114 PEECEPT AND PllACTICE. 



yard ; there, fortunate he that can get the harness 

 taken off his horse, and, with a pretended " whisp 

 over," doubled up with another — the ostler trusting 

 to their being too closely packed to kick, swears the 

 one by his side is *'as quiet as a lamb," though pos- 

 sibly he never saw him before. After waiting till a 

 similar process has been gone through with the nag 

 of a more recent comer, you obtain a feed for your 

 norse, his companion making powerful efforts to share 

 it with him ; this the ostler pretends to prevent by 

 'Hying him up short." 



A good deal depends on what time of the day a 

 man goes to a fair. The dealers, that is, men who 

 go to buy 1000/. worth of horses, have nearly finished 

 their day's work before the majority of those persons 

 who come to look for a horse arrive ; the latter never 

 dream of going into stables to look for horses on sale, 

 but fully expect to find them parading the street or 

 tied up to lines pitched for the purpose of fastening 

 horses to. They are not disappointed in finding 

 horses in plenty : but men who have horses worth 

 from 120/. to 170/. apiece do not tie them up hke 



