ments, for your own credit and your patron's good. 



But I now remember a different result on sick horses. 

 At Hartford, Ky., I altered three ridglings in an old shed 

 in a heavy and protracted rain, five miles from the railroad. 

 When done, one owner said, "My colt has the distemper, 

 and was a double number three ridgling, and this weather 

 is so bad, I think I will have him insured at one hundred 

 dollars." His brother said, "My colt has the same disease, 

 and I believe it will be best to be on-the safe side, if it does 

 cost ten dollars more," and both took my insurance policy 

 for one hundred dollars each, and paid me the extra money. 

 If the other owner had been present instead of the groom, 

 I think I should have had to make out, unwillingly, another 

 policy. My circulars for the past eighteen years have said: 

 "I will insure all ridglings that I get the first cut on, for 

 ten per cent extra, upon the value of the horse, the owners to 

 decide which they prefer after they see the work done." 

 At this particular time, in the mud, rain, etc., I sort of had 

 the blues, something I am not subject to, and I would have 

 preferred paying the ten per cent, not to take the risk, as 

 these horses had the distemper, and were obliged to go sev- 

 eral miles in a hard rain and deep mud; and, from general 

 appearances, I feared would have poor stables and attention 

 at home. But my circulars in our correspondence made 

 the offer, and I felt honor bound to make my word good 

 without complaint. Luckily for me, however, all three did 

 well, and I received a very complimentary letter in two 

 weeks saying, "Our horses are all well, and did not appear 

 to mind the operation at all." 



ANOTHER MISTAKE 



I would like to tell you how I lost my handkerchief. I 

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