Now tell me, do you bewitch horses in this way?""I?" said the jockey; "mercy upon us! I wouldn't do such things for a hatful of money.No, no, preserve me from live eels and hocussing! And now let me ask you, how would you spirit a horse out of a field?""How would I spirit a horse out of a field?""Yes; supposing you were down in the world, and had determined on taking up the horse-stealing line of business.""Why, I should - But I tell you what, friend, I see you are trying to pump me, and I tell you plainly that I will hear something from you with respect to your art, before I tell you anything more.Now how would you whisper a horse out of a field, provided you were down in the world, and so forth?""Ah, ah, I see you are up to a game, Mr.Romany: however, Iam a gentleman in mind, if not by birth, and I scorn to do the unhandsome thing to anybody who has dealt fairly towards me.Now you told me something I didn't know, and I'll tell you something which perhaps you do know.I whispers a horse out of a field in this way: I have a mare in my stable; well, in the early season of the year I goes into my stable - Well, I puts the sponge into a small bottle which I keeps corked.
I takes my bottle in my hand, and goes into a field, suppose by night, where there is a very fine stag horse.I manage with great difficulty to get within ten yards of the horse, who stands staring at me just ready to run away.I then uncorks my bottle, presses my fore-finger to the sponge, and holds it out to the horse, the horse gives a sniff, then a start, and comes nearer.I corks up my bottle and puts it into my pocket.My business is done, for the next two hours the horse would follow me anywhere - the difficulty, indeed, would be to get rid of him.Now is that your way of doing business?""My way of doing business? Mercy upon us! I wouldn't steal a horse in that way, or, indeed, in any way, for all the money in the world: however, let me tell you, for your comfort, that a trick somewhat similar is described in the history of Herodotus.""In the history of Herod's ass!" said the jockey; "well, if Idid write a book, it should be about something more genteel than a dickey.""I did not say Herod's ass," said I, "but Herodotus, a very genteel writer, I assure you, who wrote a history about very genteel people, in a language no less genteel than Greek, more than two thousand years ago.There was a dispute as to who should be king amongst certain imperious chieftains.At last they agreed to obey him whose horse should neigh first on a certain day, in front of the royal palace, before the rising of the sun; for you must know that they did not worship the person who made the sun as we do, but the sun itself.So one of these chieftains, talking over the matter to his groom, and saying he wondered who would be king, the fellow said, 'Why you, master, or I don't know much about horses.' So the day before the day of trial, what does the groom do, but take his master's horse before the palace and introduce him to a mare in the stable, and then lead him forth again.Well, early the next day all the chieftains on their horses appeared in front of the palace before the dawn of day.Not a horse neighed but one, and that was the horse of him who had consulted with his groom, who, thinking of the animal within the stable, gave such a neigh that all the buildings rang.His rider was forthwith elected king, and a brave king he was.So this shows what seemingly wonderful things may be brought about by a little preparation.""It doth," said the jockey; "what was the chap's name?""His name - his name - Darius Hystaspes.""And the groom's?"
"I don't know."
"And he made a good king?"
"First-rate."
"Only think! well, if he made a good king, what a wonderful king the groom would have made, through whose knowledge of 'orses he was put on the throne.And now another question, Mr.Romany Rye, have you particular words which have power to soothe or aggravate horses?""You should ask me," said I, "whether I have horses that can be aggravated or soothed by particular words.No words have any particular power over horses or other animals who have never heard them before - how, should they? But certain animals connect ideas of misery or enjoyment with particular words which they are acquainted with.I'll give you an example.I knew a cob in Ireland that could be driven to a state of kicking madness by a particular word, used by a particular person, in a particular tone; but that word was connected with a very painful operation which had been performed upon him by that individual, who had frequently employed it at a certain period whilst the animal had been under his treatment.The same cob could be soothed in a moment by another word, used by the same individual in a very different kind of tone; the word was deaghblasda, or sweet tasted.Some time after the operation, whilst the cob was yet under his hands, the fellow - who was what the Irish call a fairy smith - had done all he could to soothe the creature, and had at last succeeded by giving it gingerbread-buttons, of which the cob became passionately fond.Invariably, however, before giving it a button, he said, 'Deaghblasda,'
