TROTTING WITH A CUEB BIT. 181 



till late in the succeeding spring. In order to drive him 

 easily, he used a curb bit, dashing down Michigan Avenue 

 in a sleigh, taking the lead of all the speedy ones that con- 

 gregated on that street of fashionable resort. No matter 

 how icily the wind blew from the congealed surface of the 



lake, he was always on hand, and his " take care, ," 



reverberated above the merry tintinnabulation of the 

 "bells, silver bells." When the frigid barrier was re- 

 moved, and the clear liquid "broke into dimples, and 

 laughed in the sun," from the perfumed wind that had 

 not yet lost the aroma of the orange-blossoms on its way 

 from the fervid South ; when the sails of many vessels 

 loomed white against the horizon, and dark columns, like 

 that which preceded the children of Israel by day, 

 towered upward from the gallant steamers that were 

 plowing their way from the harbor ; when the birds were 

 pairing, and the prairie-flowers making their first appear- 

 ance, would be seen jogging leisurely through the 



sand on Wabash Avenue down the road by the " ribbed 

 sands," where snug cottages nestle in the shade of fir 

 and spruce, and where the climbing rose was showing its 

 green leaves on the trellis, soon to shine resplendent in 

 its gorgeous blossoms. The sleigh has given place to 

 the light wagon or sulky, but no change has taken place 

 in the bit. Here is a good piece of road, and " take care, 



," is heard above the sounding of the surge, or the 



rattle of the wheels. The old man is waving his cane 

 over the horse's back, like the baton of a leader of the 

 grand orchestra. His white hair and long beard are 

 flowing behind, like the streaming pennon of the pro- 

 peller in the background, and his gesticulations are as 

 violent as ever Julien displayed when the crash of cannon 

 and the rattle of cymbals were keeping time to the brazen 

 throats of a hundred instruments. Truly, the horse is going 

 at a fearful rate ; nor has he time to buck-jump. The swing- 



