Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1852-08-26

HIS MEMORY AND sAGACITY.

e An aged and venerable friend residin!
in one of the cities on our Eastern Sc;
; board, gentleman of character ant
worth, once related to me the followin!
anecdote of the horse, illustrating in :
remarkable manner, the sagacity ant
memory of this animal
AT the close of the Revolutionary war
when everything was unsettled and in dis
order, an acquaintance residing on the
Boston road, some thirty or forty miles
from New York, lost valuable young
horse, stolen from the stable in the night
Great search and inquiry were made fol
him but no tidings of him could be heard
and no trace of him could be discovered
Almost six full years had elapsed, and
the recollection even, of the lost animal
had nearly faded from the mind. At this
period gentleman from the East, in The
course of business was travelling on horse
back on this road, on his way to Phila-
delphia. Within four or five miles of a
village on the road, the traveller was o.
VertakeR by respectable looking gen.
tleman on horseback, resident of the
village, returning home from short bus
mess ride. Riding along side by side,
they soon engaged in pleasant desultory
conversation. The gentleman was imme-
diately struck with the appearance of the
travellers horse. And every glance of
the eye towards him, seemed to excite an
interest and curiosity to look at him a.
gain, and to revive recollection of some
thing he had seen before and soon es-
tablished in his mind the impression that
for all the world he looked like the hffse
he had lost some years before. This
soon became so irresistibly fixed in his
mind, that he remarked to the traveller:
+" You have fine horse sir"
YES" he replied; San exceedingly
valuable and excellent animal"
What is his age, sir ?"
[" Well, I suppose him to be about ten
or eleven years DID,"
"You did not raise him then ~
"No, purchased him of stranger, a
traveller, nearly six years since"
i. "Do you reside in this part of the coun-
try"
No, I reside in the Bay State, and
am on my way to Philadelphia on bust
ness. How far is it to New York ?"
" Well, sir, really regret to interrupt
you, or put you to inconvenience-but I
am constrained to believe you have pos
session of horse | must claim.
The traveller looked with surprise and
and replied
" What do you mean, sir 2"
{" believe the horse you are on, in
truth, belongs to me. Five years ago,
last autumn, a valuable horse was stolen
from my stable. Great search was made
for him; but no tidings ever came to
hand. In color, appearance, and move
mentS, he seems to be the exact counter
part of the one you are on. 1t would be
hardly possible, / think, for two to be so
near alike. But my horse was an un-
commonly intelligent, sagacious animal.
And | will make proposition to you,
that the result will be considered conclu-
sive and satisfactory, 1 think, to both of
US. We are within a mile ofmy residence
which is on the road, in the centre of the
village before us. When we arrive at nv
house, your horse shall be tied to the east
post in front Of my door. The horse 1
am on, to the west post. After standing
a short time, the bride of your horse
shall be taken off-and if he does not 90
TO a pair Of bars on the west side and
pass over and go around to the east side
Of the bars, and pull out pin, and open
5he middle stable door and enter, I will
not claim him. If he does [ will furnish
you conclusive evidence that he was bred
oy me but never sold-that he was stolen
rom me, just at the conclusion of the last
war, about the very time you say you
purchased him."
The traveller assented to the trial
rhe horse was hitched tosthe post as pro-
,osed, stood few minutes-the bride :
vas then taken of, he raised his head,
,ricked up his ears-looked up the street,
nd down the street, several times-then
and slowly walked past the
....-a n,,d oror tho harc and 70 the Sfa-