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To find such a book as that whose title I have placed at the head of this paper is really a boon. It is the work of a man who knows his subject and likes it. He tells us, in his few words of preface, that it was from the frequent occasion he was called upon to answer questions and give advice to his friends on horse matters he was induced to commit himself to print. It is not often that the insistance of a man's acquaintance results so profitably for the public. In the present case, we have every reason to be thankful for the persecution. It is all that such a book should be-brief, intelligible, replete with sound sense, and a thorough understanding of what it treats.

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His few words of counsel to buyers are excellent. But so long as the code of horse-selling honour is built upon the maxim of caveat emptor in every animal of price, no man should think of relying on his own judgment, for not merely are the diseases of the horse very numerous, but the ingenious devices to mask and conceal them are just as many; and "shoving off a screw, as it is jocularly called, seems such a venial offence, that there are many would do it with their best friends. In some regiments there is occasionally an understanding against this in in others I have known a free-trade in such rogueries encouraged. I remember poor old A. of the Queen's Bays, on a memorable election riot in Dublin, when the mob lighted large fires across College Green to arrest the advance of cavalry. A. alone dashed through the blaze in full swing of his gallop, while the whole leading file turned and bolted. "Splendidly done!" cried the Major. "What will you take for that horse? I never saw a horse face fire like him."-"A hundred and fifty, Major," was the answer. "It took five years before I brought him to that." The bargain was made, and the secret of the five years' training

only discovered in the morningthe borse was stone blind!

As to blindness, there are various diseases of the eye most difficult of detection-some, amaurosis for instance, not at all discoverable by any examination of the organ.

There is, too, an affection of the sight which renders the horse timid with respect to shadows on the ground, and which has no organic change in the eye by which it can be detected. The Germans call this "Bodensheu." This curious affection belongs to certain breeds, especially Hungarian and Polish horses.

It is not a little singular how particular breeds of horses perpetuate certain defects-as we find, for instance, the Australian a buckjumper, and the Mustang a roarer; and the Sardinian, which has an Arab cross, an irreclaimable biter. The Roman horse, too, except when ill, very rarely lies down; and, notwithstanding, it is most uncommon to find him puffed about the legs, or what is called "gummy."

There are in the little volume before us some useful hints about saddling :

"A saddle should be made to fit the

horse for which it is intended, and requires as much variation in shape, espe cially in the stuffing, as there is variety in the shapes of horses' backs. An animal may be fairly shaped in the back, and yet a saddle that fits another horse The saddle having been made to fit your will always go out on this one's withers. horse, let it be placed gently upon him, and shifted till its proper berth be found. When in its right place, the action of the upper part of the shoulder-blade should be quite free from any confinement or pressure by what saddlers call pommel when the animal is in motion. the gullet of the saddle under the it stands to reason that any interference with the action of the shoulder-blade must, after a time, indirectly if not directly, cause a horse to falter in his move

ment.

"Girths. When girthing a horse, which is always done upon the near or left-hand side, the girth should be first drawn tightly towards you under the belly of the horse, so as to bring the

saddle rather to the off side on the back of the beast. This is seldom done by grooms; and though a gentleman is not supposed to girth his horse, information on this as well as on other points may happen to be of essential service to him; for the consequence of the attendant's usual method is, that when the girths are tightened up, the saddle, instead of being in the centre of the horse's back,

is inclined to the near or left-hand side, to which it is still farther drawn by the act of mounting, so that when a man has mounted he fancies that one stirrup is longer than the other -the near side stirrup invariably the longest. To remedy this he forces down his foot in the right stirrup, which brings the saddle to the centre of the animal's back.

"All this would be obviated by care being taken, in the process of girthing, to place the left hand on the middle of the saddle, drawing the first or under girth with the right hand till the girth holder reaches the buckle, the left hand being then disengaged to assist in bracing up the girth. The outer girth must go through the same process, being drawn under the belly of the horse from the off side tightly before it is attached to the girth-holder.

"With ladies' sadles most particular attention should be paid to the girth ing."

The author is perfectly right in his remark about the English habit of putting the saddle too far forward, a blunder which even our cavalry regiments occasionally commit. Such of our officers as have seen an Austrian cavalry regiment, or a Hungarian hussar regiment, will not have failed to be struck by the perfection of saddling displayed, not merely in the position of the saddle on the exact centre of motion of the animal, but in the admirable precaution adopted against sore backs. The Hungarian tressle leaves the spine so free that you could pass a cane between the saddle and the horse's back. I remember the arrival of a regiment, four thousand strong, in the Vorarlberg, with seven sore backs only, after eight days' marching. Our hussars in the Crimea were at one time almost disabled from this

one cause.

Our author says, to make your

horse change his foot in a canter, turn him as if to circle towards that side to which you require the foot to lead, he will use the foot forward that you wish, to support himself in turning. This is quite correct, but it is not the usual English doctrine. Most people in starting to canter press the near side rein to turn the horse's "counter" to that side, and compel him to strike out "off-leg." The Bauchet system is directly opposed to this, and insists that the rein should be drawn on the side the rider wishes the leg to be advanced. Certainly in this way the horse's action is more true, because he goes perfectly straight.

It might be wished that one so conversant with his subject had referred occasionally to Bauchet, especially when speaking of the adVantages of the dumb jockey. In all that relates to arching the neck, and giving pliancy to the muscles about the throat, "the flexions," as practised by Bauchet, are a vast improvement over the coarser methods of our English trainers. I do not agree in what our author says about one being always able to "sit a kicker." I have had two in my life which I can pronounce to be strong exceptions to his rule. was a racing mare-Pauline-who ran well for the Corinthian's, when the property, I believe, of Lord Howth; she could kick anything off her back that ever mounted her. I saw her throw herself, in Clarendon's Riding School, Dublin, with the dumb jockey, so complete a summerset that the central rod of the dumb jockey entered the ground up to the very pad, and held her there as it were impaled; and yet even this failed to cure her.

One

Dycer told me that he had sold her upwards of thirty times by auction. She was a great beauty, with fine action, and it was hard to believe on seeing her that she was unridable. I tried, like many others, and made a most "indigne" ending.

My other kicker was a powerful

thoroughbred of grand and showy action; his plan was to plant his fore legs firm under him, not in front, hog his back, and kick till his croup would actually strike the rider. You might hold his head how you pleased, for he contrived to pivot himself on the fore quarter. For a while, perhaps, you might keep your seat, but as weariness came on, for it was no small fatigue, he was certain to throw you at last. With this horse, I believe, it was an attempt to relieve himself of the pressure of the girth, for with merely a sheet and a loose roller he went perfectly quiet and well.

Some foreign horses, "Polacres" especially, have a trick of rearing against any object that will support them, such as a wall or a tree, and striking at it violently with their fore legs. They rarely or never fall back, but they stand so nearly perpendicular that the rider's position is the reverse of pleasant. I remember once mounting one of these beasts, with a saddle provided with safety clasps for the stirrup-leathers, which accordingly gave way when the pressure became lateral, so that I slipped over the tail with the leathers and stirrups, and found myself sitting at the beast's heels.

There are some excellent remarks about shoeing, and the general care of the foot, in this little volume; but I would, with all deference to so high an authority, enter my dissent to his treatment of what is called "brushing" or cutting. The malady, in full nineteen cases out of twenty, is not a local affection at all, or in any way dependent on the foot-the source of the disease is in the mouth; it is from a horse having a "hard side" he travels obliquely, and so comes to cross his action and cuts. The first thing to do with a cutter is to examine if the bridle-rein of one side does not chafe the neck, showing that unequal pressure has to be employed. I have cured scores of cutters without ever altering the shoe or changing the nailing, simply by handling

VOL. XCVIII.—NO. DCII.

and making the mouth equal on each side.

I am willing to have my theory tested by any one who has a cutting horse, so fully persuaded am I that malformation has nothing whatever to do with the malady.

As to roughing in frost, let me also give him a wrinkle especially adapted to our climate, where frost is rarely of long continuance, and where, consequently, frequent changes of the shoe might be required, it is, to have the shoes made to receive two small "spuds" of iron in the heel, which are to be screwed in, and removed when the horse enters his stable. These afford all the security against slipping in frosty weather, and do not oblige the necessity of removing the shoe itself. It is the universal practice in many parts of Germany and along the Baltic, and in Canada. By this practice you will be able to resist those terrors of your groom's foreboding about "tearing the horse's feet to pieces," fresh nail-holes, &c. Nor is it the least beneficial part of the plan I recommend, that the danger the author speaks of in the horse treading on the opposite foot with a frost-nailed and calked shoe, has here no existence, since the "spuds" are removed when the horse is stabled, and their place. filled by two flat-headed nails even with the shoe.

I wish the writer had said a word about tips or half-moon shoes, which leave the heel free, and are an admirable sort of shoe where the horse has feet to permit it. I know of no such security against greasy heels, thrush, or fungus, as this mode of shoeing.

"Calking the hind shoes of the hunter on the outside quarter only," he justly observes, will give the "animal more confidence at his fences and on landing." This, however, is also a question of "the ground," for in wet spongy soils the horse will receive no assistance from the calks.

Indeed all advice with regard to

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hunters must have an especial reference to the country they hunt over. The very conventionalities of the hunting-field will show this. What would be said in Leicestershire, for instance, of the old Galway habit, which obliged the man who first cleared a fence to "call the ground," as it was termed ?that is, he should announce whether he had lighted on grass, or bog, or granite, or shingle, for the benefit of those who came after him.

There is a story of old Dudley Perse of Roxborough, a bold rider and a keen sportsman, who, after taking a high wall, completely disappeared, there being a "drop" of double the height. When Lord Gort cried out, "What's at the other side, Dudley?" the answer was, "I am, thank God!"

I cannot part with our dragoon without entreating him in the next edition of his admirable book (and it will see a dozen, or I know nothing of pig-skin) to let us have a chapter on the caprices of horses, their strange likings and dislikings, for they are in this respect very singular creatures, and well worth study and attention. Much of what is called restiveness is nothing more than the effort of the animal to express some inconvenience he desires to have removeda strap that annoys, or a billet that hurts him; nor is it a little singular how far association of ideas will influence the horse; and the place where he has been relieved, and the man who relieved him, be remembered gratefully for a long time.

Some such circumstance, I have no doubt, had its effect on a cob I once possessed, and who was very difficult to mount, but stood motionless if his fore feet were placed

in water. If it could be traced, I feel certain that the animal recurred to some time and place where the cold water about his feet had given him relief from pain.

It is not necessary I should follow our author into the medical portion of his treatise. I have looked through it, however, and find it like all that precedes it-sound, sensible, and easily understood.

For "clap" of the back-sinew, or break-down, or indeed for any lameness that results from sprain, the Austrians use a simple application I have seen highly beneficial. It is to make a paste of the common marl with vinegar, and anoint the whole limb. The quicker drying of the inflamed part will at once direct you to the true seat of the mischief; but, besides this, the application is the best and most equable form of bandage, and may be suffered to remain several days without renewal.

Let me also advise a remedy for sore back. When the disease has proceeded to ulceration, and produced one of those sluggish, ill-conditioned ulcers, with flabby granulations, and an ichorous discharge, my remedy is lint steeped in warm "gum elemi ointment;" the ointment to be heated in a spoon over a candle, and the lint well soaked in this, and inserted into the sore. I have known more progress effected by this dressing in one week than by three months of other treatment.

If the author of this volume will accept any of these suggestions for his next issue, they are heartily at his service, being the only recompense in my power for all the pleasure and instruction I have derived from his volume.

C. O'D.

SIR BROOK FOSSBROOKE.

PART VII.

CHAPTER XXV.-AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.

As Sir Brook sat in the library waiting for the arrival of the Chief Baron, Lucy Lendrick came in to look for a book she had been reading. "Only think, sir," said she, flushing deeply with joy and astonishment together-"to find you here! What a delightful surprise!"

"I have come, my dear child," said he, gravely, "to speak with Sir William on a matter of some importance, and evidently he is not aware that my moments are precious, for I have been here above half an hour alone."

"But now that I am with you," said she, coquettishly, "you'll surely not be so churlish of your time, will you?"

"There is no churlishness, my darling Lucy, in honest thrift. I have nothing to give away." The deep sadness of his voice showed how intensely his words charged with a stronger significance. "We are off to-night."

were

"To-night!" cried she, eagerly. "Yes, Lucy. It's no great banishment-only to an island in the Mediterranean, and Tom came up here with me in the vague, very vague, hope he might see you. I left him in the shrubbery near the gate, for he would not consent to come farther."

"I'll go to him at once. We shall meet again," said she, as she opened the sash-door and hastened down the lawn at speed.

After another wait of full a quarter of an hour, Fossbrooke's patience became exhausted, and he drew nigh the bell to summon a servant; his hand was on the rope, when the door opened, and Sewell entered. Whatever astonishment Fossbrooke might have felt at this unexpected appearance, nothing in

his manner or look betrayed it. As for Sewell, all his accustomed ease had deserted him, and he came forward with an air of assumed swagger, but his colour came and went, and his hands twitched almost convulsively.

He bowed, and, smiling courteously, invited Fossbrooke to be seated. Haughtily drawing himself up to his full height, Sir Brook said, in his own deep sonorous voice, "There can be nothing between us, sir, that cannot be dismissed in a moment-and as we stand."

"As you please, sir," rejoined Sewell, with an attempt at the same haughty tone. "I have been deputed by my step-father, the Chief Baron, to make his excuses for not receiving you-his health forbids the excitement. It is his wish that you may make to me whatever communication you had destined for him."

"Which I refuse, sir, at once," interrupted Sir Brook.

"I opine, then, there is no more to be said," said Sewell, with a faint smile.

"Nothing more, sir-not a word; unless perhaps you will be gracious enough to explain to the Chief Baron the reasons-they cannot be unknown to you-why I refuse all and any communication with Colonel Sewell."

"I have no presumption to read your mind and know your thoughts," said Sewell, with quiet politeness.

"You would discover nothing in either to your advantage, sir," said Fossbrooke, defiantly.

"Might I add, sir," said Sewell, with an easy smile, "that all your malevolence cannot exceed my indifference to it?"

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