Horse and Man. 



359 



experiment by taking the bit in his teeth, and 

 violently pulling the reins out of my hand. His 

 miraculous sense of smell measures the exact posi- 

 tion of every hidden kennel, every treacherous spot, 

 and enables him to pass swiftly and securely over it. 



On the desert pampa the gaucho, for a reason 

 that he knows, calls the puma the " friend of man." 

 The Arab gives this designation to his horse ; but 

 in Europe, where we do not associate closely with 

 the horse, the dog naturally takes the foremost place 

 in our affections. The very highest praise yet given 

 to this animal is probably to be found in Bacon's 

 essay on Atheism. " For take an example of a 

 dog," he says, " and mark what a generosity and 

 courage he will put on when he finds himself main- 

 tained by a man, who is to him in place of a god, 

 or melior natura, which courage is manifestly such 

 as that creature, without the confidence of a Detter 

 nature than its own, could never attain! " Can we 

 not say as much of the horse ? The very horses 

 that fly terror-stricken from the smell of an Indian 

 will, when " maintained by a man," readily charge 

 into a whole host of yelling savages. 



I once had a horse at home, born and bred on 

 the place, so docile that whenever I required him 

 I could go to him where the horses were at 

 pasture, and, though they all galloped off at 

 my approach, he would calmly wait to be caught. 

 Springing on to his back, I would go after 

 the other horses, or gallop home with only my 

 hand on his neck to guide him. I did not often ride 

 him, as he was slow and lazy, but with timid women 

 and children he was a favourite; he was also fre- 



