affection for man, in the Arabian courfer. Amongst our northern neighbours, of Tartarian descent, the brute creation has found learned and powerful advocates; of the most eminent of whom, was John Erischen, an Icelandic gen tleman, who, about forty years fince, published at Copenhagen his Treatife " De Philippia Veterum;" or, of the Affection of the Ancients for Horses. I regret never to have enjoyed an opportunity of perusing this book, which, I am Informed, is written in pure and elegant Latin.

Humanity and benevolence to helpless beasts, is (in general) a certain indication of generofity of foul, and of a natural love of justice. If it be real, not occafional or affumed, depend, fuch a foul harbours no feeds of lurking treachery. But I do not mean that partial kind of charity, which embraces only black cats and robins, because, forfooth, the one wears a coat of a fortunate colour, and the other is a facred bird. A pretty conceit truly, that the old Gentleman's colour fhould be the harbinger of good luck; and that robins, the most spiteful and quarrelfome of all birds, two of whom are never feen upon one bufh, fhould be entitled to an exclufive and privileged compassion: in one fenfe, perhaps, it may be perfectly right, to ftyle robin-redbreafts, God Almighty's chofen dicky-birds; fince they look upon all the rest of the feathered tribe as Philiftines, and enter

tain an antipathy towards them, perfectly Hebrew. To be genuine, and of catholic use, all principles must be permitted to have their univerfal effect.

The following verfes, which I cut, I know not when, and out of I know not what newspaper, I infert to have the pleasure of telling the author, whoever he be (if chance fhould direct this book into his hands) that I read the goodness of his heart, in the humanity of his mufe.

EPITAPH ON A FAVOURITE HORSE.

Though long untrodden on poetic ground,
On me no Pegafean duft is found;

Your kind affiftance, gentle Mufes, lend,
To pay this tribute to a parted friend;
Let no rough trotting lines my theme disgrace,
But fmoothly canter in harmonious pace.
Sorrell, deceas'd, demands my grateful lay,
The willing Sorrell to his latest day.

"Upright he jogg'd through life's mysterious round,
In Temper gentle, Constitution found.
Stranger to Vice, no guilty Start he knew,
Excell'd by none, and equall'd but by few.
Whether the full portmanteau to fuftain,
Or proudly gallop o'er th' extended plain :
To fmoke the foremost in th' eager chace,
Or fhine unrivall'd in the unequal race;
Sorrell, in each, two grateful Lords obey'd,
Who lov'd him living, and lament him dead.

CHAP. IV.

ON THE HACKNEY AND HUNTER.

I SHALL begin with generals, proceeding to particulars, as they prefent themselves to my recollection; but rather studying comprehenfion and use, than the graces of method and arrangement.

Time, which is continually changing all things, has, in course, induced various alterations in the nomenclature of the ftable. Horses, for the different purposes of the faddle, were in former days, termed NAGS, AMBLERS, PACERS, STIRRERS, TROTTING-HORSES,

HOBBIES, GREAT-HORSES, or horfes for the BUFF-SADDLE (for war) HUNTING-HORSES, COURSERS,

RACE-HORSES.

The appellatives, whether fynonymous or diftinctive, in present equestrian use among us,

are ROAD-HORSES, RIDING-HORSES, SADDLEHORSES, NAGS, CHAPMENS HORSES, HACKS, HACKNEYS, LADIES HORSES, or PADS, HUNTERS, RUNNING-HORSES, RACERS, RACEHORSES, GALLOPERS, MANAGED-HORSES, CHARGERS, TROOP-HORSES, POST-HACKS, or POST-HORSES, TROTTERS, CANTERING HACKS, or CANTERERS, horfes which CARRY DOUBLE, GALLOWAYS, and PONIES.

CHAPMENS Horfes, or common road-hacks, are of the ftrong and ferviceable kind, having little

little or no racing-blood, and calculated for those services in which much fpeed is not required. HACK, or HACKNEY, is the general term for a road-horse, and by no means conveys any sense of inferiority, or refers exclufively to horfes let out for hire. By trotters, we do not understand now, as formerly, horses which have been merely accustomed to that pace, but such as excel at it, in respect of speed; a fimilar obfervation holds, respecting canterers, but it ufually refers to their powers of continuance. Gallopers mean race-horses. The terms galloway and poney, refer folely to height. All under thirteen hands, are denominated ponies; from that height to thirteen three, they are called galloways; at fourteen hands they are deemed fized horses. Of foals, the male is called a colt-foal, the female a fillyfoal, yearlings, two-year-old, &c.

In the technical phraseology appropriated to this fubject, a bred horfe is understood to be one of the pure racing, or Oriental blood; the degrees of its commixture with the common blood, or breed of this country, are fignified by the terms, three-parts bred, half-bred, bloodhorfes, or having a fhew of blood.

The characteristic figns of blood, are fineness of skin and hair, fymmetry, and regularity of proportions; length; flatness, and depth, particularly in the fhoulder and girting-place; fwell of the muscles, and fhew of substance in

the fore-arms and thighs; leanness and fymmetry of the head, large and bright eyes, pasterns fomewhat longer, and more inclining than common, and deer-like hoofs. Of these a horse will generally partake in proportion to his degree of blood.

Since we acquire fymmetry, eafe of motion, fpeed and continuance, in proportion to the racing blood our hacknies and hunters poffefs, it may be demanded, why not make use exclufively of full-bred horses? Ofmer has spoken decidedly in their favour. I have heard it affirmed by a sportsman, that there is the fame difference of motion between a racer and a common bred horse, as between a coach and a cart. It is moreover a fact, although it does not lie upon the furface, that no other horses are capable of carrying, with expedition, such heavy weights; and were a thirty ftone plate to be given, and the distance made fifty miles, it would be everlastingly won by a thorough-bred horfe. There is only one way in which a bred horfe would be beat at high weights. It would be (to ufe a queer phrase) by making it a ftandftill race; in that cafe, I would back a carthorse; I think he would beat a racer by hours. Thorough-bred hacks are the moft docile and quiet, and the least liable to fly of all others; they also fweat lefs on a journey.

He who poffeffes a thorough-bred hack or hunter,