Horncastle Fair.
IT had been my intention to be up and doing early on the following morning, but my slumbers proved so profound, that Idid not wake until about eight; on arising, I again found myself the sole occupant of the apartment, my more alert companion having probably risen at a much earlier hour.
Having dressed myself, I descended, and going to the stable, found my horse under the hands of my friend the ostler, who was carefully rubbing him down."There a'n't a better horse in the fair," said he to me, "and as you are one of us, and appear to be all right, I'll give you a piece of advice -don't take less than a hundred and fifty for him; if you mind your hits, you may get it, for I have known two hundred given in this fair for one no better, if so good." "Well," said I, "thank you for your advice, which I will take, and, if successful, will give you 'summut' handsome." "Thank you,"said the ostler; "and now let me ask whether you are up to all the ways of this here place?" "I have never been here before," said I, "but I have a pair of tolerably sharp eyes in my head." "That I see you have," said the ostler, "but many a body, with as sharp a pair of eyes as yourn, has lost his horse in this fair, for want of having been here before, therefore," said he, "I'll give you a caution or two."Thereupon the ostler proceeded to give me at least half a dozen cautions, only two of which I shall relate to the reader: - the first, not to stop to listen to what any chance customer might have to say; and the last - the one on which he appeared to lay most stress - by no manner of means to permit a Yorkshireman to get up into the saddle, "for," said he, "if you do, it is three to one that he rides off with the horse; he can't help it; trust a cat amongst cream, but never trust a Yorkshireman on the saddle of a good horse; by-the-by," he continued, "that saddle of yours is not a particularly good one, no more is the bridle.I tell you what, as you seem a decent kind of a young chap, I'll lend you a saddle and bridle of my master's, almost bran new; he won't object, I know, as you are a friend of his, only you must not forget your promise to come down with summut handsome after you have sold the animal."After a slight breakfast I mounted the horse, which, decked out in his borrowed finery, really looked better by a large sum of money than on any former occasion.Making my way out of the yard of the inn, I was instantly in the principal street of the town, up and down which an immense number of horses were being exhibited, some led, and others with riders."A wonderful small quantity of good horses in the fair this time!" I heard a stout jockey-looking individual say, who was staring up the street with his side towards me.
"Halloo, young fellow!" said he, a few moments after I had passed, "whose horse is that? Stop! I want to look at him!"Though confident that he was addressing himself to me, I took no notice, remembering the advice of the ostler, and proceeded up the street.My horse possessed a good walking step; but walking, as the reader knows, was not his best pace, which was the long trot, at which I could not well exercise him in the street, on account of the crowd of men and animals; however, as he walked along, I could easily perceive that he attracted no slight attention amongst those who, by their jockey dress and general appearance, I imagined to be connoisseurs; I heard various calls to stop, to none of which I paid the slightest attention.In a few minutes Ifound myself out of the town, when, turning round for the purpose of returning, I found I had been followed by several of the connoisseur-looking individuals, whom I had observed in the fair."Now would be the time for a display," thought I; and looking around me I observed two five-barred gates, one on each side of the road, and fronting each other.
