Micrologia. Characters, or essayes, of persons, trades, and places, offered to the city and country. By R.M.

12. A cunning Horse-Courser,

IS a person so altogether compact of a Country habit, that hee loues not a blacke hat: A skilfull Farrier is his friends enemy. Hee reads Markhams Method, and Banks is his old acquaint∣tance. He keeps his best horses in the worst clothes, and his worst Iades bee richest on weeke-dayes. He hath the Racers, Breeds, and Clymats of the best in England; for variety of Barbary, Spanish, English, Flaunders and Irish breed, his race, his hunting, drawing, or all in one if you please. Of his bastard sort the Sire and Damme hee keepes an exact Catalogue, and freely offers to let you haue the triall of him any morning

to Hye-gate; and ten to one hee will spend so much time to ride with you himselfe, where haply his Copers bee before to carry him backe vpon some new bargaine; but ere you get to Lon∣don you are catcht in his fet-locks, and he fastens on you a Iade that dare not clim•• Hye-gate hill. Hee is a man not much affected with Pride, but makes commonly his prauncing serue as a Prologue to his profit He trots, ambles, gallops, rebounds and treads the Mea∣sures in all varietie of Paces: hee cir∣cumuents Smithfield with curuets, and leaps madly through thicke and thinne, seeming in his full careere, ready to out∣strip Pegasus. He keeps at all Faires in Country habits, and the change of his clothes is as frequent as the Moones. He prefers a stout horse before a stub∣borne wife, and with more delight ma∣nages the one then the other. If a lusty Courser come to his hand, his beast and he must trace the prime streets of the

City; for his visit is Cheap-side, Corn∣wall, Watling, street, &c. Being thus mounted, hee beginnes to eleuate his voyce in a lofty Tone set by himself••, and can speake no other language on his backe but 100. Angels, which oft he should haue beene blest with from such and such a Knight, and this the onely beast that makes him rich, for hee won at least 7 Races in six weekes. What he swears and lyes hee has vouchers for, and the best remedy you can haue, if he proue a Iade, is, that you neuer take him for an honest man. But leaue him as he is, till he mend his manners.