Jllajor Whyte uHelville 



the roan horse. The thing could not be better done. The 

 author brings out the whole humour of horse - dealing 

 without missing a single point. The flattery ; the wonder 

 how such a nice horse came to be in the Sloper establish- 

 ment unless he had some serious ' crab ' ; the trial ; the 

 luncheon ; the deal ; the second look at the horse by the 

 new owner ; then the misgiving at finding him smaller 

 than he thought when he got him home next day, are all 

 set down by the hand of a master. 



There is indeed nothing more delightful than going to 

 look for the horse you want and being quite sure that you 

 have found him from the very first moment you are intro- 

 duced to him in the box. In choosing a horse there is no 

 truer guide than love at first sight ; though, if we may 

 criticise Mr. Sawyer, it is wise to ask the price of the horse 

 before you get on his back. Some people can no more 

 conceal their admiration for a horse than they can conceal 

 their admiration for a lady. If he is as good a ride as your 

 instinct tells you he is, you may return so flushed with the 

 pride of what you think is masterly equestrianism that the 

 dealer, if he is half sharp, and some of them are even more 

 than half sharp, will put ^^50 on to his price unless you 

 have asked it beforehand. But perhaps Mr. Sawyer could 

 command his own face. 



Those who read this chapter may think it worth while 



to read the whole book again. If they do, they will surely 



be rewarded. There is an incident in it which has some 



bearing on the ethics of selling horses to one's friends that 



E 65 



