ADVENTURES OF A GENTLEMAN IN SEARCH OF A HORSE.

" THE Three Perils of Man," according to Hon°, are, " Wine, Women, and Witchcraft :" if the Shepherd had added Horse-flesh, it would have spoiled his alliteration, but increased his credit for experience in the world's ways. For, certes, the pains and penal- ties incidental to the ownership of horses form a considerable item in the catalogue of the miseries of human life, and mate- rially deduct from the pleasures of riding and driving. " That noble and useful animal the horse," as the spelling-book puts it, has got into bad hands. What with roguish jockics, ignorant farriers, bad riders, and cruel drivers, no poor animal was ever worse beset. It is one consolation to reflect that much of the mischief is remediable, being traceable to sheer ignorance. The horse-dealer is cunning for lack of wisdom, and tries to make up for his ignorance by knavery: he looks infinitely more knowing than he is. The clumsy blacksmith, who lames a horse in the shoeing, may be matched by the quack, who kills by the linger- ing process of pretended cure. As for the riders, if not one in ten that gets on the top of a horse knows how to sit across him, it is not much to be marvelled at that nineteen in twenty are utterly ignorant of his powers, anatomy, and constitution. The

Veterinary C however, has already done something towards enlightening mankind upon the subject of the horse ; and by the time steam has superseded horse labour, we may expect to know how to use the animal.

To teach the tyro how to buy a horse, and bow to keep him when bought—and to expound, or rather define the laws of horse- dealing—are the objects of the very pleasant and useful little volume before us. CAVEAT EMPTOR, the author, is a lawyer, with a taste for jockeyship: " the saddle has been as familiar to him as the sofa. - His knowledge of horse-flesh and of the tricks of dealers has been acquired by many years' experience; and is of that k;ad which is most prized,—namely, it has been bought,— though at a cheaper rate than ordinary, for he is enabled with some triumph to say, "I have had above a hundred horses in my stable during the last two-and-twenty years, and have not averaged a loss of three pounds on each." From casualties, too, he has been remarkably exempt; for he adds, "It is not less in- structive to say, that, from a horse's fault I have never broken a limb or strained a muscle." These are priina facie proofs of the qualifications of CAVEAT Emetoa to treat of his subject in the character of an intelligent amateur of horse-flesh ; and when to these is added his legal knowledge and skill, no horse-owner or " gentleman in search of a horse " need desire better. The style of the book is as lively as its matter is solid. The author tells us, in his dedication to Baron GURNEY, that when be began it W object was simply to amuse his family and friends by recounting his adventures; but it was suggested to him that the addition of seine practical information might " point the moral" in the Most instructive way. Then, his opinion being profes,ionally called for on a question of warranty, be finds that this corner of the law is terra incognita; and so his book becomes a specimen of a class that we hope will multiply, w here entertainment, science, and learning, are blended together. Indeed, if all knowledge were conveyed in the clear, concise, and lively manner of this little volume, the world would be very much the wiser; for not only would the readers be more numerous, but theatuinber of those who understand what they read would be greatly increased. Our author commences with the narrative of his adventures at horse-auctions, commission-stables, and with gentlemen. This part is written in a familiar and animated style, with a vein of plea- sant humour; and interspersed with sketches of the characters and tricks of horses and dealers, so graphic that the text has furnished CRU1KSHANS. with a number of congenial subjects ready to his pencil. In discussing the good and bad qualities of the various cattle that come under his inspection, the author takes occasion to describe, concisely and perspicuously, the de- fects and diseases common to the horse, their causes and cure; touching incidentally on the general treatment of the animal; awl

exposing the various manoeuvres practised upon the unwary, in selling horses. He concludes with a lucid exposition of the law of warranty ; citing a great Lumber of cases, and the opinions of the Judges. Even in this, the driest part of the subject, the inte- rest of the popular reader is kept up; while, for the professional man, the last hundred and fifty pages contain such valuable legal matter as is nowhere else to be found in a collected form: and we venture to say the law is not the worse for being conveyed in a conversational manner.

From such a mass of various information on the intricate sub- ject of Horse-dealing, it is difficult to extract: but we give the results of our author's opinions on one or two points, gleaned from different pages, as the best way of showing the character of his information.

HOW TO BUY A. HORSE.

Before setting out to buy a horse, determine what sort of a horse you want ; and in order to this, inform yourself; honestly, whether you arc a good or a bad rider, what is your weight, and what sort of work you want the horse to perform: then fix your ultimatum price, and keep within it.

It is very inexpedient to buy a horse from a gentleman, and downright fully to do so if that gentleman is your friend.

Whenever you see a horse advertised fur sale, avoid him as you would a pesti- lence. If he is "a sweet goer," depend upon it you will he gently dropped into the sweetest kennel in St. Giles; if 1w is 66 well suited fur a charger," he is sure to charge a hay-stack and a park of artillery with equal determination ; if "he never shies or stumbles," the chances are three to one that he is stone-blind, or cannot quit a walk ; the " best horse in England " is to a certainty the worst in London ; when "parted with for no fault," it means that he is sold fur a hun- dred; if " the reasons will be satisfactorily explained," it may be taken for granted that the master has absconded, either for stealing him, or robbing his creditors; when "built like a castle," he will move like a church-steeple; if "equal to fifteen stone up to the fleetest hounds in England," depend upon it he never saw the tail of a hound in his life ; if he is a "beautiful stepper," you will find that lie has the action of a peacock ; if a " liberal trial is allowed," be most especially careful— a deposit ef half the price, but three times his value, will assuredly be required as security for your return ; and finally, whenever you see that he is the " asoperty of a tradesman who wants to exchange for a horse of le-s value for his business," of "a gentleman who has given up riding from ill health," or because " lie is going abroad," of " a professional man whose avoca- tions call him from town," of "a person of respectability, who can be referred to," you may safely swear that he belongs to a systematic chaunter, who will swindle you both out of horse and money, and involve you in all the trouble, coat, and vexation, of an Old Bailey prosecution to boot. I have tried all these fel- lows ; I have ferreted them out in all their holes and corners ; I have sun them to earth scores of times; I have detected them buying a blemished or a stolen horse for ten pounds to-day, and selling it clipped for fifty to-morrow—starving a poor famished wretch without water for a week, that it might drink itself into a dropsy, so as to "show a good barrel" at the next sale-day; or, as you have already seen, subduing; by protracted torment, into deceitful quiet, a horse so vicious as to endauger the life of his rider and all around him. Their minor villanies are so numerous as to make description of them impossible ; and in these, aided by :heir grooms, some self-called "gentlemen" do not disdain to share. I have known men not ashamed to boast of their ingenuity in tricks very nearly allied to swindling—cauterizing the teeth to conceal age, surfeiting a horse with unwholesome food, staining a blemished knee, or clipping a horserist condemned at the College to prevent recognition. The author has arrived at the conclusion that there are but two tolerably secure modes of obtaining a good hack for the saddle. " The first, and by far the best, for a man who has time and judgment, is to visit the breeding counties, Norfolk and Lincoln- shire especially, and, by introduction to some respectable farmer, to choose for himself. If be have not opportunity, and distrusts his own judgment, the alternative is to trust to the character and judgment of any of our principal dealers ;" many of whom, we learn, are respectable men, and when confided in may be relied 011. UNSOUNDNESS.

In a horse-dealer's estimation, unsoundness does not and can- not exist : in a farrier's judgment, every horse in the creation is unsound—unless the seller is his customer.

Every man, I believe, is pleased with a new horse for the first four-and-twenty hours, on the same principle that every child is pleased with a new toy ; and

like the child who throws away the toy the moment it fails to answer expecta- tion, the buyer believes his purchase to be worthless, the instant he detects a fault. This is a serious mistake. There is not one horse in a hundred that is

in every sense sound. There is an important distinction between soundness in its legal sense, and in its popular acceptation. A lawyer will tell you that every horse is sound that is not diseased, or menaced with disease, to a degree that in- capacitates him for fair and serviceable exertion in that labour for which he is sold. A veterinary surgeon will declare a horse unsound, that has any symp- toms of past, present, or future infirmity. A dealer, or his ostler, will vouch for the soundness of every animal that can place one foot before the other, or manage to stand upon all four. . • • My first advice isnot to be too prompt in returning a defective horse. Slight faults, or even doubtful indications of disease, should not be conclusive. No horse is without a fault of sonic kind, and yet there are not many that abso- lutely incapacitate him for work. A horse may refuse to canter, and . yet be pleasant and speedy in his trot ; he may even blunder with a new and inexpe- rienced rider, and ultimately prove sure-footed, when better accustomed to the hand. Many will swerve and shy when they find themselves unsteadily mounted, and afterwards prove perfectly docile. Some animals of delicate stomachs, or moody tempers, will refuse their corn when they come into a strange stable: others will be sullen when iutroduced to a new face, or unmanageable when groomed by an unwonted hand : all these are temporary inconveniences, and far from conclusive against the value Or usefulness of the horse.

Many timid riders take alarm at the frolics of their horse when first mounted ; forgetting, that in all probability, he has been fed up into high condition for sale, and had no work for a month past, beyond his daily exercise. It is not a

fortnight since I mounted a mare that almost kicked down the stable-door as soon as I crossed her. She carried me very quietly for an hour afterwards, and I was more disposed to complain of a want of spirit, than an excess of it. Should it, bewever, be too apparent that the purchase is substantially vicious or unsound, it should be returned without delay, but not without due caution. An immediate return is not necessary in point of law, but it is certainly impru- dent needlessly to retain an unsound horse even for a day. The two leading authorities on unsoundness are Mr. Sewell and Mr. Field ; and before the ant- nuns sent back, both these gentlemen should be consulted, It is indispensable to consult the veterinarian before the horse is returned ; for no opportunity will be given of doing se afterwards.

The legal definition of unsoundness seems so vague, that the terms of warranty seldom if ever apply to the disease. But for the law of the case, we refer the reader to the volume itself.

We had marked for quotation some part of the chapter en Stabling; but room fails us. The author describes the generality of stables as too close, yet liable to draughts; too dark, too low, and too narrow ; and ordinarily paved in such a way that the horse is forced to stand in an unnatural position—almost resting on his toes, like the figures in some modprn portrait pictures. He instances the stables of the Veterinary College as models of con- struction. This establishment, indeed, seems to he the source of health to the horse, and sense and knowledge to his owner ; and as a participation in its benefits, by quadruped and biped, may be secured for two guineas a year, every horse-owner should be a subscriber.

Having shown the reader how to buy a horse, we anticipate his question, " How am Ito sell?" and reply, in the words of CAVEAT EMPTOR, " by simply telling the truth." " Let the fault of a horse be what it may, lie will suit some kind of work, and will therefore find a purchaser at his fair value." " Honesty is the best policy," after all—even in horse-dealing.