Newspaper Page Text
OUR FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS.
No. I.—ANECDOTES of horses.
THR HORSE —MUSIC-LOVING HORSES —AN OLD HORSE
FED BY YOUNGER ONES —HOW A HORSE RUNG THE
bell OF JUSTICE —THE SAGACITY AND FIDELITY OF
THE HORSE.
(CAvF all animals,” says Mrs. Howitt, u devo-
I ted and trained to the service of man,
none take such rank as the horse, whether
fwe speak of his generous and useful qual
ities or the beauty and proportion of his
form. By comparing him with animals
either above or below him, we shall find that he
has the advantage. The ass, zebra, and their con
geners, for instance, are comparatively ill-made :
the head of the lion is disproportionately large ;
the limbs of the ox are too slender for the bulk of
his body; the camel and dromedary have a de
formed appearance; the giraffe has too long a
neck, while his head and hind-quarters are too
small, and the elephant, hippopotamus and rhi
nocerous look unshapely and clumsy. There pre
vails, on the contrary, in the horse a wonderful
harmony and proportion, and in this consists his
great beauty. He seems almost to have a con
sciousness of this general superiority by the very
carriage of his head, and his proud ability to re
gard man, as it were, face to face. The express
ion of his eye is open and intelligent, whilst the
sight is so acute that he can easily discover objects
in the dark ; his small, pointed and shapely ears
are erect, and capable of turning in every direc
tion, so that not a sound escapes him ; his nostril
is beautifully curved and full of expression, and
he has the singular property of breathing only
through his nostrils, not through the mouth, as
other animals. His appendages, inane and tail,
add to his beauty; the mane gives a character of
strength and courage, and the tail, with its long,
flowing hair, a fine finish to his form.”*
Horses are remarkably fond of musical sounds,
and it is said that the music of the bells sometimes
attached to draught horses, lightens their work, so
tiiat they are enabled to draw heavier loads than
without them ; and it is said that, in ancient times,
the Lybrin shepherds charmed and captured wild
horses by means of musical instruments.
In 1829, a gentleman was passing a pasture
where several horses belonging to the Duke of
Buccleuch were grazing. Having entered the
field, he tried to approach them, but being a stran
ger to them, they naturally retired before him,
when he began to play upon a small instrument
called a mouth-aeolian harp. On hearing this, for
the hearing of the horse is wonderfully acute, they
immediately raised their heads and turned to
wards him. Again he played, and they approach
ed nearer; he retreated, and they followed him.
* Our Four-Footed Friends, by Mary Howitt, pp. 2<, 28.
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
Then, climbing over the paling into the adjoining
field, he again began to play, when one of the
horses, unable longer to resist the fascinating
sound, came up to him, and putting his mouth
close to his breast, appeared delighted with the
melodious sounds which he continued to produce.
The other horses seemed equally fascinated.
M. de Boussannelle, captain of cavalry in the
French army, mentions that a horse belonging to
his company being disabled by age from eating
his hay, or grinding his oats, was fed for two
months by two horses who ate with him. They
drew the hay out of the rack, chewed it, and put
it before their aged comrade, and in the same way
prepared for him his portion of oats.
Once upon a time a King who wished justice to
be done to all his people, had a bell put up, so
that any one who was injured by another might
ring it, when the King assembled the wise men,
that justice might be done. From long use, the
lower end of the rope was worn away, and a piece
of wild vine was fastened on to lengthen it
It so happened that a Knight had a noble horse,
which had served him long and well, but having
grown old and useless, was meanly and cruelly
turned out on the common to take care of himself.
Driven by hunger, the horse began biting at the
vine, when the bell rang out loud and clear ; and
lo! the wise men assembled, and finding that it
was a poor, half-starved horse that was sounding
the call, and thus asking for justice, though he
knew it not, examined into his case, and decreed
that the Knight, whom he had served in youth,
should feed and care for him in his old age.
And the King confirmed the decree, adding a
heavy fine if the Knight neglected his duty to the
faithful animal.
The following anecdote, related by Professor
Kugler, of Halle, proves both the sagacity and
fidelity of the horse : A friend of his, riding home
through a wood on a dark night, struck his head
against a branch of a tree and fell stunned to the
ground. The horse immediately returned to the
house they had left, and which was now closed,
the family having gone to bed. He pawed at the
door until someone rose and opened it, and then
turned about; and the man, wondering at the af
fair, followed him. The faithful and intelligent
animal led him to the place where his master lay
senseless.
A still more interesting incident occurred in
England : A little girl, the daughter ot a gentle
man in Warwickshire, playing on the bank of a
canal which run through his grounds, fell into the
water, and would in all probability have been
drowned had not a small pony, which had long
been kept in the family, plunged into the stream
and brought the child safely to land.
Here is an instance, related by Mr. Jesse, which
illustrates the horse’s sensibility and keen percep
tion of danger : A gentleman was riding a horse
one day in India, attended by a spaniel which had
long been its companion. The dog ran into some
tall grass, and presently came out crying and sha
king its head, when the horse, contrary to his usual
custom, not only avoided the dog, but showed the
utmost dread of his coming near him. Ihe dog
soon died, and upon examination it was found
that he had been bitten in the tongue by a venom
ous snake.
Kind Words and Good Deeds.
OW softly on the bruised heart
A word of kindness falls,
All ' l to fi le an d parched soul,
> The moist’ning tear-drop calls;
if they knew who walked the earth
Oiy 1 sorrow, grief and pain,
Qv The power a word of kindness hath,
’Twere paradise again.
The weakest and the poorest may
The simple pittance give,
And bid delight to withered hearts.
Return, again and live:
Oh, what is life, if love be lost?
If man’s unkind to man—
Or, what the heaven that waits beyond
This brief and mortal span ?
As stars upon the tranquil sea
in mimic glory shine,
So words of kindness in the heart
Reflect the source divine;
Oh, then be kind, whoe’er thou art,
That breathest mortal breath,
And it shall brighten all thy life,
And sweeten even death.
i
Written for Burke’s Weekly,
JACK DOBELL;
Or, A Boy’s Adventures in Texas.
A STORY FOR BOYS.
CHAPTER XXIII.
SWIM MIN <} A BAYOU N ARRO VV ESCAPE
FROM DROWNING, AND HAVERSACK LOST
NO SUPPER, BUT A GOOD BED MYSTE
RIOUS LAKE AND FOREST MEXICAN SOL
DI KIIS, EVIDENTLY RETREATING HEAVY
TIMBER —SWIMMING THE SAN BERNARD
—IN QUARTERS AGAIN, AND AN ADVEN
TURE.
S soon as I had eaten din
ncr I walked down to the
edge of the bayou, and
fmmf it looked so narrow that
I thought I could easily
swim it with my knapsack on my
shoulders; so I plunged in at once,
but when 1 got about midway the
Jy stream my knapsack unfortunately
turned. In an instant it was twist
ed around my neck by the strong and
rapid current, and I was dragged with it
like a stone to the bottom. I exerted
myself to the utmost to free myself from
it," without success, until I bethought
me of my butcher-knife. With great
difficulty I drew it out of the scabbard,
(for it seemed to me that everything had
got tangled up,) and cut the strap that
fastened the haversack to my neck. As
soon as I was freed from it, I rose to the
surface, puffing and blowing like a por
poise, and half-strangled with the water
I had involuntarily swallowed. I laceo
had already reached the opposite shore,
and was running up and down the bank
whining most dolorously, and making
every demonstration of his anxious con
cern" for my safety. I quickly reached
the shore myself, but, alas! I was com
pelled to leave my precious haver sack ?
169