566 
HEAD GROOMS, AND GROOMS IN GENERAL. 
man who would wish to do what is right to veterinary surgeons 
and shoeing-smiths, instead of inquiring into a working groom’s 
scientific acquirements, his knowledge of White and Taplin, 
and other nostrum-mongers, prefer placing him in a loose box 
beside a dirty hunter, and seeing him set to work, ten to one but 
poor Plush begins to hiss and teaze and tickle the animal, with 
his ill-arranged whisp; or, having scraped a certain quantity of 
mud off his belly, will proceed forthwith to plaster it over the ears 
by way of making it comfortable about the head : still this charac¬ 
ter is to be a judge of shoeing, and all the ills that horse-flesh 
is heir to, and to give his opinion to Master of the abilities of 
Mr. Aloes, the vet., or Elijah Bullwaist, the shoeing-smith. 
Now, Mr. Editor, I think you will agree with me in this point— 
that it is the duty of every gentleman, before he changes his veteri¬ 
nary surgeon or shoeing-smith by the persuasion of his groom, to 
inquire into the cause why Mr. Coachee wants to change; and I 
will venture to say, ninety-nine out of every hundred will be found 
at the bottom to be Discount versus Self-Interest. 
About three years ago I knew a poor shoeing-smith in the 
country that suffered from one of those dandy brushers. His 
master kept four hunters and two hacks. It was the groom’s plan 
to have one shod at a time. He would go to the smith’s house, 
after the shop was shut up for the night, before he wanted to have 
his horse shod, to tell the smith to be there in the morning to shoe 
Verity, See.; his object being for the poor smith to ask him in to 
take a glass of grog o’er a pipe. I assure you this was a regular 
thing, insomuch that he drank all the profit of the six horses, and 
poor Elijah was obliged to give up the grog. The groom came a 
few times without the grog, but not many before the brown horse 
was lame. The master was acquainted with his lameness, and the 
question was, “ Where do you think his lameness is I”—“ Oh, sir, 
I think it is from shoeing: we had better have Mr. So and So from 
so and so, a man famed for shoeing” (but more so for discount). 
The answer was, “ Well, I must not have all my horses lamed!” 
Accordingly, Mr. Discount is sent for, and the groom gains his 
point. Now, it is precisely the same with the veterinary surgeons 
as with the shoeing-smiths. I feel confident that the majority of 
the veterinary profession will agree with me, that these over-fed 
lackies are the greatest plague of life. 
Yours, &c. 
Discount. 
Sept. 13th, 1849. 
