178 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.

the horse, in return, scratched the greyhound’s back with his
teeth. On one occasion, when the groom had the pair out
for exercise, a large dog attacked the greyhound, bore him
to the ground, and seemed likely to worry him, when the
horse threw back his ears, rushed forward, seized the strange
_ dog by the back and flung him to a distance which the
animal did not deem it prudent to make less.”

The horse’s sympathy with his own kind must, however,
not pass without mention. Horses have been known to
masticate food for their toothless companions, an instance
being recorded by M. de Boussanelle, a cavalry officer, of a
horse belonging to his company who was fed for two months
in this way by the horses stationed on either side of him.
Whether the horses in the following case were actuated by
sympathy or fear, the story deserves to be retold for its
extreme pathos. When Sir John Moore’s soldiers embarked
after the battle of Corunna, orders were given that the troop
horses should be shot, rather than that they should fall into
the hands of the enemy. “These horses,” says Colonel Smith,
“witnessing their companions fall one after another, stood
trembling with fear, and by their piteous looks seemed to
implore mercy from the men who had been their riders, until
the duty imposed upon the dragoons who had been intrusted
with the execution of the order became unbearable, and the
men tumed away from the task with scalding tears: hence
the French obtained a considerable number unhurt, and
among them several belonging to officers who, rather than
destroy them, had left their faithful chargers with billets
attached recommending them to the kindness of the enemy.”

The Ass, The ass is an animal which seems to pe more
than ordinarily affected by its surroundings and treatment.
In eastern countries where it is well cared for, and employed
in the service of the rich, it rises to the occasion and becomes
‘both graceful and spirited in action and elegant and refined
in appearance: in the west where it is discarded for the sake