me, the next market day, and let 

 the hovels and paddocks be run up without delay, as my 

 horses will be ready to be put into them by the first week 

 in May. But I have forgotten one thing ; I understand 

 you will have both lucern and winter tares ready by that 

 time ; and you must order a cart-load of them to be 

 brought to the hunters, whenever my groom thinks it 

 proper to give them." 



" The lucern and the tares will be very young at the 

 time you specify," resumed the steward. "It will be a 

 sore waste to cut them." 



" The younger the better," answered our young sports- 

 man ; " there is no purpose to which you can put them, 

 that will pay half so well as that for which they are 

 required by me. But do not alarm yourself, Robson ; I 

 shall not want many of them, having been informed by 

 the best groom of the present day that much green food 

 of any sort is injurious to the condition of hunters ; and 

 on their condition does half of their excellence depend. 

 Indeed, the longer I live, the more I am convinced of the 

 truth of Mr. Warde's maxim, that ' the goodness and shape 

 of horses go in at their mouths.' " 



The faithful steward having satisfied himself that 

 the sanction of his master had been obtained for this 

 outlay of capital, assured " Mr. Francis " that his orders 

 should be immediately executed, and with as much 

 economy as possible, observing, at the same time, that, 

 although he had never given the subject a moment's 

 consideration before, yet he was inclined to be of his 

 opinion as to the condition of the horses, which no doubt 

 would be very much affected by the sudden change of 

 keep. 



" Besides," added he, " your horses, sir, will be safe in 

 the paddocks. Since I have lived with the Squire, we 

 have had three good hunters spoiled two by being kicked 

 \>\ r others, and one gored by an ox. I have heard Dick 

 the huntsman say that he never rode but one hunter that 

 he could not find the bottom of, in the course of the 

 season, and that was a roan horse, called Marplot, which 



