640 
ON THE RESPONSIBILITY, &C. 
the wound by another pin, or by common means. The blood 
continued to flow; danger was pressing, at least the danger 
of debility, from which the horse would be long in recovering 
after the loss of so unusual a quantity of blood. What was to be 
done ? He was far from home. Ere he could go and return, the 
mischief would be done. The only hope was in the cautery, and 
that immediately applied. 
He determined to avail himself of the best instrument he could 
get. He could see no difference between one piece of rounded 
iron and another. He used the poker' instead of the budding 
iron , and staunched the blood at once. 
Every thing went on well. The neck suppurated, healed : 
when suddenly tetanus appeared, bade defiance to all remedial 
means, and the horse died. 
The owner was dissatisfied. The poker-business, for which 
every one of our readers would have commended the promptitude 
and skill of the practitioner, dwelled on his mind. He connected 
it with the death of the horse, and he called on the surgeon. A 
long conversation ensued ; he was not perfectly unreasonable, 
and he went away, if not altogether reconciled, yet convinced that 
there was not so much blame imputable to the veterinarian. 
Unfortunately, however, he went to the riding-school, where 
all horse-matters are discussed, and the directors of which are 
usually sufficiently wise, in their own opinion, and there his mind 
was once more poisoned. His horse was murdered, and the ve¬ 
terinary surgeon was responsible. He returned to his lodgings, 
and he wrote the following letter to our practitioner : — 
“ Sir, —After seeing you this morning, I had a full conversa¬ 
tion with Mr. C., regarding the circumstances attending the death 
of my horse -—. From what he has stated to me on the 
subject, I cannot entertain the slightest doubt in my mind; nor 
do I perceive any difficulty in establishing the fact to the convic¬ 
tion of any other person, that - fell a sacrifice to the 
operation of bleeding, which took place under your direction and 
charge in my absence. In this situation I have to request that 
you state to me, in an answer to this letter, what you have 
to propose to me on this unfortunate subject, as you must be 
aware you are responsible to me for the loss, and that as early as 
