334 THE DUKE OF CLEVELAND. 



health ; for it took a burden off my shoulders, as the 

 man said who lost his head in a gale of wind — if the 

 remark has not also been made, in an anticipatory 

 sense, by some one else before decapitation. 



In the completion of the sale, two little matters 

 had been overlooked, which were afterwards left to 

 Messrs. Weatherby to settle. The one was the 

 question of engagements, of which the horse had 

 several. One of them, at York, Avas, to look at, a 

 good one ; and this one his lordship, with his usual 

 acumen and foresight, wanted, but not the others. 

 As I was acting for Mr. Parker, I Avould not give 

 my assent, but agreed that he could have all or none, 

 and he took them. The other little difficulty was 

 only a matter of £55, nothing in comparison to the 

 first, and came about in this way. His lordship 

 said he did not know whether it was pounds or 

 guineas he had given. I replied that candour com- 

 pelled me to say guineas were not mentioned ; but as 

 horses were always sold for guineas at auction, and 

 Sir Tatton Sykes would not sell his horses except for 

 guineas, I thought his lordship would, looking at it 

 in this light, consider the sale had been made for 

 guineas. This he generously thought a fair way of 

 putting it, and gave the extra money, or £1,155 in 

 all. T got a commission of £50 on the sale from Mr. 

 Parker ; a fact I mention, as it was the only money I 

 was ever presented with for selling a horse for any of 

 my numerous employers. Cedric, I should add, Mas 



