466 THE HORSE. 



struck the offender dead in an instant, but never afterwards 

 shewed any symptoms of vice. The following singular story 

 is related by Mr Rolle, a gentleman of Devonshire : A cer- 

 tain person of rank conceived the cruel idea of tiring out a 

 favourite hunter. After a long chase in the forenoon he 

 dined, mounted the horse again, took him to the hills, and 

 galloped him furiously, until the faithful creature had nearly 

 sunk down from exhaustion. On his being brought to the 

 stable, the groom shed tears at seeing the condition of his 

 poor favourite. The rider himself, some time afterwards, 

 came into the stable, but the insulted horse, languishing and 

 overcome as he was, sprung upon the wretch, and, but for 

 the attendants, would have put him to death. Even harsh 

 language used to a horse in the stall will cause his pulse to 

 rise many beats in the minute. 



The Horse is susceptible of the feelings of pride and 

 rivalry. In triumphal processions and displays of parade, 

 he manifests distinctly the pleasure which he feels in his gay 

 and glittering caparisons. In the race-course, the spectators 

 are able to observe the ardour of the rival horses, the im- 

 patience with which they wait the moment of starting, the 

 spirit with which they press onward in the contest of speed. 

 It is manifestly less the terrors of the whip and spur, than 

 the passions which the contest itself engenders, that call 

 forth the exertion of the animals' powers. When the struggle 

 reaches the crisis, life or death seems to depend on victory. 

 A fine horse called Forester, known on the turf as having 

 been the victor in many well-contested races, found himself 

 on one occasion closely matched by a younger rival. The 

 latter began to gain ground ; the horses at length ran side 

 by side, neck by neck, when Forester, finding his strength 

 failing, and his rival about to pass him, made a desperate 

 spring, seized his competitor by the jaw to hold him back, 

 and could scarcely be forced to quit his grasp. In those ruder 

 kinds of races, in which horses without riders are matched 

 against one another, the rivalship is more apparent to the 



