354 AGRICULTURE AND THE HORSE. 



ence to the 'borak,' 'Thou hast chosen thy glory and 

 the glory of thy sons: while they exist, my blessing 

 shall be with them, because I have not created any 

 thing that can be more dear to me than man and 

 the horse.' This may be all very well, sir, for an Arab, 

 but not for a descendant of the Pilgrims ; not for a man 

 who believes in a republic of humanity and religion 

 and letters. To the warrior and the usurper and the 

 nomad I resign the horse, with all his thunders, and 

 his ' Ha, ha's ! ' and his wild and mysterious spirit. I 

 suppose we must endure him ; but I protest against 

 him. I have no doubt he will be present at our 

 exhibition in full force. I have no doubt, that, 

 when he gets there, he will parade himself up and 

 down before the multitude, and swell out beneath 

 their empty plaudits, and persuade himself that he 

 is really held in higher esteem than those more sub- 

 stantial and useful animals, without which man would 

 starve and perish. I have witnessed just such vanity 

 as this, sir, in another sphere; and I know how, for 

 a season, it will flourish. I submit, therefore, ay, 

 more than that, I rejoice, that while the calm and 

 substantial and solid and real in the animal kingdom 

 are provided for those of us who look beneath the 

 surface, and estimate all things at their true value, 

 the fleeting and flashy splendors of the passing cloud 

 are bestowed upon the fickle and impressible and 

 volatile. Let us have the horse, then, if we must; 

 and let him serve to attract the crowd for the pecuniary 



