THE HORSE. 259 



outdoing the recorded famous spring of Flying Chil- 

 clers. Before I quit the field, let me acknowledge 

 that, I have made very free, in the probable estimation 

 of some, too free, with certain favourite opinions and 

 practices; my plea is, that I have acted from a mere 

 simple conviction of rectitude, and far enough from 

 any idea of dogmatising, or the anile and prejudiced 

 desire of propping up old usages, or defending im- 

 practicable theories. I am a true pro-catholic, and 

 neither quarrel with, nor hate any man, on the score 

 of his opinions, demanding however, the equal am- 

 nesty for my own ; at the same time, I am not mad and 

 silly enough to expect, that the motion of this feeble 

 pen shall assimilate to itself all opinions, in accord with 

 the expectation entertained by the mathematicians of 

 Butler's days, from their universal standard of mea- 

 sure, the vibration of the pendulum, which was to — 



" Make all tailors' yards of one 

 Unanimous opinion." 



Sporting readers, gentle and ungentle, I beseech 

 ye, in the bowels of common sense and common free- 

 dom, to entertain no angry feelings against me. 



Let me adduce at least one sporting authority, an 

 old one indeed, to keep me in countenance with that 

 which will be deemed my old fashioned sentimenta- 

 lity. It is the moral and considerate Baret, whom I 

 have so often and variously quoted. I have modern- 

 ised the orthography. " But because the wild-goose 

 chase is such an unmerciful and unreasonable toil, 

 as the name itself doth import, without any medio- 

 crity or order, I will pass over it as an exercise not 



