506 HORSE-DEALING. 



study of mankind is man, and take his axiom in 

 its literal sense, may here indulge in the observance 

 of character in its various grades, from the best 

 bred gentleman to the lowest vagabond in the com- 

 munity, whose " slang'" must amuse, although it 

 may fail to edify. Horncastle, in Lincolnshire, 

 boasts the largest in England ; but that held at 

 Preston, in Lancashire, which continues for a week, 

 combines pleasure with business, being attended by 

 the neighbouring gentry and their families, whose 

 attraction is a splendid ball, and various other 

 gaieties. 



But there is a good deal to be said in mitigation 

 of the general opinion that an honest horse-dealer 

 is a character written in the dust ; and there is a 

 saying amongst the fraternity that helps to bear 

 them out. " If we buy the devil," say they, " we 

 must sell the devil." Now, it was the advice of a 

 quaint writer, some hundred years back, that " If 

 you have fallen on a bargain not for your turn, 

 make the market your chapman, rather than a 

 friend ;" and such we know to be the general prac- 

 tice amongst gentlemen. If they have a horse they 

 do not like — perhaps vicious, perhaps a tumble- 

 down, perhaps unsound — they send him to a fair to 

 be sold for what he will fetch. It too often hap- 

 pens that even the scrutinizing eye of a dealer fails 

 to discover either of these objections, and having 

 purchased him he must sell him. Again, dealers 

 are not always to blame in cases of horses sold by 

 them not turning out well, or even becoming un- 

 sound. Their warrantv of soundness should not 



