in whose out-door concerns he must officiate when required.

Wages 181. to 25 Guineas-two liveries and a working dress.

THE UNDER FOOTMAN.

IN families where two or more footmen are kept, the under footman is expected, and indeed, engages to do that part of the business of a footman, which is deemed the most laborious; that is, he cleans knives and forks-boots and shoes-carries up the coals and attends all the fires above stairs during the day. He likewise carries out cards, messages, &c. and assists to carry up and wait at dinner, &c. &c. Wages, 16 to 20 guineas, with liveries.

THE HALL PORTER.

THE duties of this servant are confined to the entrance-hall, and the door, where he is continually stationed. He answers every knock and ring, takes in all messages, parcels, letters, cards, &c. and immediately hands them to the butler, who conveys them to his master or mistress.

He trims the great hall and passage lamps, and opens and fastens up the doors and shutters every morning and night.

The public character of a nobleman or gentleman often depends on this servant. Rude or contemptuous language, to the meanest applicant, will frequently prove injurious to the interests of his master, in ways of which he

cannot be a competent judge; and, therefore, his best qualities are patience and good temper, to which may be added, secrecy in regard to the affairs, connexions, and intercourse of the family. A close tongue, and an inflexible countenance, are, therefore, indispensable, and he should practise the maxim of hearing and secing all, but saying nothing. It is recorded of the porter of a minister of state, who died in the morning, that, on being asked in the afternoon if the fact were true, he replied that really he could not tell, but if the party would give him his card, he would make enquiry, and let him know. This was a well-trained porter, and such should be the system of all porters.

Wages from 247. to 307. per annum.

THE GROOM.

THIS, and indeed, every other person in the stable department, must rise about five in the summer, and six in the winter.

When the Groom has two or more horses under his care, with a chaise, or other vehicle or vehicles, he is generally allowed a boy to assist him in the stable.

We shall here insert the general care and management of horses, because in every stable establishment, however small, or however large, a Groom is to be found; and he ought to be fully competent to this branch of stable experience. In order to avoid repetition, we shall refer every other servant in this department, to this description of the usual care and management of horses.

The first thing, on entering the stable, is to give to each horse about a gallon of clean water in a clean bucket; then to shake up the best litter, under the manger, sweep out each stall, and clean out the whole stable. Every Coachman and Groom feeds his own horses ;* and during the time of their feeding, he proceeds to dress them: thus each horse is first curried all over, with the curry-comb, to loosen the dirt and dust on its skin; then brushed with a whalebone brush, to take the dust off; next whisped with straw, to smooth and cleanse its coat; and again brushed with the brush and curry-comb, to take off what dust may remain; after which the horse is whisped again with a damp lock of hay, and finally, rubbed down with a woollen rubber, or a clean cloth. The horse is then turned round in the stall, and his head is next brushed well and whisped clean and smooth, with a damp lock of hay. After this, his ears are drawn through the hands, for several minutes, till made warm, and then the insides of the ears are wiped out with a damp sponge, to remove such dust and filth as may have accumulated there. The sponge after being washed clean, is then applied to the eyes, to cleanse them from dust, and any exudation that may have arisen in them. The nostrils are also sponged clean, and the whole head is afterwards finished by rubbing it with a cloth, in the same manner as the body had previously been cleaned. The horse is then turned round

* Fourteen pounds of hay a day, or one hundred pounds per week, with three feeds of corn a day, is deemed sufficient for a horse that is not over worked.

into its proper situation, the head stall put on, and the dirt and filth that may have accumulated under its tail, are then washed away with a sponge. The mane and tail are next cleaned and laid with a mane comb and water brush, used alternately with both hands; the head and body are again wiped over, and the body clothes are put on and fastened with a surcingle.

The Groom next examines the horse's heels, picks out the dirt from the feet, and washes its heels, with a water brush and plenty of water. If any horse has bad feet, they are then to be dressed and stuffed. Lastly, a due portion of hay,* (about three or four pounds) is shaken into the rack, and then the horse is considered as completely dressed.

*The feed given to each horse, worked in the usual way is, a quartern of oats and a few beans, three times a day, with some chaff, or not, as may be desired. In the choice of oats, the shorter and fuller the grain the better; when bitten in two, they should be dry and mealy: they should feel hard in the hand, and when hard grasped should slip through the fingers; oats with thin bodies and long tails are the worst. When brought by sea, if they have lain long in bulk, they will have become heated, and have acquired a musty smell, to counteract which the corn dealers, when they are brought into their granaries, spread them thin on an upper floor, and turn them frequently, to cool, after which, they pass them through screens placed under holes in the floors, from the upper to the lower floors, which sweetens them much, and frequently enables the corn-dealers to pass them off on inexperienced Coachmen and Grooms as fresh farmer's oats, which latter it will always be best to buy. As horses should always be fed with fresh clean corn, it would be well to rounce them in a hair bag, which takes off all the tails and filth, and they should afterwards be passed through a sieve, to free them from dust and other extraneous matter, a the time of feeding.

The finest-conditioned horses in England are fed thus: When at grass, equal quantities of oats and old white peas; when in the stable, two thirds oats and one third old white, peas.

This is a summary of the whole process of cleaning and dressing horses of every description.

Horses thus attended to, and regularly managed, under the humane superintendance of a diligent and conscientious Groom or Coachman, will have healthy and beautiful appearance, and in a great measure escape from many diseases to which they would otherwise be liable.

When the master rides out before breakfast, the Groom rises so much the earlier, so as to be able to get the horses for himself and master ready, and at the time appointed. In this case, he gives the horses not more than two quarts of water each, and about half their usual feed of corn. On their return from the morning ride, the Groom sponges the eyes and nostrils of the horses, and under their tails; picks out their feet, washes their feet and heels, and then otherwise cleans and dresses them in the usual way, as already described. When thus far dressed, it is necessary to handrub their legs, downwards, for about ten minutes, to prevent wind-galls, and to strengthen the back sinews.

When horses have been ridden hard, or have been a long journey, bandages must be wrapped round their legs, (from the knee to the fetlock joint) to prevent their swelling.

If their feet are heated, they must be stopped with the following mixture, called stopping: viz.

Mix equal quantities of cow-dung, clay, tar, and kitchen grease with urine, to the consistency of a stiff paste. This is usually kept in a small tub, or box, with a handle, to be ready when wanted.