AGRICULTURE AND THE HORSE. 365 



good." But I study my horse ; and my horse studies 

 me. If I am a coward, he is one ; if I am lazy, he is 

 lazy ; if I am impatient, he is impetuous ; if I am 

 lost in thought, how dreamily he pursues his way! 

 But a cat is a cat the world over, let the mistress be 

 what she may. A dog is a dog, in season and out of 

 season, whether he follows beggar or prince. A sheep 

 is a sheep ; and no circumstances can modify its sheep- 

 ishness. A cow is a cow, no matter where the pasture, 

 or who the milkmaid, — the same senseless, board- 

 faced, "panicky" beast, the same indolent machine, 

 the same placid lump of awkwardness, the same 

 matter-of-fact agricultural fixture. Hence I have 

 always imagined I could read in the conduct of the 

 horse a certain measure of the character of the ov^ner, 

 as you can see the man in the empty hat which sits 

 upon the table, you cannot tell why. When I was 

 a boy, I used to estimate the condition of my neigh- 

 bors by the looks and conduct of their horses. When 

 I saw a venerable pair seated in a rickety wagon 

 drawn by a low-headed, ewe-necked, ring-boned mare, 

 by jerks along the road, I always pictured to myself the 

 establishment from which that venerable pair came out. 

 When I saw the village doctor jogging about with 

 rusty harness, and dilapidated vehicle, and melancholy 

 horse, I drew my own inference, and instituted a com- 

 parison at once between this man and his rival, who, 

 without ostentation, kept his equipage in order, and 

 drove well the horse which he had selected well. Upon 



