THE COMPETITORS IN THE RACE. 421 



for her former excitement was the drunken driver's lash. 

 I had misgivings that Never Mind would act in the man- 

 ner you describe, from the narrowness of the skull between 

 and above the eyes, showing the want of the moral force, 

 which, if he possessed, would make him the equal of the 

 very best. Better condition will aid him, and I am. in 

 hopes that the work of to-day, and of those intervening, 

 will give him heart enough to win the race we have him 

 entered for. The horses in it are not so fast as he is, or 

 rather those that are known, there being two dark ones 

 that report mentions as having performed wonderfully in 

 some Utopian country, the location of which has not yet 

 been found out. To contend against the Falcon are horses 

 which have gone faster in public than any time we can 

 expect him to make yet; but as it is the only place to put 

 him in, to give him a chance to receive the benefits of a 

 race, he may as well begin there as anywhere else. For 

 all this, I would rather take odds against him than lay 

 them on Never Mind. Both of these races, coming on 

 the same day, will give you and the boys plenty of work; 

 yet, with the help you have, all the attention necessary for 

 the horses can be awarded them. My morning ride has 

 given me a sharp appetite, and I am not sorry to hear the 

 signal that summons us to prepare for breakfast. 



PUPIL. I suppose it is useless to offer you anything to 

 drink, and I do so more as a matter of form, than from 

 any expectation that you will accept it. 



PRECEPTOR. Thanking you for the kindness, I must 

 reiterate that I never drink for form's sake, and when I 

 do indulge, it is either to gratify my palate, or for the 

 fancied necessity for the stimulus. I say fancied, as I 

 think nine-tenths of the liquor that is drank is from some 

 fanciful cause. That I take pleasure in drinking I will 

 cheerfully admit, and I appreciate the flavor of good liquor 

 as much as any one. Because ripe peaches are delicions, 



