200 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER 



buck-jumping ; but finding that he could not suc- 

 ceed, and only drew punishment upon himself, for I 

 gave him the spur pretty liberally, besides applying 

 the foil sharply to his flanks when he did not obey, 

 he gave up the contest, and I felt that I had obtained 

 the mastery over him. 



'■ I gave him a brisk canter a few minutes just to 

 try his paces, and then pulled up and walked, as I 

 thought he went as if rather groggy from his late 

 violent exertions. I rode for a couple of hours 

 amongst the darl?: cypress-groves that overshadow 

 the Turkish cemeteries that extend for some miles out 

 of Stamboul, and he did not attempt to show any 

 temper ; so I rode him back to the French camp, 

 feeling rather proud of my conquest, for he was once 

 more rendered subservient to his master, man. Sub- 

 sequently, by dint of patience and kind treatment, he 

 forgot all his vice, and became extremely docile and 

 gentle, doing me good service, and ampl}^ repaying 

 the trouble I had taken with him.' 



In Australia horses occasionally break away from 

 their owners and take to the bush, where they in- 

 crease and multiply. Of course as soon as it becomes 

 known that a ' mob ' of wild horses have established 

 themselves in any part of the Australian plains or 

 forests near a settlement, the settler endeavours to 

 catch them, not only for the sake of increasing his 

 stock, but because these wild ones decoy away the 

 tame ones. In the more settled parts wild horses 



