CHAPTER XXVII 



HORSE-DEALERS AND HORSE- 

 STEALERS 



I THINK it was Charles Dickens who remarked how strange 

 it is that the horse exercises a deteriorating influence on 

 the men that are brought into contact with him. I fear the 

 morals of horse-dealers, amateur or professional, have not 

 improved, and some men will show no mercy to their 

 dearest friends when selling a horse. 



A good many years ago there used to hunt with the 

 New Forest Hounds a notorious character, Dicky Wise by 

 name. Dicky once had a deal with a sporting butcher of 

 Southampton, Jack Hewitt, who horsed one or two coaches. 

 Wise's horse was a rank roarer, and the butcher's had a 

 bad spavin, but they agreed to exchange without examining 

 each other's horses. The next day Hewitt went out with 

 the hounds, and soon discovered the roarer — but said 

 nothing about it. The following day Wise rode his horse 

 with the hounds, and on his return he passed Hewitt stand- 

 ing at the door of his shop. The horse was going on 

 three legs, and Wise shouted out, " No friendship in horse- 

 dealing, Hewitt ; there is no friendship in horse-dealing." 



A lie told in the course of a horse deal is considered the 

 most venial of white ones. But sometimes a double entendre 

 will do as well. For example, a Scotch laird sold a horse 

 to an Englishman with the remark, " You buy the horse as 

 you see him ; but he's an honest beast!' The purchaser 

 took him home, and on the way the horse stumbled and 

 fell, to the detriment of his knees and the rider's head. On 

 this the angry purchaser went to the laird, and remonstrated 

 with him warmly. " I supposed, sir, I was dealing with a 

 gentleman and a man of his word." I only told you he 



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