A RIDE WITH A MAD HORSE IN A CAR. 217 



tlie hospital, did Gulnare visit me. At the ap- 

 pointed hour the groom would slip her headstall, 

 and, without a w^ord of command, she would dart 

 out of the stable, and, with her long, leopard- 

 like lope, go sweeping dowrn the street and come 

 dashing into the hospital yard, checking herself 

 wdth the same glad neigh at my window ; nor did she 

 ever once fail, at th^ closing of the sash, to retiirn 

 directly to her stall. The groom informed me that 

 every morning and evening, w^hen the hour of her 

 visit drew near, she would begin to chafe and wor- 

 ry, and, by pawing and pulling at the halter, adver- 

 tise him that it was time for her to be released. 



" But of all exliibitions of happiness, either by 

 beast or man, hers Avas the most positive on that 

 afternoon when, racing into the yard, she foimd me 

 leaning on a crutch outside the hospital building. 

 The whole corps of nurses came to the doors, and 

 all the poor felloAvs that could move themselves, — 

 for Gulnare had become an universal favorite, and 

 the boys looked for her daily visits nearly, if not 

 quite, as ardently as I did, — crawled to the win- 

 dows to see her. "Wliat gladness was expressed in 

 every movement ! She would come prancing to- 

 ward me, head and tail erect, and, pausing, rub her 

 head against my shoulder while I patted her glossy 

 neck; then, suddenly, with a sidewise spring, 

 she A\'otdd break away, and, wdth her long tail ele- 

 vated until her magnificent brush, fine and silken 



10 



