PRESIDENT-THE EARL OP CLARENDON. 
Ill 
which, is their present lot! But should not this reflection he an 
additional incentive to man to treat the dumb servant who has 
ministered to his pleasures or to his wants with all the more loving 
care and grateful consideration ? 
There is another matter which does not invariably receive the 
attention which it merits, and that is the proper disposition of 
saddlery and appointments. In this respect, however, exception 
must be made regarding horses used for cavalry purposes, for in 
their case rules are laid down for the proper place and method of 
fitting for each single article of the horse’s gear; for instance, the 
saddle is to be placed on the middle of the horse’s back, the front 
of it about the breadth of the hand behind the play of the shoulder; 
the bit should fit with the mouthpiece one inch above the lower 
tusk of a horse, and two inches above the corner tooth of a mare. 
These regulations ensure the saddle being carried and the hit worn 
in such a manner as to cause the least possible inconvenience or 
discomfort to the horse, and to obviate the probability of either a 
sore mouth or a galled back. A rigid observance of these rules, 
especially during warfare, is, apart from humanity, absolutely 
essential, for if the horse has a sore mouth or back, he cannot be 
bitted or saddled, and his rider is thus rendered hors-de-comlat. 
In the hurry and turmoil of the hunting-field many accidents 
occur which it is impossible to foresee, prevent, and in some cases 
to remedy. Some few years ago a curious misadventure happened 
to myself. I was out hunting on a favourite horse, and, whilst 
going through a gate, came into too close proximity to the horse of 
a fair equestrian in front of me. Her steed resented the supposed 
insult, and lashed out, just catching my horse underneath the jaw, 
inflicting a scarcely perceptible wound, and one which at first sight 
appeared to be of a trivial nature. Every care was taken of the 
patient, and I sent him up for a little while to the Yeterinary 
College in London, where all that surgical skill could do was done; 
but the jaw-bone had evidently been seriously injured, and so 
great were the sufferings of the wretched animal that I ordered 
him to be destroyed and the jaw-bone to be preserved and given to 
me. [This was handed round for inspection.] It will easily be 
imagined what unspeakable agony this process of ossification caused, 
and how that the only true kindness was to put an end to a life of 
torture. 
It would be tedious as well as unnecessary to review in detail 
the numberless ills that horseflesh is heir to. Some of these, such 
