4 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE, 
hoofs, and the rattling of chains that soon became 
a regular occurrence whenever I set foot upon the 
threshold. I have known better educated, village- 
bred persons of the same stamp, men of a kind 
that command, when they die, half-column_ obit- 
uary notices in the papers, who took a vicious de- 
light in stoning dogs off their lawns, and who would 
have been moved to scorn by any show of affection 
for. a horse. 
People whose attitude toward dumb animals is of 
this character not only fail of their duty, but miss a 
vast amount of happiness. Horses are to be enjoyed 
in other ways than those of riding and driving. To 
become familiar with their characters and peculiarities, 
of which latter horses have many; to see them com- 
fortable in their stalls, sleek, well fed, well. groomed, 
warmly blanketed; to give them affection, and to re- 
ceive it back; finally, to take a pride in them, and, 
frankly speaking, to brag about them without being 
more unveracious than a fairly good conscience will 
allow, —this it is to enjoy a horse. In this matter, as 
in all others where motives are concerned, the good 
and bad, or at least the good and indifferent, in human 
nature can be made to co-operate; the sense of duty 
may be reinforced by a more spontaneous feeling, 
namely, the pride of ownership. In fact, to lay a 
foundation for the exercise of this quality should 
always be a chief object in buying a horse. Let your 
new purchase have that about him concerning which 
you can declare, with sufficient plausibility to defy 
absolute contradiction, that he stands in the very 
front rank of equine excellence; as that he is the 
most speedy, or the most enduring, or the hand- 
