We had the whole scene before us

We had the whole scene before us

We had the whole scene before us

The sale was great fun. Perched on convenient rails, we had the whole scene before us. The auctioneer rather hoarse and quite matter-of-fact; the ponies wildly rushing about the first enclosure, were with difficulty separated into pairs to be driven in the sale section; when fairly hemmed in through the open gate, they dashed and made a sort of circus circuit, with mane and tail erect, in a style that would draw great applause at Astley’s. Then there was the difficulty of deciding whether the figures marked in white on the animal’s hind-quarters were 8 or 3 or 5. Instead of the regular trot up and down of Tattersall’s, a whisk of a cap was sufficient to produce a tremendous caper. A very pretty exhibition was made by a little mare, with a late foal about the size of a setter dog.