304 HIE ! PRESTO. 



give for them. These are the horses to bring the 

 profit to first-rate dealers; but, as Rascal- dealer cannot 

 touch them, he must find something else whose value 

 or, I should in this case say, worthlessness can- 

 not be easily defined; and this is the good screw. 

 What he terms " a good screw" is a horse whose com- 

 plaint or tricks can be so palliated or concealed for 

 a time as to prevent their being detected (sometimes 

 even by a good judge). It would be useless my at- 

 tempting to describe the thousand-and-one ways to 

 which such fellows resort to produce the desired effect : 

 it would fill a good-sized volume ; and then the or- 

 dinary run of buyers would be still unable to detect 

 them. A man may be told that the conjurer does 

 not leave the watch in the box, as he pretends to 

 do ; but if the man sees the watch in the box, locks 

 it himself, keeps the key, and on again opening it 

 finds the watch gone, it only amounts to " How the 

 devil did he get it out ?" after all. The truth is, the 

 conjurer was too quick for him ; and depend on it 

 Rascal-dealer would be too quick too, notwithstanding 

 all the previous information or fancied knowledge the 

 buyer might have. 



Particular shoeing, beaning, (or other ways of 

 producing the same effect,) hot water, stimulants, 

 sedatives, physic, copious general or local bleedings, 

 rest or constant exercise, tonics, sickening medicine, 

 fatigue, keeping a horse awake for three or four 

 nights and days, will all produce wonderful effects on 

 horses in palliating lameness, bad eyes, bad wind, 

 internal or external weakness, vice or violence. 

 People will suppose a horse's throat an open 'se- 

 pulchre when I tell them I have once seen as many 



