246 A COOLING RECEIPT. 



A friend of mine was so hasty in his temper, 

 though not a violently passionate man, that on the 

 least supposed offence from man, woman, or child, he 

 constantly said in reply many things he much re- 

 gretted afterwards. No man felt more hurt than he 

 did on such occasions, and on his once saying he 

 would give a thousand pounds to any man if he could 

 cure him of this habitual hastiness, I volunteered to 

 give him a receipt for nothing that should cure him 

 if he pledged his word to strictly abide by it for 

 twelve months. He gave the pledge, and for the 

 benefit of hasty persons I give the receipt as I gave 

 it him. " Whenever anything is said or done that 

 particularly irritates you, count a hundred before you 

 make an observation upon it." My friend became 

 an altered man. I introduce this, because it is just 

 what I would wish instructors of any thing to do 

 before they give way to temper, that is, if theirs is 

 a hasty one, and they have any thing to do with 

 horses. 



I hope it is understood, that, in alluding to the 

 blundering leaper, I allude to an animal that ought 

 not to be found namely, a horse having arrived at 

 a hunting age, and being taken with hounds without 

 having been properly taught his business : in short, 

 not educated. My three-year-old colt should not 

 commit such an error why ? because, if I found he 

 wanted it, he should have been in a dozen ditches 

 before I ever got on his back ; then he would be 

 wise enough to keep out of them when I was. 



A farmer in Essex, well known some years since 

 in Lord Petre's hunt, had an entire horse, a remark- 

 ably clever jumper. I often tried to coax him out 

 of the horse at a strong price. " No," he would say, 



