228 THE HUNTING FIELD 



The real betting man is a decided nuisance ; it is dangerous to 

 open one's lips in his presence, and they may be looked upon 

 as the kites and vultures of society. We never see a young 

 man with a clasped book and metallic pencil without reckoning 

 him ruined. They always are sooner or later. 



The " I'll sell you a horse," friend, is a much more innocent 

 creature than the betting one. The " I'll sell you a horse," 

 sometimes arises from a paucity of ideas ; it is a sort of " come 

 uppermost thought," spoken perhaps just for the sake of some- 

 thing to say, like the passenger who, on a voyage to India, used 

 to address the captain every morning after the usual salutation, 

 with " Pray, sir, what do you think of Napoleon Bonaparte ? " 



Again, some men indulge in it from excessive delight at the 

 novelty of ownership. Many people wouldn't know they had a 

 horse if they did not advertise the fact in that way. The 

 course of life runs thus : watch, gun, top-boots, and then a 

 horse. The possession of a horse converts the boy into a man. 

 Instead of being whipped himself, he gets something to whip. 



After aping a stage coachman, there is nothing so disgusting 

 as seeing a young man acting the groom or horse-dealer : we 

 mean dressing the character as well as acting it. 



Doubtless there is something very pleasant and attractive in 

 horse-dealing. There is the sort of excitement peculiar to the 

 lottery about it. We have known men who could not be 

 trusted at a horse auction, so sure were they to come home 

 with some " trcincndo/is bargain." A private deal is very 

 engaging. The greatest ignoramus — the man who would not 

 know which side of a horse to get on at, will nevertheless go 

 out of his way to accompany a friend to look at a horse. That 

 interest is a good deal excited by a desire to see an animal of 

 which he is likely to hear much more hereafter. It is an 

 interest that does not attach to a horse-dealer's transactions, 

 because " dealing " is his trade, and he is supposed to be too 

 wary to be done. 



