346 SAGACITY OF THE HORSE. 



lioness was, indeed, an object of compassion in her 

 miserable den — lean, spiritless, and so thoroughly 

 tamed by long abstinence, that my heart melted at 

 the sight of her prostrate condition ; and, save for 

 the bairns at home, I certainly should have been 

 instigated to pm'chase her, and try my hand as a 

 lion-tamer. 



I do not, however, mean to insinuate that a 

 vicious colt should be nearly starved to death to 

 conquer his temper ; but a short abstinence from 

 food will induce him to eat from his master's hand, 

 and thereby be the means of familiarizing more 

 effectually than by whip or spur. With our 

 splendid breed of horses, superior to every other in 

 the world, for size, symmetry, power, and speed, 

 we are a long way behind other civilized people in 

 their domestic management, and the due apprecia- 

 tion of their most valuable services. We are too 

 much in the habit of considering horses as mere 

 beasts of burden or draught, without regard to 

 those qualities of sagacity and intelligence which 

 require encouragement only on our part for their 

 more clear development. It is a common occur- 

 rence to see even viciously-disposed horses be- 

 come gentle and tractable when ridden by ladies, 

 the cause of which is obvious — that they are not 



