Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-27
WORLD FAMOUS STORIES
A FAMILY HORSE
BY FREDEICK S. COZZENS

Frederick swartwout .Cozzens, 1sls-1sss.
but certainly Just funny today as he
must have been to our ancestors)
The horse had been very cleverly
groomed. and looked pleasant under the
saddle. The man led him back and
forth before the door. The man said
he was the brother of the former
owner of the animal
There. squire, s as good boss as
ever stood on IRON"
I replied that he did seem to be
good-looking animal. I asked him if
he was good feeder.
was told that he was. "Of course"
said he, 'if your boss is off his feed he
amt good for nothfn'. But what's the
use," he added, "of me tellin' you the
p'ints of good boss? You're a boss
man, squire: you know"
sit seems to me-" said T, "there Is
something the matter with that left
eye"
mo. SIR" said he, and rapidly crook
ing his foref1nger at the suspected
organ, said, 'see thar-don't wink a
"But he should wink" replied.
mot onless his eye are weak" he
said.
To satisfy myself, asked the man
to let me take the bride. He did so,
and so soon as I took hold of it the
horse started of In remarkable retro
grade movement, dragging me with him
into my best bed of hybrid roses.
Finding we were trampling down all
the best plants, and that the more I
pulled the more he backed. I finally
let him have his own way, and damned
him stern-foremost into our largest
climbing rose, that had been all Sum-
mer prickling itself in order to look as
much like vegetable porcupine as
possible.
This unexpected bit of satire in the
rear Of the horse changed his retro
grade movement to a sidelong bound,
by which he fiirted off half the pots on
the balusters, upsetting my gladioli and
tuberoses in the pod, and leaving great
splashes of mold, geraniums and red
pottery in the gravel walk. BY this
time his owner had managed to give
him two pretty severe cuts with the
whip. which made him unmanageable,
SO I let him go. We had a pleasant
time catching him again. when he got
among the lima bean poles.
But his owner led him back with a
very self-satisfied expression. Playful,
amt he. Squire?"
I replied that I thought he was. and
asked him if it was usual for his horse
to play such pranks.
He said it was not. "You see, squire.
he feels his oats, and hain't been out
of the stable for a month. Use him,
and he's as kind as kitten"
With that he put his foot in the
stirrup and mounted. The animal
really looked very we'll as he moved
around the grass-lot, and. as Mrs. Spar
rowgrass seemed to fancy him, took
a written guarantee that he was sound.
and bought him. What gave for him
is a secret: I have not even told Mrs
SparrowgrasS.
There is one thing about early riding
In the country: you find out great
many things which perhaps YOU would
not have found out under ordinary cir
cumstances.
The first thing found was that my
horse had the heaVeS. / had been SO
wrapped up in the beauties Of the morn
ing that / had not observed what per-
haps everybody III that vicinity had OBJ
served, namely that the new horse had
been waking up all the sleepers on both
sides of the road with an asthmatiC
whistle of half-a-mile power.
My attention was called to the faci
by the village teamster, old DockWeed
who came banging after me in his empty
cart. shouting out my name as he came
"Sparrygrass. said he, as he cams
up that your hosp"
I replied that the horse was my prop
erty.
Got the heaves, amt he? Got EN-
bad" And the news spread over the
village before breakfast.
! was SO much ashamed that took g
roundabout road TO the stable and in
stead of coming home like fresh ant
gallant cavalier. on hard gallop,
walked my purchase to the stable ant
dismounted with a chastened spirit.
I had determined not to buy a car.
riage until I had thoroughly tested my
horse in harness. For this purpose
hired Rockaway carriage. Then put
Mrs Sparrowgrass and the young one:
in the double seats and took the ribbons
for a little drive. We had passee
Chicken Island and the famous hous'
with the stone gable and the one ston
chimney in which Gen. Washington hat
slept. as he made it point to sleep IL
every old stone house in the country
and had gone pretty far on the road
when Mrs. SparroWgrasS said suddenly
Dear, what is the matter with you
horse?"
1 had been talking to the children
with my back to the road ahead. WheT
I turned about, found the new horse
behaving in a most unaccountable man