234 AN INSENSATE BRUTE. 



but as a means of gratifying the irate and savage 

 feeling of the inflictor : when this is the case, he is 

 the greater brute of the two, and moreover a fool for 

 his pains. 



I remember once seeing a horse that had been left 

 standing in a cart at a door walk quietly away, which 

 gave the driver a run to bring him back. Getting 

 up to the horse, he beat him unmercifully : on my 

 remonstrating with him on his conduct, and stating 

 the horse could not know why he was so abused, the 

 savage said, he did not care for that ; he had ha<J the 

 trouble of coming after him, so he would " take it 

 out of him." I fear many such feelings bring 

 punishment where the cause of it is as little known 

 to the animal. I merely instance the very simple 

 process of teaching a horse to stop at the word of 

 command as perhaps the most simple of any lesson 

 we may have to teach him. 



We should always consider, before we attempt to 

 punish any animal we may be teaching (that has only 

 instinct to guide him), that the punishing a rational 

 or irrational animal are two very distinct things. 

 We may flog, imprison, or transport a man for any 

 given offence, because he is told and knows the 

 punishment is the consequence of such offence : to 

 the irrational animal, we must make the fear of punish- 

 ment or the anticipation of reward also evident, or 

 either the one or the other will have no effect. We 

 cannot tell the horse what he is to expect, so it is 

 only by repeated results we can teach him the con- 

 sequences of any one act of his. We might cane a 

 boy if he refused to move from the fire-side, or 

 another if he was riotous to an unbearable degree, 

 and should by such means procure the desired end : 



