588 



V I : RTEB R A T A . 



THE RACE-COURSE. 



part which the horse plays in war, and in farther reflecting upon his temper, which makes him 

 the intimate associate of man, and on his instincts, which in many cases surpass reason, we readily 

 catch tlif thread of association by which the imaginative Greeks were led to mount the poet who 

 would BCale the giddy heights of Parnassus upon the winged Pegasus, and, amid the superstitions 

 i>t' the Middle Ages, created for the heroes of chivalry horses endowed with wings and the gifts of 

 enchantment The same impulse that led poets to deify heroes, caused them to confer similar 

 and often greater powers on their companion, the most heroic of animals. The cart-horse may 



more Dsefbl than the war-horse, as the plowman maybe more useful than the warrior, but 

 what minstrel has ever chanted the praises of these humble drudges? The love of chivalrous 

 1 1- is inherent in human nature, and he who tells their story will always have listeners. Cer- 

 vantes, with a fine perception of the feelings of mankind, though his purpose was to ridicule the 

 extravagance of chivalry, never made either Don Quixote or Rosinante contemptible. In the 

 midst of all their misadventures there is a certain dignity which commands our respect, even 

 while onr sides are bursting with laughter. With Sancho and his ass it is otherwise : these are 

 presented in the full breadth of their native meanness and vulgarity. And this portraiture, as it 

 reflects tie- human heart, has for centuries received the sanction of mankind. The warrior has 

 always captivated the popular imagination, and the wardiorse is the beau ideal of his race, as • 

 i" tl; j as the common sense of mankind. 



• t i- nol :■> be supposed, however, that it is in war alone that the horse commends himself to 

 mankind. Ou the "Turf" he creates a new world, with its own peculiar atmosphere, its own dia 



. it- . wii codes, it- own literature. Nowhere can we find a more exciting spectacle than the 

 ally in England, where princes and nobles produce their favorite steeds to con- 



I for the prizes, and themselves enter into all the mad enthusiasm of the scene, often risking 

 thousands of pound- on the chance of a single race. Under the saddle the horse imparts to his 

 rider an exultant emotion like that we feel in dreaming, when we seem to be flying. The young 



sidered, ihi- animal lias been one of the chief instruments of human progress and human civilization. So much i-> 

 *lmo .'1 in tl,.- statemenl that in the conflict between Cortez and the Mexicans the horse made the essential 



difference ; for it gave civilization the ascendency over barbarism. The fact is striking and well put, but it is to tbi 

 •hi- noble animal, and affords an additional testimonial to the great work it has done in its association with 

 man. A recent writer ha- given us tl,,. •• History of Man upon the Sea? a " History of Man upon the Horse" would 

 be a theme hardly less exciting; at least we think it would be more so than the " History of Man without the Horse.". 

 which would be little more than the history of barbarism. 



