2 HOUND AND HORN 



purchases had recently been made, and some of the 

 old horses had just been taken up and were being 

 put into work. Of the two come in, the led one was 

 handed over to a strapper with the curt command, 

 issued like a sergeant-instructor's order, by Batters, 

 head stableman, '' Pit this yin inna the lowse box/' 

 while he himself tied the other one up to a ring in 

 a bare stall. I watched him run the stirrup irons 

 up to the top of the leathers, loosen the girths to the 

 first hole, raise the saddle up several times before 

 settling it on the mare's back, take off his coat, and 

 start to scrape her and wipe her over with a wisp 

 of rough straw. 



*^ Good morning, Batters," said I ; " what do you 

 think of her ? " 



Batters bit the straw in his mouth short before 

 replying. 



" Gude mornin', sir. A think she micht grow intil 

 a beast some day; ony wey, A think A could mak' 

 a beast o' her throu' time," which, being interpreted, 

 meant, " In my opinion she'll do." 



With this I was fain to be satisfied, and felt re- 

 lieved, for I had bought the mare, an Irish five-year- 

 old, without his opinion and advice, and dreaded the 

 consequences of his disapproval. 



After a pause, Batters added, *' There's a telegraph 

 on the road up for ye, sir," by which I understood 

 that a telegraph message was in process of conveyance 

 by the usual medium, the village postmistress, a lady 

 of over thirty seasons' running, and broken to ride 

 her bicycle barely twelve months ago. 



" Did you not take the message from her ? " 



**A did note, becuz the mere was a wee feered 



