Year: 1874

ence.


II is probable that I should never
have bought horse if | had not been
Z strongly urged to do so by other per-
sons. | do not care great deal Tor
riding and driving. and if it ever did
occur to me that it would, perhaps, be
nice thing to have horse OF my own,
regarded the necessary expense as
much too great for the small amount OF
endowment which could be obtained
from the investment. 1t always seemed
to me to be much cheaper to hire a
horse at livery stable, if only an oc-
casional drive is desired; and | cling to
that theory yet. But everybody else
seemed to think that ought to own
horse. Mrs. Adeler was especially aux
ious about it, She insisted that we were
doing very we'll in the world, and she
did not see the use of having the means
if we were to live always as we did
when we were poor. She said she often
wanted to take drive along the river
road in the evening with the children,
and she frequently wished to visit her
friends in the country, but she couldn't
bear to go with strange horse OF which
she knew nothing.


My friends used to say, "Adeler, l
wonder you don't keep horse, and take
your family out sometimes )" AMP they
hammered away at the theme until |
actually began to feel as if the public
suspected me of being niggardly and
cruel tyrant, who hugged my gold to
my bosom, and gloated over the misery
of my wife and children--gloated be-
cause they couldn't have horse. Peo-
pie used to come down from the city to
see us, and, after examining the house
and garden, they would remark, every
charming very charming, indeed A
little paradise, in fact; but, Adeler,
why don't you buy horse?" | grad
ually grew nervous upon the subject,
and was tolerably well convinced that
there would never be perfect happiness
in my family till purchased steed OF
somekind. At last, Seusenderfor, who
lives next door to me, had a cream-col-
ored horse knocked down to him at one
of those auction sales which are known
ia the rural districts as "vandues."
And when saw Sensenlerfer drive past
the house every afternoon with that
cream-colored brute, and his family i'll
a dearborn-wagon, and observed how
he looked at us and smiled supercllious-
ly, as if he was thinking "there lives
miserable outcast who has no horse,
and who can't get one" determined
to purchase ut once.


have not bad much experience with
horses, but l found one whose appear
ance and gait pleased me, and ] was
particularly drawn toward him because
the man recommended him as being
urbane." I had heard many descrip-
tions of the points Of good horse, but
this was the first time ] had ever met
a horse whose most prominent charcter-
istic was urbanity. 1t seemed to me
that the quality was an excellent che,
and | made a bargain on the spot and
drove home.


"Mrs. Adeler," I said, as I exhibited
the purchase to her, " / do not think
this horse is very fast L do not regard
him as in the highest sense beautiful !;
he may even be deficient in wind his
tail certainly is short and l think [
can detect in his forelegs tendency to
spring too far forward at the knees !;
but, Mrs. Adeler, the horse is urbane.
The man said that his urbanity amoun-
ted to positive weakness, and that is
why bought him. II horse is not mr.
bane, my dear, it is useless, no matter
what it's merits in other respects


She said that had been her opinion
from early childhood.


81 do not care greatly, Mrs. Adcler,
for excessive speed. Give me a horse
which can proceed with merely toler-
able degree of celerity and L am con
tent. | could never comprehend why a
man whose horse can trot mile in two
minutes and forty seconds should be
made unhappy because another mans
horse trots the same distance one sec
ond sooner that is, OF course, suppos-
ing that they were not running for
money. One second of time never
makes any special difference to me, even
when am in hurry. What | want in
horse is not swiftness, but urbanity. /
would rather have kind-hearted horse,
like ours, than the most rapid trottor
with wicked disposition.


For while 1 enjoyed having horse,
and I felt glad l had bought him. 1t
seemed very pleasant to drive down by
the river bank upon pleasant evening,
with the cool breeze blowing in from
the country around beautiful with the
bright foliage of early autumn, with
green hedges and ripening crops. There
was Sufficient compensation for the
heat and wretchedness of the busy day
in this quiet journey over the level
road, and past the fragrant fields in the
early twilight and as we came home
amid the deepening shadows, we could
find pleasure in watching the schooners
far off in the channel fling out theil
lights, and we could see the rays stream
ing across the wide interval of rip,
pling surface, and moving weirdly and
strangely with the motion of the water


Sometimes, upon going ont, we would
overtake Sensendefer in his dearborn
and then it was felicitous to observe
how, when touched my horse with the
whip, the horse put his head down, ele
vated his abbreviated tail to horizon
tai position and left Sensendefer far be
hind, fogging his cream colored hors,
with such fury as would surely hav,
subjected him to the reproaches of til,
society for the prevention of cruelty t.
animals, ii that excellent organization
lad been present. Ny horse coult
achieve tolerably rapid gait when h
desired to do so. That fact made ex