a hompson's rules for BAD HORSEMEN 397. n historical account of the PRINCES OF WALES 401. Smollet's account of the birth of the pretender 402. A lift of the Princes of Wales 403. =n account of William fon's REAPING-MACHINE 403. oceedings in the feffion of PARLIAMENT 1761-2. The fupplies granted 405. The ways and means 408. Remarks on the vaft fums granted for fervices performed, and not provided for ib. and on the new window-tax 409. Of the credit and deficiency clauses in the land and malt tax bills 411. Sum of the national debt 412. An establishment in Denmark for bringing up POOR CHILDREN 412. An account of CONFUCIUS 413. Doffie's processes for edulcorating OIL 415. New experiments 417. Cole's ftate of NEWFOUNDLAND 418. MEDICINE. A cure for the rheumatism 412. Hundredmark's receipt for the gout 420. Accounts of MERMAIDS 425. RULES for BAD HORSEMEN. T Here is in this county an almost univerfal fondness for horfes, and the exercise of riding; yet but few, in comparifon, are tolerable horfemen. The complaints, we hear, of horfes being ungovernable, or performing ill, generally arife from the unfkilfulness of their riders. The cafe is, we want a juft tafte in riding. No man learns it as an art. If a young fellow can ride a fox-chace, or a horfe-race, he immediately confiders himfelf, and is confidered by others, as a good horfeman. If he has a horfe which he cannot manage, he will tell you, he defigns to tame him by hunting; that is, if he can but get him to go forward, he will tire him. But VOL. XXIV. BY CHARLES THOMPSON, Efq; what end does this anfwer? By a week's reft the horfe becomes as ungovernable as ever: and furely, if a man cannot manage his horfe in full fpirits, he cannot well be faid to manage him at all. Riding in the manage, or at the riding-fchool, is indeed confidered as an art; and there we have profeffed matters to teach it. But it is looked on as of use to military people only; or to thofe in whom a fhewy appearance is made proper and becoming, by their rank in life. It is fuppofed allo, that all managed horfes are taught motions for parade only; and that their paces are fpoiled for the road and hunting. Hence riding in the manage is called riding the great horfe; and the com 3 G mon mon opinion is, that nothing of this art can be applied to general ufe. Almost every one thinks practice alone will teach to ride: vet if artificial measures of motion, and the imitation of a good carriage, will mend even our manner of walking, which nature has taught, and conftant practice improved; why fhould riding, which certainly is ftill more an art, be fuppofed to be easily, and fufficiently at tained, without any affiftance? Does not daily experience proclaim the contrary? do we not fee many men, who make a good figure while they ftand on their legs, appear on horfeback, helplefs, and aukward? The rowing a wherry feems to be what every one might acquire without difficulty; yet they who are inftructed by rule, row better than those who have had no inftruction. Notwithstanding this general opinion of the manage, there are fome who think it teaches a horse nothing which will spoil his paces, and that he is greatly benefited by it, as he is there put under fuch a difcipline, as accuftoms him to have no will of his own, by which means the management of him is made easy to an indifferent rider. Were horfes ufually broken in thus far only in the manage, gentlemen might without great difficulty be taught all that is neceffary to ride with fafety, eafe, and pleasure, and to make their horfes perform chearfully. To this end there fhould be mafters to teach the art of riding on the hunting or common faddle; or the unexperienced horfeman fhould practife a while at the riding-house, with a view to get a few general principles, which he may afterwards apply to another manner of riding. Till this is done, fuch inftruction may be given to bad horsemen, by rule, as may enable them to ride more fafely and bet. ter than they do at prefeht; not knowing that they have any thing to learn. This, in fome degree, is attempted here. Books in which the art of riding has been fully and completely taught, have not been calculated for fo inferior a part of a horfeman's education. What is faid here, is not therefore defigned for those who ride well, but for thofe only who are liable to difficulties and accidents, for want of common cautions; and who know not, that by leaving a horfe at fome liberty, and avoiding to give him pain by a bad management of the bridle, he will go better, and more quietly, than under a bad horfe man, who lays all the weight of his arms on his horse's mouth, and by fitting auk. wardly, not only becomes an uneafy burthen to himself, and his horfe, but rides in continual danger of a fall. In the first place, every horfe fhould be accustomed to stand still when he is mounted. One would imagine this might be readily granted; yet we fee how much the contrary is practifed. When a gentleman mounts at a livery-stable, the groom takes the horfe by the bit, which he bends tight round his under-jaw: the horse ftriving to go on, is forced back; advancing again, he frets, as he is again ftopped fhort and hurt by the manner of holding him. The rider, in the mean time, mount ing without the bridle, or at least holding it but flightly, is helped to it by the groom, who being thoroughly employed with the horfe's fluttering, has at the fame time both bridle and ftirrup to give. Would not this confufion be prevented, if every horfe was taught to ftand still when he is mounted? Forbid your groom therefore, when he rides your horfe to water, to throw himself over him from a horfe block, and kick him with his leg, even before he is fairly upon him. This wrong manner of mounting is what chiefly teaches your horfe the vicious habit, against which we are here warning. On the other hand, a conftant practice of mounting in the proper manner is all that is ne ceflary to prevent a horfe's going on, till the rider is quite adjusted in his faddle. The next thing neceffary therefore is, that the rider fhould mount properly. The common method is, to ftand near the croup, or hinder part of the horse, with the bridle held very long in the right hand. By this manner of holding the bridle, before you mount, you are liable to be kicked; and when you are mount. ed, your horfe may go on fome time, or play what gambols he pleases, before the rein is fhort enough in your hand to prevent him. It is common likewife, for an aukward rider, as foon as his foot is in the ftirrup, to throw himself with all his force, to gain his feat; which he cannot do, till he hath firft overbalanced himfelf on one fide or the other: he will then wriggle into it by degrees. The way to mount with eafe and fafety, is, to ftand rather before than behind the ftirrup. In this pofture take the bridle fhort and the mane together in your left hand, helping yourfelf to the stirrup with your right, fo that your toe may not touch the Aug. 1762. Thompson's rules for bad horfemen. he horse in mounting. When your left oot is in the stirrup, move on your right, ill you face the fide of the horse, looking crofs over the faddle. Then with your ight hand, grap the hinder part of the addle, and with that, and your left, which holds the mane and bridle, lift ourtelf upright on your left foot. Reain thus a mere inftant on your ftirrup, nly fo as to divide the action into two otions. While you are in this pofture, ou have a sure hold with both hands, nd are at liberty either to get iafely own, or to throw your leg over, and ain your feat. By this deliberate moon likewife you avoid, what every good orfeman would endeavour to avoid, puting your horfe into a flutter. When you difmount, hold the bridle nd mane together in your left hand, as then you mounted; put your right hand n the pommel of the faddle, to raife ourfelf; throw your leg back over the orfe, grafp the hinder part of the faddle ith your right hand, remain a moment your stirrup, and, in every refpect, ifmount as you mounted; only what was he first motion when you mounted, beomes the last in difmounting. Rememer, not to bend your right knee in dif ounting, left your fpur fhould rub aainst the horse. It may be next recommended to hold our bridle at a convenient length. Sit quare, and let not the purchale of the ridle pall forward your thoulder; but eep your body even, as it would be feach hand held a rein. Hold your reins with the whole grasp of your hand, diviing them with your little finger. Let our hand be perpendicular; your thumb ill then be uppermoft, and placed on he bridle. Bend your wrift a little out ard; and when you pull the bridle, aife your hand toward your breast, and he lower part of the palm rather more han the upper. Let the bridle be at uch a length in your hand, as if the orfe should stumble, you may be able to aife his head, and fupport it by the trength of your arms, and the weight of our body thrown backward. If you hold he rein too long, you are subject to fall backward as your horfe rifes. If, knowing your horfe perfectly well, you think a tight rein unneceflary, ad vance your arm a little (but not your fhoulder) towards the horie's head, and keep your ufual length of rein. By this means, you have a check upon your horfe, while you indulge him, 399 If you ride with a curb, make it a rule, to hook on the chain yourieif. The nort quiet horfe may bring his rider into danger, fhould the curb hurt him. If in fixing the turb, you turn the chain to the right, the links will unfold themselves, and then oppofe a farther turning. Put on the chain loofe enough to hang down on the horte's under lip, fo that it may not rife, and preis his jaw, till the reins of the bridle are moderately pulled. If your horse has been uted to itand ftill when he is mounted, there will be no occafion for a groom to hold him: but if he does, fuffer him not to touch the reins, but that part of the bridle which comes down the cheek of the horfe. He cannot then interfere with the management of the reins, which belongs to the rider only; and holding a horfe by the curb (which is ever painful to him) is evident ly improper, when he is to stand still. Another thing to be remembered is, not to ride with your arms and elbows as high as your fhoulders; nor to let them fhake up and down with the motion of the horie. The pofture is unbecoming, and the weight of the arms, (and of the body too if the rider does not fit ftill), acts in continual jerks on the jaw of the horse, which must give him pain, and make him unquiet, if he has a tender mouth, or any fpirit. Bad riders wonder why horfes are gen tle as foon as they are mounted by skil ful ones, though their skill feems unemployed. The reafon is, the horfe goes at his eafe, yet finds all his motions watched; which he has fagacity enough to dif cover. Such a rider hides his whip, if he finds his horfe is afraid of it; and keeps his legs from his fides, if he finds he dreads the fpur. As you are not to keep your arms and elbows high, and in motion; fo you are not to rivet them to your fides, but let them fall ealy. One may, at a distance, diftinguith a genteel horieman, from an aukward one: the firit fits still, and appears of a piece with his horfe; the lat ter feems flying off at all points. Is is often laid with emphafis, that such a one has no feat on horfeback; and it means, not only that he does not ride well, but that he does not fit on the right part of the horie. To have a good feat, is, to fit on that part of the horse, which, as he fprings, is the centre of motion; and from which, of course, any weight would be with moft difficulty faaken. As 3 G 2 in in the rifing and falling of a board placed En æquilibrio, the centre will always be moft at rest; the true feat will be found in that part of your faddle, into which your body would naturally flide, it you rode without stirrups; and is only to be preferved by a proper poife of the body, though the generality of riders imagine it is to be done by the grafp of the thighs and knees. The rider fhould confider himself as united to his horfe in this point, and when fhaken from it, endeavour to reftore the balance. Perhaps the mention of the two extremes of a bad feat may help to defcribe the true one. The one is, when the rider fits very far back on the faddle, fo that his weight prefles the loins of the horse; the other, when his body hangs forward over the pommel of the faddle. The first may be feen practifed by grooms, when they ride with their ftirrups affectedly, fhort; the latter, by fearful horsemen on the leaft flutter of the horfe. Every good rider has, even on the hunting faddle, as determined a place for his thighs, as can be determined for him by the bars of a demipeak. Indeed there is no difference between the feat of either only, as in the first you ride with fhorter ftirrups, your body will be confequently more behind your knees. To have a good feat yourself, your faddle muft fit well. To fix a precife rule might be difficult: it may be a direction, to have your faddle prefs as nearly as poffible on that part which we have defcribed as the point of union between the man and horfe, however fo as not to obftruct the motion of the horfe's fhoulders. Place yourself in the middle or loweft part of it; fit erect; but with as little conftraint as in your ordinary fitting. The eafe of action marks the gentleman: you may re-, pofe yourself, but not lounge. The fet and ftudied erectness acquired in the riding houfe, by thofe whole deportment is not eafy, appears ungenteel, and unnatural. If your horfe ftops fhort, or endeavours by rifing and kicking to unfeat you, bend not your body forward, as many do in thofe circumstances: that motion throws the breech backward, and you off your fork or twift, and out of your feat; whereas the advancing the lower part of your body, and bending back the upper part and fhoulders, is the method both to keep your feat, and to recover it when loft. The bending your body back, and that in a great degree, is the greateft fecurity in flying leaps; it is a fecuri ty too, when your horfe leaps standing. The horfe's rifing does not try the rider's feat; the lath of his hind legs is what ought chiefly to be guarded against, and is beft done by the body's being greatly inclined back. Stiffen not your legs or thighs, and let your body be pliable in the loins, like the coachman's or his box. This loote manner of fitting will elude every rough motion of the horfe; whereas the fixture of the knees, fo commonly laid a ftrefs on, will in great fhocks conduce to the violence of the fall. Was the cricket-player, when the ball is ftruck with the greatest velocity, to hold his hand firm and fixed when he receives it, the hand would be bruised, or perhaps the bones fractured by the refift ance. To obviate this accident, he therefore gradually yields his hand to the motion of the ball for a certain distance; and thus, by a due mixture of oppofition and obedience, catches it without fuftaining the leaft injury. The cafe is exactly the fame in riding: The skilful horfeman will recover his poife, by giving fome way to the motion; and the ignorant horfe man will be flung out of his feat, by en deavouring to be fixed. Stretch not out your legs before you; this will puth you against the back of the faddle neither gather up your kees, like a man riding on a pack; this throws your thighs upwards: each practice unfeats you. Keep your legs ftraight down; and fit not on the most fleshy part of the thighs, but turn them inwards, fo as to bring in your knees and toes and it is more fafe to ride with the ball of the foot preffing on the ftirrup, than with the ftirrup as far back as the heel; for the preffure of the heel being in that cafe behind the firrup, keeps the thighs down. When you find your thighs thrown up wards, widen your knees, to get them and the upper part of your fork lower down on the horie. Grap the faddle with the hollow or inner part of your thighs; but not more than just to aflift the ba lance of your body: this will alfo enable you to keep your fpurs from the horse's fides, and to bring your toes in, without that affected and ufelefs manner of bring ing them in, practifed by many. Sink your heels itraight down; for while your heels and thighs keep down, you cannot fall: this. (aided with the bend of the back) gives the fecurity of a feat, to those who bear themselves up in their firrups in a fwift gallop, or in the alternate rifing and falling in a full trot. Aug.1762. An historical account of the Princes of Wales. An hiftorical account of fuch PRINCES of WALES as were born whilst their fathers were upon the throne. THE heir to the crown of England has the title of Prince of Wales. Next to his father, he is chief in the realm, and, by course of the civil law, is to fit at his right hand in all folemn assemblies of state and honour. But he has no kingly prerogative by the laws of Britain, in the life of his father *; but acknowledges a reverence, not only as to a father, but alfo as to his fovereign; and to that purpofe continues that motto, ICH DIEN, I ferve t. By a ftatute of the 25th of Edw. III. chap. 2. it is declared, "That to compafs or imagine the death of the King's eldest fon and heir, is crimen læfæ majeftatis, high treafon; as alfo to violate the wife of the King's eldest fon.” Sir William Segar faith, he is ftyled Princeps, quia principalis in ftrenuitate poft regem . Since the union, his title is Magne Britannia Princeps. He is born Duke of Cornwall; and immediately intitled to all the rights, revenues, &c. belonging thereto; as being deemed in law at full age on his birth-day. He is afterwards (at the pleasure of the King) created Prince of Wales; at which time he is prefented before the King in his furcoat, cloak, and mantle of crimson velvet, and girt with a belt of the fame; when the King putteth a cap of crimson velvet, indented and turned up with ermine, and a coronet, on his head, as a token of principality; and the King alfo putteth into his hand a verge of gold, the emblem of government; and a ring of gold on his middle finger, to intimate that he must be a hutband to his country, and a father to her children. To him are likewife given and granted letters-patent, to hold the faid principality, to him and his heirs, Kings of England; by which words the feparation of this principality is for ever prohibited . His revenues, as Duke of Cornwall, are computed at 14,000l. per annum. The revenues of the principality were estimated, above three hundred years ago, at 46801. per annum. His mantle, which he wears at the coronation, is doubled below the elbow with ermine, ipotted diamond wife; but See Brit. Compend. vol. 1. p. 19. edit. 7. + Carter's Analysis of honour and armoury, P. 128. ‡ Chambers's dictionary, PRI. 401 the robe which he wears in parliament is adorned with five bars or guards of ermine, fet at an equal distance one from the other, with a gold lace above each bar. The coronet placed on his head at his creation (as above) is of gold, and confifts of crosses-pattee, and fleurs de lis, with the addition of one arch, and in the midft a bail, and a cross, as hath the royal diadem, which was folemnly ordered to be used by a grant dated Feb. 9. 1660-61, 11th Charles II. King Edward I. having reduced Wales, by a flatute, made the 12th of his reign, united it to the crown of England; but perceiving that the Welch had no affection to be ruled by ftrangers, he fo order. ed, that Eleanor his Queen, on the 25th of April 1284, was delivered of a son in Caernarvon caftle in North Wales; and then the King called together the barons of Wales, and demanding, if they would be content to fubject themfelves to one of their own natives, that could not fpeak one word of Englith, and against whofe life they could take no just exception, they readily confented; and having worn to yield obedience, he nominated this new-born fon; whom, in his charter the 24th of March 1305, and 33d year of his reign, he ftyled Prince of Wales, being the first of the fons and heirs apparent of the Kings of England that bore that title *. Edward, eldest fon of K. Edward III. was born the 15th of June 1330, and in the parliament held at Weftminifter the 11th of his reign, was created Duke of Cornwall, by a charter bearing date the 17th of March 1338, and invefted by the word only; this being the first precedent for the creation of the title of a Duke with us in England; and from this Prince Edward, the dukedom of Cornwall bath ever fince flept in the crown; for the eldeft fon and heir-apparent of the King of England is Duke of Cornwall by birth †. Duke Edward was likewile created Prince of Wales by his father, in the parliament held at Pontefract anno 1342, the 16th of his reign, by letters-patent, dated the 18th of March the fame year; as alfo created Earl of Chelter and Flint; and was invested in the principality of Wales, with thefe enfigns of honour, |