THE ASS. 179 



of the horse, and used almost solely as a beast of heavy 

 burden, often suffering great cruelty and hardship, it seems to 

 lose spirit and become dull and obstinate, as people do who, 

 crushed by hard circumstances, lose hope. The ass has an 

 ancient and honourable history which dates back apparently 

 as far as that of the horse. He is mentioned alike by sacred 

 and profane writers, Job and Homer making flattering reference 

 to him. In Syria and Persia, where he is cultivated, he attains 

 to a much larger size than in the west, where he may 

 be described as about two-thirds the size of the horse. In 

 ancient times these animals fetched very large sums, sums 

 which in our day would be considered very large for a horse, a 

 stallion mentioned by Pliny realising a sum exceeding .3000. 

 "No domestic animal," says Colonel Smith, "in proportion 

 to its bulk, can carry a greater weight, or continue to labour 

 longer without sustenance. The ass is emphatically the poor 

 man's horse in every country ; and if care were taken of the 

 breed, and well selected animals imported from Arabia, a 

 very useful and handsome race might be reafed." Though 

 the ordinary ass is slow and obstinate, his eastern cousin is 

 both fleet and obedient, and remarkable feats have been 

 performed by half breeds. A half-bred, Spanish and English, 

 of twelve and a half hands high, belonging to Mr. Wilson of 

 Ipswich, drew a light gig from Ipswich to London and back 

 again, a distance of 140 miles, in two days. He is said to 

 have maintained a pace little short of that of a good gig 

 horse and to have performed the whole journey with ease, 

 finishing it without whip, at the rate of seven miles an hour. 

 Though patient above most animals, the ass will sometimes 

 turn like the proverbial worm, and instances are known 

 in which he has adopted the offensive with effect. Some 

 years ago, a bull dog which had been set on to an ass, was 

 caught by the latter in his teeth, carried to the river Derwent 

 and held under water until he was drowned. Donkeys have 

 often been known after enduring great provocation from boys 



