"
After a little more conversation, we strolled to the stable, where
my horse was standing; my friend, who was a connoisseur in
horseflesh, surveyed the animal with attention, and after inquiring
where and how I had obtained him, asked what I intended to do with
him; on my telling him that I was undetermined, and that I was
afraid the horse was likely to prove a burden to me, he said, "It
is a noble animal, and if you mind what you are about, you may make
a small fortune by him. I do not want such an animal myself, nor
do I know any one who does; but a great horse-fair will be held
shortly at a place where, it is true, I have never been, but of
which I have heard a great deal from my acquaintances, where it is
said a first-rate horse is always sure to fetch its value; that
place is Horncastle, in Lincolnshire, you should take him thither."
Francis Ardry and myself dined together, and after dinner partook
of a bottle of the best port which the inn afforded. After a few
glasses, we had a great deal of conversation; I again brought the
subject of marriage and love, divine love, upon the carpet, but
Francis almost immediately begged me to drop it; and on my having
the delicacy to comply, he reverted to dog-fighting, on which he
talked well and learnedly; amongst other things, he said it was a
princely sport of great antiquity, and quoted from Quintus Curtius
to prove that the princes of India must have been of the fancy,
they having, according to that author, treated Alexander to a fight
between certain dogs and a lion.
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