spirit, she strained herself to the utmost; she came in with the first
three horses, but her wind was touched, besides which he was too heavy
for her, and her back was strained. And so, she said, here we are,
ruined in the prime of our youth and strength, you by a drunkard, and I
by a fool; it is very hard. We both felt in ourselves that we were not
what we had been. However, that did not spoil the pleasure we had in
each other's company; we did not gallop about as we once did, but we
used to feed, and lie down together, and stand for hours under one
of the shady lime-trees with our heads close to each other; and so we
passed our time till the family returned from town.
One day we saw the earl come into the meadow, and York was with him.
Seeing who it was, we stood still under our lime-tree, and let them come
up to us. They examined us carefully. The earl seemed much annoyed.
There is three hundred pounds flung away for no earthly use, said he;
but what I care most for is that these horses of my old friend, who
thought they would find a good home with me, are ruined. The mare shall
have a twelve-month's run, and we shall see what that will do for her;
but the black one, he must be sold; 'tis a great pity, but I could not
have knees like these in my stables.
No, my lord, of course not, said York; but he might get a place where
appearance is not of much consequence, and still be well treated. I know
a man in Bath, the master of some livery stables, who often wants a
good horse at a low figure; I know he looks well after his horses.
The inquest cleared the horse's character, and your lordship's
recommendation, or mine, would be sufficient warrant for him.
You had better write to him, York. I should be more particular about
the place than the money he would fetch.
After this they left us.
They'll soon take you away, said Ginger, and I shall lose the only
friend I have, and most likely we shall never see each other again. 'Tis
a hard world!
About a week after this Robert came into the field with a halter, which
he slipped over my head, and led me away. There was no leave-taking
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