246 Cross Country with Horse and Hound 



vicious temper. I had an experience of my own to show 

 that Macbeth had not improved in temper, when I was 

 driving one day, with another man than Peters leading him 

 behind a two-wheeled top-cart, to a stallion show at 

 Geneseo. The vicious beast suddenly reared and struck 

 both fore feet through the leather top of the cart, which 

 was up at the time, evidently with most wicked intent, 

 tipping over the trap and throwing us both into the road. 

 The whole top of the cart was torn off, the stallion's feet 

 fast tangled in the bows of the top. That we were not 

 killed was no fault of the stallion. When, however, 

 Peters arrived upon the scene, the savage beast, seemingly 

 at a word, became as quiet as a lamb, allowing himself to be 

 handled and led away by his groom under perfect control. 

 Probably every one who has had much to do with horses 

 can cite similar experiences from his own observation. 

 Whence comes this power, this magic influence ? 



This interesting subject was first forcibly suggested to 

 me by the actions of an old favourite driving-mare. She 

 had been in my family many years, and, it is safe to say, 

 had been in harness or under saddle on an average of once 

 a day during all that time. A few years ago we began to 

 notice that when Sunday came the old mare would turn of 

 her own accord toward church, and that if I was going to 

 a train she invariably turned in the direction of the station. 

 Her usual errand to town was to the post-office, where she 

 probably went nine times out of ten. The station re- 

 quired a turn to the left, the church a turn to the right, 

 while the post-office was farther on in a direct road. We 

 have assigned many reasons for this seeming intelligence on 



