ROAD HORSES. 121 



like a cat, and to dance or ran a little now and then 

 in exuberance of spirits and superfluity of strength. 

 Occasionally, to be sure, a horse is found who has 

 great courage and endurance, and at the same time 

 a perfectly temperate disposition. Such was Justin 

 Morgan, head of the great roadster family, whose ori- 

 gin I have described in a previous chapter. 



If the partisans of this family are not quite so 

 fanatical as those of the Arab, it is because they are 

 more numerous than the latter, and consequently the 

 less driven to back themselves up by extravagant 

 assertion. But they are not wanting in enthusiasm. 1 



As to Justin Morgan, the immortal soul, his history 

 is a matter of profound indifference. Nobody cares 

 whether his mother was a Jones from Connecticut, or 

 a Smith from Massachusetts. But Justin Morgan, the 

 little bay colt which the schoolmaster took in payment 

 for a bad debt, has kept the name bright for more 

 than a century. This is sad indeed, and yet greater 

 men than Justin Morgan have suffered a similar fate. 

 How many horsemen are aware that Ethan Allen was 

 preceded by a biped of the same name, a brave officer 

 of the Revolution, who commanded our forces at the 

 taking of Ticonderoga ? 



The case of General Knox is even worse. He was 

 one who cut a wide swath in his day, — a leader in the 

 Revolution, a brave soldier, a counsellor much relied 

 upon by Washington, a man of wealth, of birth and 



1 " The Perfect Horse," a work by the Eev. W. H. H. Murray, 

 is devoted to the praise of this family. A good illustrated history 

 of Justin Morgan and his descendants, by Linsley, is now, I believe, 

 out of print, and a more elaborate account of the family is in 

 preparation by Mr. Joseph Battell, of Middlebury, Vermont. 



