their part, quite the reverse; they are aware that the admitted veterinary surgeon must more or less be a man of some education, to gain which he must have read. Now, as this rustic Esculapius holds "book learning" in most sovereign contempt, it accounts for his retaining the original term doctor.

But among the shoeing-smiths are to be found many clever and neat workmen, for many of them have served their time in good shops; some in London, where having collected a trifle of money, they go and settle as masters in some obscure village, where a hunter may get as well and quite as safely shod as in forges of greater note. It is true, if we examine the foot of a farmer's horse coming from a village forge we may see a somewhat uncouthly finished shoe on him; but it must be borne in mind that the ordinary charge for such is three shillings the set, which does not admit of high finish; but by allowing an extra sixpence to the master, and, as is requisite in most places, a stimulant to the workman, I have generally found I could get a shoe neat enough; and as we want a safe shoe, and not an exquisite piece of workmanship, we get all we require.

I must apologize for this digression, but I trust the hints may be useful to some; and as I am quite aware that my writings are no more exquisite pieces of workmanship than the country shoe, if, like that, they are useful, they accomplish all I ever intended they should do.

The two first persons mentioned in my category of horsemen are the jockey and the riding-lad. I am aware there is no very wide distinction between the seat of these two persons, with the exception that that of the jockey is more easy and handsome; but as the jockey has almost always been a riding-lad in his earliest days, I will allude to him first, though second on the list.

The riding-boy is generally selected from his appearance indicating his being likely to continue a light weight. It is true, a trainer might put a sturdy, chubby son of his own up to ride exercise till he could get something else for him to do, or till he got too heavy; but he would not take the "fine boy" of any other man for the same purpose, much less would he engage such a youth for a term of years, or take him as an apprentice. Now probably the first horse this boy is put upon is a hack, merely to carry dry cloths and bring home sweaters occasionally; but the horse he is first put on to ride with care and attention is a racehorse; but as the last boy regularly put up to ride exercise has mostly been some time about the stables as extra boy, he from watching the older ones, if he has acuteness and inclination to watch, and desires to learn, naturally imitates their seat and habits on horseback. This to a certain degree teaches him what is to be done to soothe a fidgetty, nervous colt, to get along a lazy, lurching one, and how to act when they begin any of their gambols, which, fidgetty or lazy, they will at all times certainly do, and sometimes go on with them to a considerable extent. It shows him that the experier.ced lads, whatever confidence they may have in their horse or their own seat on him, always sit, (or should sit,) so as to be prepared for an outbreak, for these young horses give very short notice of their intentions. He also sees that if one begins his pranks his companions will very generally follow his example, nor is he at all secure because the first culprit may be the last in the string horses have quick ears as well as eyes; so if one begins, be he

where he may, the lads on the others have something more to attend to than to sit carelessly and laugh at their neighbour; laugh they may, and probably will, for to some these little ebullitions of high spirits are fun, but they take care at the same time to sit fast; and unless they keep their laughter to themselves, it does sometimes happen that on returning to the stables the trainer makes them laugh to a rather unpleasant tune; for what may be fun to boys is not so to the trainer. If a boy has not observation enough to profit by constantly seeing all this, he will never be worth his breakfast; if he has, he will know how to sit, and in a great measure what to do, even the first ride he gets at exercise, when being put upon the quietest and easiest horse to ride, a little practice brings him on; he has only to keep his horse straight, keep his proper place and distance, and sit fast: his seat he copies from the other lads, and as his reins are knotted, and his stirrups just the right length for him, he cannot get very much astray; for with the feet and hands in the right place the horseman is half made. If we look at the youngest and weakest of the number of lads out at exercise we shall mostly see them with the feet very forward, that is, much more so than the stronger lads. This arises from two causes: first, from their sitting more on their guard than lads less apprehensive of any tricks their horse may play them; and secondly, to give them more power to hold him if he begins them. It is pretty generally known that if we place a man sitting on the ground with his legs perfectly straight before him, and his feet placed against a strong prop of any sort, and then pass a rope or band over his hips, passing round the back-if we put a horse to the end of that rope he would not draw the man out of his seat, that is, if he keeps the bones from the hips to the foot perfectly in a right line. Now, in a limited way, keeping the foot forward gives these small lads the power they unquestionably have more than any other boys of holding a freegoing, strong-pulling horse; for in point of fact, nine out of ten of racehorses pull strong when put in contact with the diminutive urchins we often see on them. This peculiar seat, practice, and the arms growing strong by this practice, in time enable boys of six stone to hold horses that would go away with men not accustomed to ride them.

We may next observe that the lads more forward in their riding bring their feet more in the position the hunting rider has them, that is, not quite so forward; and the same will be observed as regards his hands: while the still more experienced and stronger lads, from being frequently put upon lazy lurching horses that require getting along in their exercise, keep their legs very back, or, as it may be called, behind their stirrups, in order to have them handy to kick their horse along, for a donkey is not more idle than some race-horses until roused; it is true they have their ash-plant in their hand, but this makes but little impression, as the horses know well enough they will not be hurt much by it, and the sound it makes on the clothes often alarms other colts much more than it does the oue struck by it. This sort of seat and style of riding gives all men much accustomed to riding race-horses a peculiar manner, that when put on a free walker they cannot quite leave off, and on whatever horse we may see them we might conclude him to be a lazy one by their always appearing to be getting him along. A jockey may be remarked as doing the same thing when cantering along on his own hack. It is one of the peculiarities grown up with them from boyhood, which they ever

continue, and by which we may always distinguish them from other horsemen.

While the lad continues merely riding exercise, little or no pains are taken with him as to teaching him a handsome seat. If he acquires a good firm one, gets to have good hands, and is found to have some head, he is put up to ride some colt or filly easy to manage where a light weight is wanted in a race. From this day, if the lad has any pride in himself, he begins to brush up a bit; he feels himself distinguished among the others; he has passed probably the proudest day of his life, he has ridden a race; and win or not, if the trainer is satisfied with the way in which he rode that, he hopes to ride others. He begins to observe the seat and manner of Mr. Robinson, Templeman, Flatman, or any other that he considers the beau ideal of a jockey-an occupation that he of course holds to be the most distinguished in the world. Derbys, Legers, Oaks, Two Thousand Guinea Stakes flit before his eyes; why may he not some day win one of these? This is all as it should be-he is, in fact, an embryo jockey.

We will suppose him to have arrived at the next honour to winning a Derby, namely, riding in one as a jockey. We shall see him with a very improved seat to the stiff, guarded, and nervous one he exhibited in his first race. It is now firm and confident, but handsome, or perhaps elegant also; the having ridden all sorts of horses with all sorts of tempers and styles of going has taught him to accommodate himself and seat to every fresh one he is put on; and whether he soothes his horse or rattles him along in his preliminary gallop he does it systematically, and without flurry or confusion.

The elegance of the jockey's seat still depends very considerably on the horse he is on; for though generally speaking race-horses are pleasant enough to ride when merely cantering up a course, some are quite the reverse, in short, the veriest brutes in existence. Let any man imagine an animal carrying his saddle very forward, thin where the knees press, and wide in the ribs, with a bad, intractable mouth, going low before, with a stumpy mode of galloping that gives an electric shock to the rider at every stroke, with the addition of being somewhat convex or arched in the loins. If any man can maintain an elegant seat on such an animal, he would if seated on the neck of a Brobdignagian stone jar; yet something like this feel a man has on some race-horses. If added to this, (which is quite possible,) he knows it is an equal chance whether the brute may or may not bolt, stop, and kick, or come on his nose-if a man wants to know what heaven on earth is, it is getting off such a horse and getting on a pleasant one. Let us hope, for jockeys' sakes, there are few such complete brutes, but I have known many who came very near it.

It used to be a received opinion that jockeys could not ride across country. I have no doubt but that in former days such was the case, and there were at least two sufficient reasons for its truth. Jockeys then rode so ridiculously short in their stirrups that they had not as good a seat as they have in our days, and were not then such great men as they now are, so they did not practise riding hunting, nor did people then see what I saw at Newmarket not many months since-a package of champagne directed to a jockey. So much the better. Why should they not rise in the scale of society as well as other men? They have

deprivations enough many months in the year; therefore, so long as they are civil, well-conducted men, in God's name let them enjoy themselves when they can.

We have now many jockeys who are fond of hunting, and ride well; I can mention one, a provincial one he may be styled, who can ride in any sort of game-flat races, hurdle races, steeple chaces, or trotting matches-and ride all well too: George Bradley. I grant he is the only one I know, who goes at all four; and many may and can ride better in one of these, but I will back him at all combined.

Doubtless, different jockeys have somewhat different seats, but there is a mannerism among them all, that if I saw a jockey riding among ninety-nine men unaccustomed to race-riding, I think I should not mistake my man.

Huntsmen, though to do their horses justice they ought to be as good horsemen in their way as the jockey is, very seldom are so; not one in twenty has anything bordering on a handsome or neat, much less an elegant, seat. Without wishing to be invidious towards others I will except Mr. Charles Davis, huntsman to Her Majesty; I consider his seat as a hunting rider nearly, if not quite, perfection.

I perfectly remember, as a boy, the then king's hounds, and have huntsmen, whip, and all the yeoman prickers now clearly before my eyes. Let us, in our mind's eye, recall the lot. Johnson, the huntsman, from age and infirmity, so long as he got along at all, cared little how it was; but as he was an old man, and a very respectable one, we will say nothing of his riding. Then came his whip, a youth of some seven or eight-and-twenty, a mere lump of animated substance, whose ingenuity, fortunately for him, was only taxed to keep the couples secure that he carried suspended by his belt. I remember one of the two horses he rode; he was the prototype of the rider. The one looked as if he ate bacon till he could not breathe; the other, as if he stuffed grains in like proportions. Then for the yeomen prickers.

Nottage, who afterwards hunted the hounds; he bundled along somehow, (as things are done now we should say nohow). This I must say for him, that when huntsman, he brayed with his horn as loud and as often as any huntsman in England, which is the only remarkable thing he did, except riding remarkably badly.

Starling rode just well enough, but certainly not bold enough to be always in his place.

Richardson was a very civil, respectable old woman on or off his horse; it was cruel to bring him from his cottage, where he was doubtless of some use, (not that I have his wife's word for that,) for as to any use he was in the field he might just as well have remained at home.

Tom Davis, brother to the present Mr. Charles Davis, rode fairly, and being the younker, the others took care his horses should have enough to do to save their own; but though he rode well enough, it was Hyperion to a Satyr comparing him to his brother Charles at that time, and I dare say at any other.

Charles Sharpe here was a man who could ride anything and anywhere; was always near his hounds, consequently often played second huntsman when the legitimate one was God knows where, but probably braying away on his horn to some couple of old crippled hounds out of sight or hearing. Charles loved hunting, loved a fast thing; and if ever,

or I should say whenever he could get the hounds to himself, rattled them along in prime style; nor was he nice as to country or fences, and over a rasping bit of country on his old cripple of a chestnut mare would show the way at a pace that made the tails of the two hundred guinca ones shake, and the nerves, too, of their riders, unless they were tip-top workmen, and he would give them plenty to do if they were.

George Gosden, take him all in all we shall not often "look upon his like again." A better horseman might easily be found, a bolder one it would have been difficult to have pointed out. He was a character, with his short stumpy figure and good-humoured countenance, sitting down in his saddle, with his reins in one hand and his whip ready for use in the other; his heels, or spurs, as the case might require, always at work over any ground or anything; verily, he did cram them along in a way, few, if any other, could have done, If safe and fast he kept them at it: ruts, stubs, holes, blind heather, open sward were all one to George; if unsafe blundering goers he gave them no time to come down. He was always on the laugh. If his horse went well, he laughed with satisfaction; if he blundered, he laid the whip over his ears and laughed at the escape; if he came down, he laughed twice as loud, and only shoved him along, if possible, twice as fast as before; so he must be quick, indeed, if he found time to come down again. Friend George did not, however, ride forward as Charles Sharpe did-from loving hunting, but from loving fun, and still more to sell his horse; he was a kind of Dick Christian, dealer in hunters, and as well-known. Christian, however, could make a hunter for a gentleman; George could not: he was a kind of bull-rider, who got hold of horses few men could ride, and he bullied them into carrying him; people then fancied they would carry them, bought them at a good figure, were sure to sell them back to George at anything he would give for them, gave a long price to some other dealer for another, and then the first time they rode him, as certain as the day came, would George beat them and pound them on the very horse they could do nothing with. Here again would friend George laugh in earnest; if they got angry, he only laughed again till he got them into good humour. At his cottage, or rather house, by the side of the Thames, any sportsman might freely claim a breakfast or lunch, to which the smiles of his handsome daughters gave additional

zest.

Peace to thy manes, George! few hunts could boast so comical, none, a better fellow. H. H.

(To be continued.)

RHEDYCINA,

WINNER OF THE OAKS, 1850.

ENGRAVED BY E. HACKER, FROM A PAINTING BY HARRY HALL.

Rhedycina, bred by Mr. Leidiard, of Reading, in 1847, was got by Wintonian, dam by Laurel, out of Flight, by Velocipede-Miss Wilkes, by Octavian-by Remembrancer.

Wintonian, bred by Mr. Wreford in 1834, and by Camel, out of