ANECDOTES OF THE HORSE (2). accom'pany, go with. aggressive, making an attack. anxi'ety. attach'ments. occa'sions, times. oppo'nent, one who opposes. squan'dered, thrown away. distin'guish, to know from that of ur'chin, a child. another. In attachment to man, the horse is equalled only by the dog and elephant. He soon learns to distinguish his master's voice, and to come at his call; he rejoices in his presence, and seems restless and unhappy during his absence. We are informed in the Sporting Magazine, that a gentleman in Buckinghamshire had in his possession a three-year-old colt, a dog, and three sheep, which were his constant attendants in all his walks. When the parlour window, which looked into the field, happened to be open, the colt had often been known to leap through it, go up to and caress his master, and then leap back to his pasture. We have ourselves often witnessed similar signs of affection on the part of an old Shetland pony, which would place its forefoot in the hand of its young master like a dog, thrust its head under his arm to be caressed, and join with him and a little terrier in all their noisy rompings on the lawn. The same animal daily bore its master to school, and though its heels and teeth were always ready for every aggressive urchin, yet so attached was it to this boy, that it would wait hours for him in his sports by the way, and even walk alone from the stable in town to the school-room, which was fully half a mile distant, and wait saddled and bridled for the afternoon's dismissal. Indeed the young scapegrace did not deserve one-tenth of this attention, for we have often seen the old pony F toiling homeward with him at the gallop, to make up for time squandered at taw or cricket. Many horses, though quiet in company, will not stay one minute in a field by themselves; and yet the presence of a cow, of a goat, or a pet lamb, will perfectly satisfy them. The attachments which they thus form are often very curious. A gentleman of Bristol had a greyhound, which slept in the stable along with a very fine hunter of about five years of age. These animals became mutually attached, and regarded each other with the most tender affection. The greyhound always lay under the manger beside the horse, which was so fond of him that he became unhappy and restless when the dog was out of his sight. It was a common practice with the gentleman to whom they belonged to call at the stable for the greyhound to accompany him in his walks: on such occasions the horse would look over his shoulder at the dog with much anxiety, and neigh in a manner which plainly said: 'Let me also accompany you.' When the dog returned to the stable, he was always welcomed by a loud neighhe ran up to the horse and licked his nose; in return, the horse would scratch the dog's back with his teeth. One day, when the groom was out with the horse and greyhound for exercise, a large dog attacked the latter, and quickly bore him to the ground; on which the horse threw back his ears, and, in spite of all the efforts of the groom, rushed at the strange dog that was worrying at the greyhound, seized him by the back with his teeth, which speedily made him quit his hold, and shook him till a large piece of the skin gave way. The offender no sooner got on his feet, than he judged it prudent to beat a precipitate retreat from so formidable an opponent. The ass, dull and stupid as our bad treatment too often makes him, is not without his share of vigour and endurance. In 1826, a clothier of Ipswich undertook to drive his ass in a light gig to London and back again a distance of one hundred and forty miles-in two days. The ass went to London at a pace little short of a good gig-horse, and fed at different stages well; on his return he came in, without the application of a whip, at the rate of seven miles an hour, and performed the whole journey with ease. He was twelve and a half hands high, and half-breed Spanish and English. The generally received opinion, that asses are stubborn and intractable, alike unmoved by harsh or affectionate usage, is in a great measure unfounded, as appears from the following anecdote. In most instances, their stubbornness is the result of bad treatment-a fact that says less for the humanity and intelligence of man, than for the natural dispositions of the brute. An old man, who a few years ago sold vegetables in London, used in his employment an ass, which conveyed his baskets from door to door. Frequently he gave the poor industrious creature a handful of hay, or a piece of bread, or greens, He had no need of by way of refreshment and reward. any goad for the animal, and seldom indeed had he to lift up his hand to drive it on. His kind treatment was one day remarked to him, and he was asked whether his beast was apt to be stubborn. 'Ah! master,' replied he, 'it is of no use to be cruel, and as for stubbornness, I cannot complain; for he is ready to do anything, and go anywhere. I bred him myself. He is sometimes skittish and playful, and once ran away from me; you will hardly believe it, but there were more than fifty people after him, yet he turned back of himself, and never stopped till he ran his head kindly into my bosom.' In point of sagacity and memory, the ass is nothing inferior to the horse, as is shewn by the subjoined wellknown anecdote: In 1816, an ass belonging to Captain Dundas, then at Malta, was shipped on board the Ister frigate, bound from Gibraltar to that island. The vessel struck on a sand-bank off Cape de Gat; and the ass was thrown overboard, in the hope that it might be able to swim to land; of which, however, there seemed little. chance, for the sea was running so high, that a boat which left the ship was lost. A few days after, when the gates of Gibraltar were opened in the morning, the guard was surprised by the ass presenting himself for admittance. On entering, he proceeded immediately to the stable of his former master. The poor animal had not only swam safely to shore, but, without guide, compass, or travelling-map, had found his way from Cape de Gat to Gibraltar-a distance of more than two hundred miles-through a mountainous and intricate country, intersected by streams, which he had never traversed before, and in so short a period that he could not have made one false turn, THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE GLOW-WORM. ap'petite, hunger. approbation, state of being pleased. el'oquent, speaking with power. harangued', spoke to. min'strelsy, singing. night'ingale. ora'tion, speech. released', let him go. A Nightingale that all day long. Harangued him thus, right eloquent : |