ROAD HORSES. 121 
like a cat, and to dance or run a little now and then 
in exuberance of spirits and superfluity of strength. 
Occasionally, to be sure, a horse is found who has 
great courage and endurance, and at the same time 
a perfectly temperate disposition. Such was Justin 
Morgan, head of the great roadster family, whose ori- 
gin I have described in a previous chapter. 
If the partisans of this family are not quite so 
fanatical as those of the Arab, it is because they are 
‘more numerous than the latter, and consequently the 
less driven to back themselves up by extravagant 
assertion. But they are not wanting in enthusiasm.! 
As to Justin Morgan, the immortal soul, his history 
is a matter of profound indifference. Nobody cares 
whether his mother was a Jones from Connecticut, or 
a Smith from Massachusetts. But Justin Morgan, the 
little bay colt which the schoolmaster took in payment 
for a bad debt, has kept the name bright for more 
than acentury. This is sad indeed, and yet greater 
men than Justin Morgan have suffered a similar fate. 
How many horsemen are aware that Ethan Allen was 
preceded by a biped of the same name, a brave officer 
of the Revolution, who commanded our forces at the 
taking of Ticonderoga ? 
The case of General Knox is even worse. He was 
one who cut a wide swath in his day, —a leader in the 
Revolution, a brave soldier, a counsellor much relied 
upon by Washington, a man of wealth, of birth and 
1 “The Perfect Horse,” a work by the Rev. W. H. H. Murray, 
is devoted to the praise of this family. A good illustrated history 
of Justin Morgan and his descendants, by Linsley, is now, I believe, 
out of print, and a more elaborate account of the family is in 
preparation by Mr. Joseph Battell, of Middlebury, Vermont. 
