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