MAKING OR MARRING A SERVANT. 275 



result will be very near the one I shall in this bring 

 it to. 



We will not here enter on the subject of grooms, 

 on whose qualifications as stablemen of course much 

 of the well-doing of a horse depends, but will suppose 

 each Gentleman to have a good servant. It would be 

 useless to suppose each to have a bad one ; for, though 

 it might be quite possible for Mr. A. not to have a 

 good groom, we may depend upon it Mr. B. would 

 not have a bad one ; so we will conclude them to be 

 both good ; but we may be pretty certain they will 

 not be equally good, for two reasons : first, Mr. A. is 

 of course no better judge of a good stableman than he 

 is of a good horse, while Mr. B. is an equally compe- 

 tent one of the qualities of either. And further, Mr. 

 A. probably leaves every thing to his groom, or, if he 

 does interfere, his directions as to stable management 

 will probably keep pace with his judgment in buying : 

 so, supposing his servant to know his business, his 

 horses derive no more benefit from it than if he did 

 not. Thus, under any circumstances, they will not be 

 as well managed as Mr. B.'s, who leaves nothing of 

 importance to his groom, or at least not without a 

 watchful eye that it is properly done : so that, had he 

 taken a man from the plough-tail, he must under his 

 eye become a good servant ; that is, he will learn to 

 handle his wisp, brush, and duster properly and like 

 a stableman, and not to spare his labour, otherwise B. 

 would very soon spare him. When he knows this, 

 and knows how to feed, water, and exercise horses as 

 may be directed, he knows quite as much as I ever 

 wish a groom to know. There is another thing, how- 

 ever, he must learn, and this Mr. B. would soon teach 

 him ; namely (like a soldier), to obey orders without 



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