The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-01-18
prutus allowed himself to be saddled.

Brutus allowed himself to be saddled,
bridled and mounted as horse who
knew his work, and we started quietly
together, the best friends possible. He
had beautiful mouth, and answered to
every turn of the rein,-arching his neck
and champing his bit. His PAGES were
perfect. He began by slow measured
canter, raising his feet very high, and
letting them fall with the regularity of
pendulum. / tried him at a trot and
short gallop, but when sought to
quicken his pace he began to amble in
grand style. "Ah," said I; :" L see how
it is have bought an old horse out of
the cavalry riding school at Saumur."
/ was about to tnrn homeward, salts
fed with the talents of Brutus, when a
shot was heard short distance off. 1t
was one of my keepers firing at a rabbit,
for which shot be it said, en- PEASANT, he
afterward received a handsome present
from my wife. was then exactly in the
center of an open space where six long,
green roads met. On hearing the shot
Brutus stopped short, and put his ears
| forward in an attitude of attention. /
was surprised to see him so impression
able. After the brilliant military educa-
ton 1 assumed he had received in his
youth, he must be we'll accustomed to
the report of n gun. / pressed my
knees against him TO make him move on,
but Brutus would not stir. tried to
back him, to make him turn to the right
or to the left, but in vain. [ made him
feel my riding-whip, but still he was i'm
movable. Brutus was not to be dis
placed; and yet-do not smile, for mine
is true history-each time l urged him
to move the horse turned his head rouLd,
and gazed upon me with an eye express
sive of impotence and surprise, and then
relapsed into his motionless attitude.
There was evidently some misunder-
standing between me and my horse. /
saw it in his eyes. Brutus was saying as
plainly as he could without speech, 81,
horse, do what l ought to do and you,
horseman, do not perform your part.
was more puzzled than embarrassed.
"What a strange horse Cheri has sold
me !! and why does he look upon me in
such a way" ] was about to proceed to
extremities and administer to him good
thrashing, when another shot was fired.
The horse then made one bound. /
thought L had gained my point, and
again tried to start him, but in vain. He
stopped short, and planted himself more
resolutely than ever. then got into a
rage, and my riding entered into
play; took it in both hands, and struck
the horse right and left. But Brutus,
too, lost patience, and, finding passive
resistance unavailing, defended himself
by rearing, kicking and plunging; and,
in the midst of the battle, while the
horse capered and kicked, and l, exas-
perated, was fogging him with the
loaded butt-end of my broken whip,
Brutus, nevertheless, found time to look
at me, not only with impotence and
surprise, but with rage and indignation.
While l required of the horse the obe-
dience he refused, he, on his part, was
expecting of me something did not do
How did this end9 To my shame be
it spoken, / was relentlessly and dis
gracefully unseated. Brutus saw there
was to be nothing gained by violence,
so Judged it necessary to employ malice.
After a moments pause, evidently
passed in reflection, the horse put down
his head and stood upright on his fore
legs with the address and equilibrium of
clown upon his hands. / was, conse-
quently, deposited upon the sand, which,
fortunately, happened to be rather thick
in the place where fell.
tried to raise myself, but cried out
and fell stretched with my face toward
the ground. / felt as if knife were
sticking in my left leg. The hurt did
not prove serious-the swapping of one
of the small tendons-but not the less
painful. succeeded, however, in turn
ing myself, and sat down; but while 1
was rubbing my eyes, which were filed
with sand, / saw the great foot of
a horse descend gently upon my head,
and again extend me on my back.
then felt quite disheartened, and was
Illuminating in my mind what this strange
horse could be, when L felt quantity of
sand strike me in the face. 1 opened
my eyes and saw Brutus throwing up
the dust with both fore and hind feet,
trying to bury me- This lasted for sew
eral minutes, when, apparently thinking
me sufficiently inferred, Brutus knelt by
my grave, and then galloped around me,
describing perfect circle. called out
to him to stop. He appeared to be en-
barrassed but seeing my hat, which had
been separated from me in the fall, he
took it between his teeth, and galloped
down one of the green paths out OF
sight.
I was left alone. / shook off the sand
which covered me, and with my arm and
right le9-my left could not move
dragged myself to bushy bank, where
1 seated myself, and shouted with all
my might for assistance. But no an
swer the wood was perfectly silent and
deserted.
remained alone in this wretched con-
dition above half an hour, when 1 saw
Brutus in the distance, returning by the
same road by which he went, enveloped
in cloud of dust. Gradually, as it
cleared away, saw little carriage APP
proaching-a pony chaise-and in the
pony-chaise lady, who drove it, with a
small groom in the seat behind.
A few instants after Brutus arrived
covered with foam. He stopped before