12 THE LIFE OF A RACEHOKSE. 



still keeping a fixed look "upon me, and I remember that he now 

 appeared to forget his cigar, for he let it smoulder out, and at 

 length dropt the unconsumed end at his feet. 



" He deserves a good un," said our head groom. 



" You think he will pull back some of that which has ^" 



and Sir Digby expressed the conclusion of the sentence by 

 slightly puffing the tips of his gloved fingers. 



" I do. Sir Digby." 



" Then we will call him Sheet Anchor," returned the 

 baronet ; " and may he prove to be mine," 



Such is the earliest reminiscence that I have of my eventful 

 history. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE DUMB JOCKEY. 



As I had always been accustomed to be "handled" by our head 

 groom, it gave me but little annoyance to have a plain, thick 

 bit put into my mouth one morning, particularly as he observed 

 the most gentle care in preventing all unnecessary annoyance. 

 I did not much like the ordeal to which my untutored gums 

 were subjected ; but Kobert patted my neck, and soothed the 

 irritability caused by this first check between my jaws, in a way 

 which rarely fails to obtain complete mastership over us, when 

 rough or unkind usage only renders our opposition naturally 

 stronger. It would be as well to be borne in mind, perhaps, by 

 all who exercise any control over us, that that which is ffe- 

 quently ascribed to " bad temper," may be far more correctly 

 traced to the innate apprehension of danger so predominant in. 

 our truly nervous systems. When we either kick, shy, plunge, 

 rear, or run away, the chances are twenty to one that the 

 primary cause is "fear." We possess memories of a truly 

 tenacious kind ; and anything which has once proved a source 

 of positive terror to us we rarely forget, and, occasionally, never 

 forgive. But it should be remembered that we are not to be 



