frequently long before their powers are exhausted. The ignorant and unmerciful rider too frequently continues to punish the already distressed animal; who, from the effects of pain, torture, and defeat, is ready to run anywhere to escape the unmerciful infliction, and is consequently condemned as bad tempered. So long as a horse is found to improve his speed by their use, so long is a jockey justified in the moderate and necessary administration of his whip or spur; but the instant he finds that they fail in their effects, that instant he ought to keep them quiet. The continued application of them, when horses are beaten, commonly causes them to stop, or, as it is generally termed in racing language, to shut up, the moment they are called upon, arising from nothing but the reminiscences of the severe punishment which they have been subjected to on former occasions. If it could be even allowable to pass unnoticed the cruelty of such treatment, interest alone should dictate the absurdity of punishing a horse at such a crisis.

I have known jockeys make answer, upon having it observed to them that they had made use of unnecessary punishment, that they were aware of it, but that they felt compelled to do so, or the public would condemn them on suspicion that they did not try to win. Such charges, under such circumstances, could never be substantiated. Men never need to feel such apprehensions. So long as their actions are guarded by integrity, the ridiculous imaginations of a few ignoraut spectators can never injure their credit if they be truly honest.

Those who have attained the highest rank in their calling, will be found to be less severe in the way of punishment than men of an inferior grade; to their good judgment on that point may, in a great measure, be attributed their success. Many races are lost by the application of the whip, and many a horse's temper spoiled by it. Who can witness the nervous agitation and fear evinced by some horses when brought on to a race-course, without acknowledging this fact? Who can experience the difficulty which exists to get some horses to the starting-post, without admitting it as a proof.

Let any one observe James Robinson's style of riding, and they will find that he never resorts to cruelty. I once noticed with peculiar pleasure his riding a filly of Mr. Sowerby's for a two-yearold stake at Newmarket, on which occasion his mercy and good feeling were strongly depicted. The race was between Alms and Barmaid at the Second Spring Meeting, 1838. Pavis was Robinson's opponent on Alms, and had the lead from the distance; Robinson had his filly's head nearly parallel with Pavis's knee all the way, but could never improve his situation: she was beaten and weak. Robinson patiently waited, without punishing her, till within two strides of the post, when he took up his whip, and struck her twice, merely to ascertain if it could produce the desired effect; and, although the attempt proved abortive, it was evidently executed with humanity. Instead of his mild and judicious treatment, I will venture to assert that one-half of the jockeys, as soon as they found her beaten, would have commenced flogging her, would have cut the poor creature to pieces, tortured her, and would have had her beaten ten lengths instead of half-a-one,

The custom of gentlemen riding races has become very prevalent, and is one which carries with it many recommendations. The class of society to which they belong ought to be a guarantee for their not being capable of lending themselves to any acts of a fraudulent or suspicious character. Doubly culpable is the outcast, possessing or assuming the title of a gentleman, who can venture to soil his hands by allowing himself to become the agent to a discreditable transaction. As these observations may be most acceptable to amateurs who are about to aspire to the honours of equestrian fame, in the true spirit of the term, I feel myself called upon to enter minutely into the details of certain performances which are for the most part imperative, and many of which, if neglected, would turn the scale of success from the victor to an opponent, merely from an act of inadvertency on the part of the former, taken advantage of from superior experience in racingtactics on the part of the latter.

The operation of saddling is usually performed by the rider, assisted by the trainer or head lad. It is the jockey's office, after having been weighed, to convey his saddle, with any saddle clothes, or other augmentations of weight which may be required, to the place appointed for saddling, and which place should be distinctly pointed out to the boy having the care of the horse, to avoid any confusion or delay from not knowing exactly the spot where to find him. It may be necessary to offer a caution not to trust a saddle, and the appurtenances belonging thereto, to any person, unless he can be most thoroughly depended upon. This is addressed to such gentlemen jockeys who may deem it infra dignitatum to convey the appointment himself. It is a point of etiquette upon which some persons may differ with me; nevertheless, it is one which I could never think of delegating to another. If a gentleman does not consider it beneath his dignity to ride a race, it cannot degrade him to attend to those offices which tend to secure the public from fraud, and his own character from suspicion. When a considerable portion of weight is made up by means of saddle clothes and trusses, a designing person might abstract or exchange one unless very closely watched, or he might unintentionally lose one; and under any circumstance, if a mistake arose, the rider would naturally be blamed, and justly so even if he were not implicated in any wrongful intention, because it would be manifest that he had reposed a trust in another which he ought to have performed himself. The most fastidious cannot consider a light saddle very incommodious to carry, and a heavy one with any quantity of weight is easily taken on a hack, or the horse may be ordered to be brought to the door of the weighing house for the purpose of being saddled. The certainty that everything is correct engenders a feeling of confidence, which every man zealous of preserving his credit in the estimation of the public, must value above all other considerations. If a rider were to prove short of weight, it would be a poor apology to assert that it had been lost by a person whom he had entrusted with his saddle, and one which the public would unwillingly accept. For the numerous races for which I have ridden, 1 can fortunately declare that I never came to the scale short of weight; I never had a horse run on the wrong side of the post, nor ever had

one absolutely bolt out of the course; but then, I never trusted a duty which I could perform myself to the charge of another person.

When weighed, the rider should particularly observe what clothes or weights he has; if he be using a light saddle, he should place everything, including spare reins and martingal, on the seat, and secure them by means of the girth and circingle; if a heavy saddle with numerous cloths, he should place them on his hack at once; at all events, he should by no means lose sight of them.

During the time of saddling, the jockey should place himself on the off side the horse, and attend to the adjustment of the saddle cloths, the saddle, and the girths; if he uses a martingal, the circingle will pass through and secure it. He should bear in mind, let his rank in life be what it may, that he is about to engage in an office of great responsibility, and that his own personal safety is vastly dependant upon the due arrangement of his equestrian appointments. Having made some remarks on the proper method of being put up under the head of "Teaching boys to ride," it is only necessary to refer to that chapter.

When up, the first thing to be done is to tie the reins, which should never be knotted too short; otherwise, when a horse is in his stride, the hands will be drawn too forward, and much power lost, and the difficult art of" setting to" render very awkward. When a curb or spare rein and martingal are employed, they require to be tied somewhat longer than the snaffle, as they pass on the outside of the little fingers of either hand, the snaffle reins being divided by running between the second and third fingers; when the whip is used, the knots are grasped in one hand, which is one of the principal motives for the reins being thus tied.

Much of the efficacy of particular bridles depends upon the manner in which the reins are handled: indeed, practice alone can render any man thoroughly conversant with their proper application; but this much may be laid down as a principle: if a horse gets his head up, the hands must be lowered on each side of his shoulders as much as possible, and the curb or spare reins, whichever are used, brought into action; the easiest mode of doing which is to slide the hands very quietly down those reins, at the same time permitting the snaffle rein to draw through the finger: it must be performed very coolly; or it will increase the alarm, and irritate the horse. If, on the contrary, he runs with his head too low, those reins must be relaxed, and the hands raised, and it may perhaps be necessary to shake him in order to get his head into the desired position.

To ascertain that all the appointments are properly adapted, and likewise to get the animal's muscles into action, which is very important, it is customary to give him a brisk canter or two before starting. I would here impress the propriety of setting every horse on his legs at a very slow pace, for the sake of allowing the muscles to assume their powers, and, if augmenting the pace towards the conclusion of the canter, or of necessary, of giving him a second or perhaps a third canter. Idle horses, that are about to run short distances, frequently require a very considerable degree of rousing; but it should never be done till the blood is in quick circulation, by which

the limbs are supple and in a free, elastic state. When the canter is finished, he must be gradually pulled up, and made to trot out; from which pace he falls into a walk, when he must be allowed to stand still a few seconds. All these movements should be conducted with the utmost coolness.

In short races, the advantage of a good start is obvious, at the same time that it may not be necessary to maintain the lead when the horses get into their stride; this will of course depend upon the nature of the horse; one thing, however, should always be borne in mind, which is not to hurry and bustle a horse beyond his power: a good start will, if properly managed, obviate this, because it will enable the jockey to moderate the pace of his own horse, and yet enable him to lay up in a good place; the advantage gained by a good start compels those which did not get well off to mend their pace, in order to secure their places. During a race, one principle should never be forgotten, that is, not to go away with a horse at such a pace as to defeat him, however flattering it may appear to possess a lead of many lengths. There are some horses so very quick upon their legs, that they can cut down their opponents in the first two hundred yards; but then they must be tenderly ridden afterwards, or they will be sure to decline at the finish. Upon the same principle, when making running, it is a very dangerous practice to go away from a field of horses. If they will not lay up, it is generally better to draw back somewhat to them, or the horse which makes the pace so terrific is almost certain to stop; and in riding a waiting race, it is equally bad generalship to lay too far from the leading horses: when two or three are found to be making severe play, it is of course proper to wait; they are sure to stop; and very often does it happen that two superior horses defeat each other, and suffer an inferior one to come up and pass them at the post when they are powerless. No horse, however game he may be, and perfect in his condition, but what must be indulged in some parts of even a short race. One great proof of judgment in a jockey is to give his horse a pull at a fortunate moment: it is a lenity that must be permitted, if it be only for a few strides, just before the last effort is made, and perhaps may, in a general way, be most serviceable about a distance from home.

In "setting to," a jockey must invariably remember to keep fast hold of his horse's head during the application of the whip and spur, unless it becomes a very near contest, in which case, by letting the head loose within two strides of the winning-post, he may have the good fortune of landing him a nose farther in advance than otherwise. The race being over, due caution must be observed in pulling up, as it is obvious the animal must be in a state of distress, and consequently any sudden restraint might have the effect of causing lameness, by straining the muscles or injuring the joints: the same order is to be observed in every respect as in pulling up after a canter. The boy who looks after the horse should be directed to be in readiness to offer the water-bottle and lead him to the place of weighing. Here it appears to be almost unnecessary to remind the merest tyro that, by virtue of a rule of racing, he must not dismount until he has reached the aforesaid weighing-place: he is there to

alight, and take the saddle off the horse, and all the things with which he has ridden, and carry them to the scale; on entering which, if the bridle is required to make him sufficient weight, it may be brought to him. It is usual to claim an allowance of one pound for a snaffle, and two pounds for a curb bridle; but if it is demanded, the bridle in which the horse was ridden must be produced; at the same time the rider must be warned not to leave the scale for the purpose of procuring it having once entered it, he must remain until his weight is fairly ascertained; for this reason it is imperative that the horse be not led away till every thing is satisfactorily adjusted.

Confusion frequently arises in not being able to find the coat and waistcoat after riding; and a jockey is, if a novice, seen running about the course with his cap and jacket on. When the former garments are taken off previously to mounting, they should be given in charge of some careful person, with strict orders to meet the owner at the door of the weighing-room, by which means there can be no mistake. If they are hung up in the weighing-room, in all probability it is in some part where they cannot be readily found-are perhaps thrown into a corner, or in some way secluded from observation. I recollect some years ago a gentleman jockey giving his clothes to the care of a friend, who, having his carriage on the course, deposited them in it, when, being the last race of the meeting, he inadvertently drove off immediately it was terminated, without discovering the fact until he had completed six miles of his road home.

AN EXCURSION UPON THE MOORS IN 1844.

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I left my comfortable home near P— -n (a wealthy town, situate in the midst of that county of England which combines in itself more industry and wealth, and more idleness and poverty than any other-our great manufacturing district), early one morning in August, accompanied by an old collegian and intimate friend, W whose father possesses large estates in Yorkshire, and the fenny county of Lincoln; and proceeded via railway (that conveyance which gives men of business the opportunity of showing how fast they can go through this world, and which is as disagreeable to that class of our population vulgarly styled "old girls," as it is agreeable to the former here I must stop, and beg pardon for my digression, which was caused by the fact of my being one of the old schoolvery partial to coach travelling, and a decided opponent to that "all but perpetual" motion system,) to Fleetwood, and proceeded thence to Glasgow, where we took the coach to Fort William, which deposited us within twelve miles of our destination, where I had taken a moor for the season. Here we consulted upon the best method of arriving at the scene of action, and at once agreed that we should