LIFE WITH THE TROTTEES. 395 



the footsteps and same profession as his father did. who 

 did not labor under the disadvantage I speak of, and I 

 think he has his father to thank for that. Boys are very 

 apt to defer everything to their fathers if they are in the 

 same business which I think is very wrong. If you expect 

 to succeed in any business in life you must make uj) your 

 mind to one thing, and that is to do some thinking for your- 

 self. Don't expect your father or your brother to do your 

 thinking, as if they do and you lose them in any way and 

 you have never taught yourself to think, you will be very 

 helpless. Uncle Billy Doble told all his boys if they were 

 going to be horse-trainers tlie}^ must work out their own 

 salvation, as his experience had taught him that was the 

 only way they could hope to be successful. My exx^er, 3nce 

 has taught me that people who have made a great success 

 of anything have done their own thinMng. This matter 

 was greatly impressed on my mind by a short conversation 

 I once had T\ith General Grant. In our talk the subject 

 turned on the criticism of the public, and I remarked that 

 I thought the i^ublic had often criticised me rather severely. 

 General Grant asked me if I had ever read the paj)ers 

 through the war times and if so, what I thought of some of 

 the criticisms which had been made on him. He said he 

 read them all carefully and if he saw anything he consid- 

 ered good in them he jotted it down in his memory, but as 

 he being at the seat of war, and the critics located thou- 

 sands of miles away in their peaceful homes, from his ad- 

 vantage of position better capable of judging what was the 

 best thing to do at the critical time, fought the battles on 

 his own plans and as he won, of course had the satisfaction 

 of being credited with having done right. 



In training a trotting horse never take anything for 

 granted. If he wins a race or goes a good trial do not close 

 the account and sit down and think to yourself that he 

 could not have been better trained or better driven. After 

 your horse has made a performance, while the matter is 

 fresh in your mind, study it over carefully and see whether 



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