TAMING HORSES. 71 



A well-fed, big and lusty friar was a friend to our 

 neighbor : one who liked the good things of this 

 world, as well as he liked to ride out to the small 

 towns, bordering upon the city of Mexico, and take 

 a dinner with the bonny lasses and countrymen, 

 inhabiting those villages. He used to ask my 

 friend to loan him his horse, to take these ex- 

 cursions just around the capital; and, as his re- 

 quests were granted with so good a grace, he in a 

 short time went so far as to ask the loan of this fa- 

 vorite animal, to go to Cuernavaca, a distance of 

 eighteen leagues, or fifty miles. As this happened 

 pretty often, our friend complained to me one day, 

 at the indiscretion of the friar. I asked him if he 

 could procure me a friar's dress, for a few days, 

 and leave his horse with me, for the same time. 

 He did so. I dressed myself in the friar's dress, 

 and went in Avhere the horse was. I took a good 

 whip in my hand, and made him do penance for no 

 other sin but that of too nmch gentleness. In going 

 out I took off the friar's dress, and went in again 

 in my own dress, and handled him gently. I re- 

 peated the operation a few days, at the end of 

 which, I took the horse back to his master, and 

 told him he might lend him to the friar whenever 

 he pleased. A day or two after, he came to my 

 store. Your remedy, said he, has had a marvellous 

 effect. Our monk has just left my house, perfectly 



