AN INCOME. 307 



appear, he gets first a sound thrashing, which he is too 

 dispirited to resist, and then he gets another night of 

 it till he is thoroughly tamed and browbeaten : he is 

 again sold ; and probably, though then put on proper 

 feeding and allowed proper rest, it takes some days 

 before he so far recovers himself as to resume his 

 former habits. Perhaps, from having been thoroughly 

 cowed, he never does become quite as violent as he 

 was before ; but restive he will be no doubt. Now 

 what is the purchaser to do ? he cannot most pro- 

 bably prove the horse had been restive, while Mr. 

 Rascal Avill not only swear, but bring plenty of 

 witnesses to swear, he never was ; and indeed the 

 Gentleman and his groom cannot help allowing that 

 for a week the horse was quiet. If he goes to law 

 and gains his cause, it will cost him a good deal of 

 money and a great deal of trouble ; and the chances 

 are that so many witnesses will outswear him. The 

 only wise thing for him to do is to give the scoundrel 

 a sum to take him back, which he will do, as such a 

 horse is an income to him : he is a good screiv^ though 

 not a lame one, and will be sold over and over again 

 by the same party and his coadjutors. 



Having mentioned Dublin and a horse there, I will 

 mention another that I saw sold there, at the different 

 Repositories and fairs in the neighbourhood, I should 

 say twenty times. The fact was, if he was sold on 

 Tuesday at one Repository, he was certain to be on 

 Friday for sale at another, as the buyer was sure to 

 find him out in an hour after he had got him. He was 

 what is termed " a chinked-backed one ; " that is, he had 

 been injured in the spine. Many of these horses will 

 do well enough with no weight on them when going 



X 2 



