The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-05-18


sudden snort, freed her foreleg I'm a
twinkling, the groom who held IL being
off his guard. And out like lightning
flashed both her heels. /. as 1 have
said, was at the side-clear. Not so
poor Lively. Both those terrible heels
caught him, the one on the forehead
the other somewhere on the left breast.
and down he went. with heavy thud.
l rushed forward and pulled him out
OF range of her heels. He was dead
weight-inert as "A baulk OF timber. The
wound I'm his forehead was a fearful
one, and his face was streaming with
blood. i hoped he was only stunned;
but, from the first moAaent. J. feared
something worse. The groom and car
ried him outside, and then the former
ran off for doctor, WIZ L bathed the =
poor fellows face and tried, in vain, 10
pour little. brandy between his clench-
ed teeth. lie did not revive. however,
remaining perfectly motionless and un-
conscious. When the doctor arrived and
had examined him. he shook his head.
Its a bod job" he tod US. THAT
kick on the forehead was pretty well
enough by itself. But there's "A worse
one here. just over the heart. Ip
afraid it's a settler for him, poor chap.
He may recover consciousness before
he goes of, tdonltthink So There's
nothing 10 be dOne-only TO make his
last moments as comfortable as we can.
See. his lips are moving now. He seems
TO be murmurlng. Perhaps he has some
last message To give
| bent down and put my ear close 10
his lips.
Thee - didn't - knoa, honey - thee
didn't knoa IL wur Lively"
This much / caught The rest was
incoherent. Then a sudden change
and that was all.
We had been so much occupied with
a.
a thought to Sulphur Match. by and
by however, ] returned TO her box. l
have never seen an animal in such
state. She was quiyering and moaning
as though I'm pain. And the expression
OF her face. You may laugh at me.
You may call me a fanciful idiot; but
Will say my say; and declare TO you
solemnly that no human countenance
ever expressed more acutely the agony
OF rsmorse and the anguish OF despair.
/ shall never forget that look.
And now l come to the last event Ii
befel next day, while the mare was out
at exercise. one OF the grooms was rid
ing her. She had started quietly en-
ough, but before long she was seized
with a sudden frenzy and bolted. The
groom had fine seat and strong pair
OF arms, and IL was seldom. indeed, that
any horse he bestrode got the better Of
H..
i'm language more foreible than refined:
The mare be'ave for orl the worl like
dam mad devil. she did and Satan
'isself couldn't ave 'eld er." He kept
his seat however. for awhile. until he
saw the object for which sulphur
Match was heading. About half mile
away. far 10 the left of the exercising
ground was a derelict gravel pit, up
wards OF twenty feet deep, the upper
edge of which was strongly fenced OF
with fiye-foot iron hurdles. Straight for
this the mare made in her headlong
course. Nearer and nearerl The groom
was horrOr~struck. He made one final
effort 10 check or turn the maddened
beast--in vain. So taking his one
chance. he slipped from the saddle and
rolled to earth. saving himself from
death at the cost OF a fractured collar
bone; while the mare bounded, riderless
forward.
She leapt. wildly. az the iron hurd-
les failed to clear them quite, but the
top rail broke with her weight. and she
went topping over. We found her aft
erwards at the bottom of the gravel
pit. with her back broken, stone dead.
So that is why sulphur Match did not
face the starter 1T tpsOm,
You ask me what / suggest to have
been the true explana ION of all this?
My answer is. that ! have told my
story as truthfully az | could
| propose. however. hypothesis.
Suppose sulphur Match had been hu-
NAN hoirg suuposing in such a charac-
ter she had met with such a death;
we'll there would have ben an inquest,
at which all the above facts would
have been elcited; medical evidence
would have been called; there would
have been sage comments on the part
of the coroner; knowing questions on
the part of the jury. and the verdict
would have run something In this way
That the deceased committed suicide
In a fit of temporary insanity. probably
preciptated by remorse at having un-
Intentionally killed her friend
And IL is odds there would have been
a rider somewhat on these lines:
That In the opinion OF the jury. the
relatives and friends of the deceased
are deserving of censure for not having
taken steps TO place one in whom in
herited melancholia was so apparent
under proper control
But shat hypothesis. perhaps. has lit
Tie bearIng on INC matter. For, you VIII
say. a man is man. and horse Is a
horse: and that makes all the difference
Does lt?-Lcndon Truth.