300 
MISCELLANEA. 
dogs set upon him without effect, when he was stabbed to death 
with a sword.— Malcolm's Anecdotes of London. 
Sagacity and Affection of a Cow. 
On Thursday last, R. Williams, Esq. residing at Wolvercote, 
in the neighbourhood of Oxford, ordered his bailiff to go into a 
certain field to drive out some cattle. On the man’s entering the 
field, a cow flew at him furiously, which so alarmed him, he fled. 
The cow then stopped, and bellowed loud and piteously, as if 
anxious to gain his attention. On the man taking particular no¬ 
tice of her, she went to a ditch, when she both looked and bel¬ 
lowed so piteously, that he was induced to follow her: when he 
arrived there, he found her calf on its back, almost lifeless from 
its ineffectual struggles to regain a standing position. He re¬ 
lieved the poor animal just in time to save its life, on which the 
grateful mother jumped and fondled round him with all the play¬ 
ful fondness of a dog, frequently licking his hands ; and on all 
occasions since she has taken particular notice of the preserver 
of her offspring .—Morning Herald , September 18, 1829. 
The Flea-bitten Gelding. 
He was the property of Hanks, a horse-dealer in St. Giles’s, a 
name that, in consequence, ought to be held in utter detestation. 
The horse generally ran his matches on the Romford road. Be¬ 
ing matched to run 21, 22, and 23 miles within the hour, I un¬ 
derstand he twice accomplished the 22 ; and was, lastly, matched 
against a well-bred racing pony, to run over the Epsom road so 
many miles out, and then to turn and run in. It seems the boy 
who rode the gelding, although used both to the horse and the 
road, made the strange blunder of taking a wrong turning and 
losing a quarter of a mile of ground, which it was impossible for 
him to recover. In the attempt, and when failing and nearly ex¬ 
hausted, the unfortunate animal was spurred, whipped, and beaten 
on both sides and behind, by a band of infernal miscreants on 
horseback interested in the race, until his very entrails trailed 
after him; when he made one last and desperate effort, rearing 
up on his hinder legs to the very utmost extent of his height, and 
then fell down heart-broken, and died .—Sporting Mag. Nov. 
1822. 
Value of Horseshoes. 
“ Most of the houses in the west end of London,” says Aubrey, 
“ have horseshoes on the threshold.” The horseshoe, it seems, 
lost its virtue if purchased or received as a gift: it should be acci¬ 
dentally found, to prevent the operations of witches on the houses 
under its protection.— Malcolm's Anecdotes of London , p. 372. 
