THE MODERN HIGHWAYMAN. 
349 
first glance. The facts are in evidence, however, and there can 
be no getting around them. The cheerful victim of this little 
buuco game is the society man, who feels that he must have his 
pair of stylish horses, his cob, or his trotter to appear before the 
public in the proper way. Some there are who go in for big 
stables, having a new turnout for each entertainment or day in 
the week. These must pay heavily, indeed, for their little di¬ 
version, as the larger the purse^ the greater amount demanded 
by the bandits of Manhattan. 
“ The bandits are none other than ‘ Jeems ’ and ‘ ’Enry,’ the 
swell coachmen who are in the main smart English horsemen, 
and who flourish and wax fat on their clever scheme. The 
coachman is the principal thief, the head of the order of ban¬ 
ditti, but he has numerous aids and abettors. The smith who 
has charge of shoeing, plating and other w^ork of the kind, is 
one of his trusty allies ; often an unscrupulous veterinarian has 
a hand in the pie, and altogether the man who finds it impos¬ 
sible to get along in this world without his carriage and pair is 
fleeced right and left until the wonder is that he will stand it. 
“ Plainly told, the coachman has entire and absolute charge 
of the horses in alitiost every stable in this city, and he is per¬ 
mitted to act as he sees fit in the management of the turnout, 
which means that he has the power to buy horses, have them 
shod, clipped, fed, and attended to in every way necessary by 
whoever gives him the largest commission for the privilege of 
rendering the bills. This is the system, and if any one believes 
that the cheerful bandit who has all this power is playing any 
favorites or overlooking any bets, all he has to do is to get 
a glimpse at some of the bills that are turned in from the veteri¬ 
narian, the smith, the feed-man, etc. Some of these are most 
astounding from a practical point of view, and would naturally 
indicate that they are never even looked at by the owner who 
pays them. 
. “ There are many tricks of the tiade, and they are all worked 
at some time or other on the unsuspecting society man, who, de¬ 
spite a most stupendous bluff, rarely knows a horse’s hock from 
his withers. 
“ When things go a little slow for ‘ Jeems,’ ‘ milady ’ finds it 
impossible to get her carriage some fine morning, because the 
horses are lame. This is deplorable, but what are you going to 
do about it ? Simply hire a cab instead! The horses must go 
to the smith, or the veteriuary surgeon must be called to look 
after them. The next day they are all right, and a comfort- 
