IRISH HUNTERS 



He will have turned out a rattling good horse, 

 and you will never grudge the cheque you wrote, 

 nor the punch you were obliged to drink, before 

 his late proprietor would let you make him your 

 own. 



Gold and whisky, in large quantities and 

 judiciously applied, may no doubt buy the best 

 horses in Ireland. But a man must know where 

 to look for them, and even in remote districts 

 will sometimes be disappointed to find that the 

 English dealers have forestalled him. Happily, 

 there are so many good horses, perhaps I should 

 say so few rmik bad ones, bred in the country, 

 that from the very sweepings and leavings of the 

 market, one need not despair of turning up a 

 trump. A hunter is in sp far like a wife, that 

 experience alone will prove whether he is or is not 

 good for nothing. Make and shape, in either 

 case, may be perfect, pedigree unimpeachable, and 

 manners blameless, but who is to answer for 

 temper, reflection, docility, and the generous 

 staying power that accepts rough and smooth, 

 ups and downs, good and evil, without a struggle 

 or a sob ? When we have tried them, we find 

 them out, and can only make the best of our 

 disappointment, if they do not fully come up to 

 our expectations. 



There is many a good hunter, particularly in a 

 rich man's stable, that never has a chance of 



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