REINS, VOICE, AND WHIP, 117 



ever expectant of, and waiting for. I taught him something 

 different — and how ? — by the simple power of my voice. 

 It is not a particularly musical one, by any means, except 

 in the ears of animals, but to one of these it has never yet 

 uttered an angry word, — and the horse came to know it, 

 and to listen for it, and to neigh at the sound of it, and by- 

 and-by we got to understand one another quite well, and 

 the great, big, foolish old head, all defaced and disfigured as 

 it was by hard knocks and bad usage, used to rest lovingly 

 upon my shoulder, while I stroked the ears that in former 

 days had so often been laid back in 'angry vindictiveness 

 against a harsh and cruel task-master. " He'll take the 

 nose off your face some day, the treacherous brute ! " an ex- 

 attendant upon my new pet once said to me. But, needless 

 to say, it was a libel : my nose is still intact. The horse 

 learned to love me, and to caress and obey from that feeling. 

 I believe he would have died for me. When I hunted him 

 he jumped the biggest places at a word from my lips. 

 Without whip, curb, or spur I rode him for many a day, 

 over the difficult Ward country, and he never once played 

 me a shabby trick. Poor fellow ! He had not a particle 

 of beauty about him ; indeed, I think he was ridiculously 

 ugly, in all save prejudiced eyes ; but he had an honest 

 heart, one that would have broken rather than have grieved 

 or disobeyed his owner ; and when I had to shoot him (he 

 broke his back, leaping a drain with a friend to whom I 

 had unfortunately lent him for a day's schooling), he turned 

 such an eye upon me as I cannot to this day think of 

 without a lump in my throat that is very seldom there. 



