in his habits. This could not break out to his equals, and his equals cared
little how he treated his inferiors. His present pleasure, or rather his
present business, for no man made more a business of pleasure than Colonel
Hauton, was _the turf_. Buckhurst Falconer could not here assist him as
much as in making Latin verses--but he could admire and sympathize; and the
colonel, proud of being now the superior, proud of his _knowing style_ and
his _capital_ stud, enjoyed Buckhurst's company particularly, pressed him
to stay at Clermont-park, and to accompany him to the races. There was to
be a _famous_ match between Colonel Hauton's High-Blood and Squire Burton's
Wildfire; and the preparations of the horses and of their riders occupied
the intervening days. With all imaginable care, anxiety, and solemnity,
these important preparations were conducted. At stated hours, Colonel
Hauton, and with him Buckhurst, went to see High-Blood rubbed down,
and fed, and watered, and exercised, and minuted, and rubbed down, and
littered. Next to the horse, the rider, Jack Giles, was to be attended
to with the greatest solicitude; he was to be weighed--and starved--and
watched--and drammed--and _sweated_--and weighed again--and so on in daily
succession; and harder still, through this whole course he was to be
kept in humour: "None that ever sarved man or beast," as the stable-boy
declared, "ever worked harder for their bread than his master and master's
companion did this week for their pleasure." At last the great, the
important day arrived, and Jack Giles was weighed for the last time in
public, and so was Tom Hand, Squire Burton's rider--and High-Blood and
Wildfire were brought out; and the spectators assembled in the stand,
and about the scales, were all impatience, especially those who had
betted on either of the horses. And, Now, Hauton!--Now, Burton!--Now,
High-Blood!--Now, Wildfire!--Now, Jack Giles!--and Now, Tom Hand! resounded
on all sides. The gentlemen on the race-ground were all on tiptoe in their
stirrups. The ladies in the stand stretched their necks of snow, and nobody
looked at them.--Two men were run over, and nobody took them up.--Two