82 CONFESSIONS OF A HORSE DEA.LEE. 



houses in Manchester. Great preparations were made 

 by the proprietor of the yard, the stables were white- 

 washed, and the boxes bedded down knee- deep in clean 

 straw, the front of the yard was plastered over with 

 large bills, and neatly-arranged catalogues were freely 

 circulated, and many sent by post, to the most horsey 

 merchants in Manchester and adjacent districts. 



An auctioneer was engaged, who, although a man 

 well up in the ways of the world, and of strict integrity, 

 knew as much about a horse as a fish knows of its grand- 

 mother ; but his respectability and standing in society 

 made a capital passport for the copers to the pocket of 

 his victims. The livery-stable keeper knew as much, 

 and no more, than the auctioneer about horses, and 

 when questioned about the owner, he winked and shook 

 his head. 



" The fact is," said he, " the nob has done the pace 

 too fast, and is obliged to pull up ; but the horses must 

 be sold there will be no reserve." 



The day before the sale took place, this herd of 

 cripples, numbering twenty-eight, were landed from 

 one of the Dublin steamers at Liverpool. They 

 were all clothed in complete suits of one pattern, 

 marked with the initials " L. K." The clothing 

 had been bought for the purpose and soiled, to 

 make it appear as if it had been more or less 

 in wear ; thus, with the knee-caps and bandages, the 

 screws were packed as carefully as Egyptian mummies. 

 Railway boxes were engaged at Lime Street, and it was 

 arranged to send them by a train which arrived at Yic- 



