59 files changed, 3342 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/23030-8.txt b/23030-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c503be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1072 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Buying a Horse, by William Dean Howells
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Buying a Horse
+
+Author: William Dean Howells
+
+Release Date: October 14, 2007 [EBook #23030]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUYING A HORSE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                            BUYING A HORSE
+
+                       BY WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS
+
+
+
+
+BOSTON AND NEW YORK
+HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
+
+_The Riverside Press Cambridge_
+1916
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1879
+BY HOUGHTON, OSGOOD & CO.
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1916
+BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+BUYING A HORSE
+
+
+If one has money enough, there seems no reason why one should not go and
+buy such a horse as he wants. This is the commonly accepted theory, on
+which the whole commerce in horses is founded, and on which my friend
+proceeded.
+
+He was about removing from Charlesbridge, where he had lived many happy
+years without a horse, farther into the country, where there were
+charming drives and inconvenient distances, and where a horse would be
+very desirable, if not quite necessary. But as a horse seemed at first
+an extravagant if not sinful desire, he began by talking vaguely round,
+and rather hinting than declaring that he thought somewhat of buying.
+The professor to whom he first intimated his purpose flung himself from
+his horse's back to the grassy border of the sidewalk where my friend
+stood, and said he would give him a few points. "In the first place
+don't buy a horse that shows much daylight under him, unless you buy a
+horse-doctor _with_ him; get a short-legged horse; and he ought to be
+short and thick in the barrel,"--or words to that effect. "Don't get a
+horse with a narrow forehead: there are horse-fools as well as the other
+kind, and you want a horse with room for brains. And look out that he's
+_all right forward_."
+
+"What's that?" asked my friend, hearing this phrase for the first time.
+
+"That he isn't tender in his fore-feet,--that the hoof isn't
+contracted," said the professor, pointing out the well-planted foot of
+his own animal.
+
+"What ought I to pay for a horse?" pursued my friend, struggling to fix
+the points given by the professor in a mind hitherto unused to points of
+the kind.
+
+"Well, horses are cheap, now; and you ought to get a fair family
+horse--You want a family horse?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Something you can ride and drive both? Something your children can
+drive?"
+
+"Yes, yes."
+
+"Well, you ought to get such a horse as that for a hundred and
+twenty-five dollars."
+
+This was the figure my friend had thought of; he drew a breath of
+relief. "Where did you buy your horse?"
+
+"Oh, I always get my horses"--the plural abashed my friend--"at the
+Chevaliers'. If you throw yourself on their mercy, they'll treat you
+well. I'll send you a note to them."
+
+"Do!" cried my friend, as the professor sprang upon his horse, and
+galloped away.
+
+My friend walked home encouraged; his purpose of buying a horse had not
+seemed so monstrous, at least to this hardened offender. He now began to
+announce it more boldly; he said right and left that he wished to buy a
+horse, but that he would not go above a hundred. This was not true, but
+he wished to act prudently, and to pay a hundred and twenty-five only in
+extremity. He carried the professor's note to the Chevaliers', who duly
+honored it, understood at once what my friend wanted, and said they
+would look out for him. They were sorry he had not happened in a little
+sooner,--they had just sold the very horse he wanted. I may as well say
+here that they were not able to find him a horse, but that they used him
+with the strictest honor, and that short of supplying his want they were
+perfect.
+
+In the mean time the irregular dealers began to descend upon him, as
+well as amateurs to whom he had mentioned his wish for a horse, and his
+premises at certain hours of the morning presented the effect of a
+horse-fair, or say rather a museum of equine bricabrac. At first he
+blushed at the spectacle, but he soon became hardened to it, and liked
+the excitement of driving one horse after another round the block, and
+deciding upon him. To a horse, they had none of the qualities commended
+by the professor, but they had many others which the dealers praised.
+These persons were not discouraged when he refused to buy, but
+cheerfully returned the next day with others differently ruinous. They
+were men of a spirit more obliging than my friend has found in other
+walks. One of them, who paid him a prefatory visit in his library, in
+five minutes augmented from six to seven hundred and fifty pounds the
+weight of a pony-horse, which he wished to sell. ("What you want," said
+the Chevaliers, "is a pony-horse," and my friend, gratefully catching at
+the phrase, had gone about saying he wanted a pony-horse. After that,
+hulking brutes of from eleven to thirteen hundred pounds were every day
+brought to him as pony-horses.) The same dealer came another day with a
+mustang, in whom was no fault, and who had every appearance of speed,
+but who was only marking time as it is called in military drill, I
+believe, when he seemed to be getting swiftly over the ground; he showed
+a sociable preference for the curbstone in turning corners, and was
+condemned, to be replaced the next evening by a pony-horse that a child
+might ride or drive, and that especially would not shy. Upon experiment,
+he shied half across the road, and the fact was reported to the dealer.
+He smiled compassionately. "What did he shy _at_?"
+
+"A wheelbarrow."
+
+"Well! I never see the hoss _yet_ that _wouldn't_ shy at a wheelbarrow."
+
+My friend owned that a wheelbarrow was of an alarming presence, but he
+had his reserves respecting the self-control and intelligence of this
+pony-horse. The dealer amiably withdrew him, and said that he would
+bring next day a horse--if he could get the owner to part with a family
+pet--that _would_ suit; but upon investigation it appeared that this
+treasure was what is called a calico-horse, and my friend, who was
+without the ambition to figure in the popular eye as a stray
+circus-rider, declined to see him.
+
+These adventurous spirits were not squeamish. They thrust their hands
+into the lathery mouths of their brutes to show the state of their
+teeth, and wiped their fingers on their trousers or grass afterwards,
+without a tremor, though my friend could never forbear a shudder at the
+sight. If sometimes they came with a desirable animal, the price was far
+beyond his modest figure; but generally they seemed to think that he did
+not want a desirable animal. In most cases, the pony-horse pronounced
+sentence upon himself by some gross and ridiculous blemish; but
+sometimes my friend failed to hit upon any tenable excuse for refusing
+him. In such an event, he would say, with an air of easy and candid
+comradery, "Well, now, what's the matter with him?" And then the dealer,
+passing his hand down one of the pony-horse's fore-legs, would respond,
+with an upward glance of searching inquiry at my friend, "Well, he's a
+leetle mite tender for'a'd."
+
+I am afraid my friend grew to have a cruel pleasure in forcing them to
+this exposure of the truth; but he excused himself upon the ground that
+they never expected him to be alarmed at this tenderness forward, and
+that their truth was not a tribute to virtue, but was contempt of his
+ignorance. Nevertheless, it was truth; and he felt that it must be his
+part thereafter to confute the common belief that there is no truth in
+horse-trades.
+
+These people were not usually the owners of the horses they brought, but
+the emissaries or agents of the owners. Often they came merely to show a
+horse, and were not at all sure that his owner would part with him on
+any terms, as he was a favorite with the ladies of the family. An
+impenetrable mystery hung about the owner, through which he sometimes
+dimly loomed as a gentleman in failing health, who had to give up his
+daily drives, and had no use for the horse. There were cases in which
+the dealer came secretly, from pure zeal, to show a horse whose owner
+supposed him still in the stable, and who must be taken back before his
+absence was noticed. If my friend insisted upon knowing the owner and
+conferring with him, in any of these instances, it was darkly admitted
+that he was a gentleman in the livery business over in Somerville or
+down in the Lower Port. Truth, it seemed, might be absent or present in
+a horse-trade, but mystery was essential.
+
+The dealers had a jargon of their own, in which my friend became an
+expert. They did not say that a horse weighed a thousand pounds, but ten
+hundred; he was not worth a hundred and twenty-five dollars, but one and
+a quarter; he was not going on seven years old, but was coming seven.
+There are curious facts, by the way, in regard to the age of horses
+which are not generally known. A horse is never of an even age: that is,
+he is not six, or eight, or ten, but five, or seven, or nine years old;
+he is sometimes, but not often, eleven; he is _never_ thirteen; his
+favorite time of life is seven, and he rarely gets beyond it, if on
+sale. My friend found the number of horses brought into the world in
+1871 quite beyond computation.
+
+He also found that most hard-working horses were sick or ailing, as most
+hard-working men and women are; that perfectly sound horses are as rare
+as perfectly sound human beings, and are apt, like the latter, to be
+vicious.
+
+He began to have a quick eye for the characteristics of horses, and
+could walk round a proffered animal and scan his points with the best.
+"What," he would ask, of a given beast, "makes him let his lower lip
+hang down in that imbecile manner?"
+
+"Oh, he's got a parrot-mouth. Some folks like 'em." Here the dealer
+would pull open the creature's flabby lips, and discover a beak like
+that of a polyp; and the cleansing process on the grass or trousers
+would take place.
+
+Of another. "What makes him trot in that spread-out, squatty way,
+behind?" he demanded, after the usual tour of the block.
+
+"He travels wide. Horse men prefer that."
+
+They preferred any ugliness or awkwardness in a horse to the opposite
+grace or charm, and all that my friend could urge, in meek withdrawal
+from negotiation, was that he was not of an educated taste. In the
+course of long talks, which frequently took the form of warnings, he
+became wise in the tricks practiced by all dealers except his
+interlocutor. One of these, a device for restoring youth to an animal
+nearing the dangerous limit of eleven, struck him as peculiarly
+ingenious. You pierce the forehead, and blow into it with a quill; this
+gives an agreeable fullness, and erects the drooping ears in a spirited
+and mettlesome manner, so that a horse coming eleven will look for a
+time as if he were coming five.
+
+After a thorough course of the volunteer dealers, and after haunting the
+Chevaliers' stables for several weeks, my friend found that not money
+alone was needed to buy a horse. The affair began to wear a sinister
+aspect. He had an uneasy fear that in several cases he had refused the
+very horse he wanted with the _aplomb_ he had acquired in dismissing
+undesirable beasts. The fact was he knew less about horses than when he
+began to buy, while he had indefinitely enlarged his idle knowledge of
+men, of their fatuity and hollowness. He learned that men whom he had
+always envied their brilliant omniscience in regard to horses, as they
+drove him out behind their dashing trotters, were quite ignorant and
+helpless in the art of buying; they always got somebody else to buy
+their horses for them. "Find a man you can trust," they said, "and then
+put yourself in his hands. And _never_ trust anybody about the health of
+a horse. Take him to a veterinary surgeon, and have him go all over
+him."
+
+My friend grew sardonic; then he grew melancholy and haggard. There was
+something very strange in the fact that a person unattainted of crime,
+and not morally disabled in any known way, could not take his money and
+buy such a horse as he wanted with it. His acquaintance began to
+recommend men to him. "If you want a horse, Captain Jenks is your man."
+"Why don't you go to Major Snaffle? He'd take pleasure in it." But my
+friend, naturally reluctant to trouble others, and sickened by long
+failure, as well as maddened by the absurdity that if you wanted a horse
+you must first get a man, neglected this really good advice. He lost his
+interest in the business, and dismissed with lack-lustre indifference
+the horses which continued to be brought to his gate. He felt that his
+position before the community was becoming notorious and ridiculous. He
+slept badly; his long endeavor for a horse ended in nightmares.
+
+One day he said to a gentleman whose turn-out he had long admired, "I
+wonder if you couldn't find me a horse!"
+
+"Want a horse?"
+
+"Want a horse! I thought my need was known beyond the sun. I thought my
+want of a horse was branded on my forehead."
+
+This gentleman laughed, and then he said, "I've just seen a mare that
+would suit you. I thought of buying her, but I want a match, and this
+mare is too small. She'll be round here in fifteen minutes, and I'll
+take you out with her. Can you wait?"
+
+"Wait!" My friend laughed in his turn.
+
+The mare dashed up before the fifteen minutes had passed. She was
+beautiful, black as a coal; and kind as a kitten, said her driver. My
+friend thought her head was rather big. "Why, yes, she's a _pony_-horse;
+that's what I like about her."
+
+She trotted off wonderfully, and my friend felt that the thing was now
+done.
+
+The gentleman, who was driving, laid his head on one side, and listened.
+"Clicks, don't she?"
+
+"She _does_ click," said my friend obligingly.
+
+"Hear it?" asked the gentleman.
+
+"Well, if you ask me," said my friend, "I _don't_ hear it. What _is_
+clicking?"
+
+"Oh, striking the heel of her fore-foot with the toe of her hind-foot.
+Sometimes it comes from bad shoeing. Some people like it. I don't
+myself." After a while he added, "If you can get this mare for a hundred
+and twenty-five, you'd better buy her."
+
+"Well, I will," said my friend. He would have bought her, in fact, if
+she had clicked like a noiseless sewing-machine. But the owner, remote
+as Medford, and invisibly dealing, as usual, through a third person,
+would not sell her for one and a quarter; he wanted one and a half.
+Besides, another Party was trying to get her; and now ensued a
+negotiation which for intricacy and mystery surpassed all the others. It
+was conducted in my friend's interest by one who had the difficult task
+of keeping the owner's imagination in check and his demands within
+bounds, for it soon appeared that he wanted even more than one and a
+half for her. Unseen and inaccessible, he grew every day more
+unmanageable. He entered into relations with the other Party, and it all
+ended in his sending her out one day after my friend had gone into the
+country, and requiring him to say at once that he would give one and a
+half. He was not at home, and he never saw the little mare again. This
+confirmed him in the belief that she was the very horse he ought to have
+had.
+
+People had now begun to say to him, "Why don't you advertise? Advertise
+for a gentleman's pony-horse and phaeton and harness complete. You'll
+have a perfect procession of them before night." This proved true. His
+advertisement, mystically worded after the fashion of those things,
+found abundant response. But the establishments which he would have
+taken he could not get at the figure he had set, and those which his
+money would buy he would not have. They came at all hours of the day;
+and he never returned home after an an absence without meeting the
+reproach that _now_ the very horse he wanted had just been driven away,
+and would not be brought back, as his owner lived in Billerica, and only
+happened to be down. A few equipages really appeared desirable, but in
+regard to these his jaded faculties refused to work: he could decide
+nothing; his volition was extinct; he let them come and go.
+
+It was at this period that people who had at first been surprised that
+he wished to buy a horse came to believe that he had bought one, and
+were astonished to learn that he had not. He felt the pressure of public
+opinion.
+
+He began to haunt the different sale-stables in town, and to look at
+horses with a view to buying at private sale. Every facility for testing
+them was offered him, but he could not make up his mind. In feeble
+wantonness he gave appointments which he knew he should not keep, and,
+passing his days in an agony of multitudinous indecision, he added to
+the lies in the world the hideous sum of his broken engagements. From
+time to time he forlornly appeared at the Chevaliers', and refreshed his
+corrupted nature by contact with their sterling integrity. Once he
+ventured into their establishment just before an auction began, and
+remained dazzled by the splendor of a spectacle which I fancy can be
+paralleled only by some dream of a medi�val tournament. The horses,
+brilliantly harnessed, accurately shod, and standing tall on burnished
+hooves, their necks curved by the check rein and their black and blonde
+manes flowing over the proud arch, lustrous and wrinkled like satin,
+were ranged in a glittering hemicycle. They affected my friend like the
+youth and beauty of his earliest evening parties; he experienced a sense
+of bashfulness, of sickening personal demerit. He could not have had the
+audacity to bid on one of those superb creatures, if all the Chevaliers
+together had whispered him that here at last was the very horse.
+
+I pass over an unprofitable interval in which he abandoned himself to
+despair, and really gave up the hope of being able ever to buy a horse.
+During this interval he removed from Charlesbridge to the country, and
+found himself, to his self-scorn and self-pity, actually reduced to
+hiring a livery horse by the day. But relief was at hand. The carpenter
+who had remained to finish up the new house after my friend had gone
+into it bethought himself of a firm in his place who brought on horses
+from the West, and had the practice of selling a horse on trial, and
+constantly replacing it with other horses till the purchaser was suited.
+This seemed an ideal arrangement, and the carpenter said that he
+_thought_ they had the very horse my friend wanted.
+
+The next day he drove him up, and upon the plan of successive exchanges
+till the perfect horse was reached, my friend bought him for one and a
+quarter, the figure which he had kept in mind from the first. He bought
+a phaeton and harness from the same people, and when the whole equipage
+stood at his door, he felt the long-delayed thrill of pride and
+satisfaction. The horse was of the Morgan breed, a bright bay, small and
+round and neat, with a little head tossed high, and a gentle yet alert
+movement. He was in the prime of youth, of the age of which every horse
+desires to be, and was just coming seven. My friend had already taken
+him to a horse-doctor, who for one dollar had gone all over him, and
+pronounced him sound as a fish, and complimented his new owner upon his
+acquisition. It all seemed too good to be true. As Billy turned his soft
+eye on the admiring family group, and suffered one of the children to
+smooth his nose while another held a lump of sugar to his dainty lips,
+his amiable behavior restored my friend to his peace of mind and his
+long-lost faith in a world of reason.
+
+The ridiculous planet, wavering bat-like through space, on which it had
+been impossible for an innocent man to buy a suitable horse was a dream
+of the past, and he had the solid, sensible old earth under his feet
+once more. He mounted into the phaeton and drove off with his wife; he
+returned and gave each of the children a drive in succession. He told
+them that any of them could drive Billy as much as they liked, and he
+quieted a clamor for exclusive ownership on the part of each by
+declaring that Billy belonged to the whole family. To this day he cannot
+look back to those moments without tenderness. If Billy had any apparent
+fault, it was an amiable indolence. But this made him all the safer for
+the children, and it did not really amount to laziness. While on sale he
+had been driven in a provision cart, and had therefore the habit of
+standing unhitched. One had merely to fling the reins into the bottom of
+the phaeton and leave Billy to his own custody. His other habit of
+drawing up at kitchen gates was not confirmed, and the fact that he
+stumbled on his way to the doctor who pronounced him blameless was
+reasonably attributed to a loose stone at the foot of the hill; the
+misstep resulted in a barked shin, but a little wheel-grease, in a horse
+of Billy's complexion, easily removed the evidence of this.
+
+It was natural that after Billy was bought and paid for, several
+extremely desirable horses should be offered to my friend by their
+owners, who came in person, stripped of all the adventitious mystery of
+agents and middle-men. They were gentlemen, and they spoke the English
+habitual with persons not corrupted by horses. My friend saw them come
+and go with grief; for he did not like to be shaken in his belief that
+Billy was the only horse in the world for him, and he would have liked
+to purchase their animals, if only to show his appreciation of honor and
+frankness and sane language. Yet he was consoled by the possession of
+Billy, whom he found increasingly excellent and trustworthy. Any of the
+family drove him about; he stood unhitched; he was not afraid of cars;
+he was as kind as a kitten; he had not, as the neighboring coachman
+said, a voice, though he seemed a little loively in coming out of the
+stable sometimes. He went well under the saddle; he was a beauty, and if
+he had a voice, it was too great satisfaction in his personal
+appearance.
+
+One evening after tea, the young gentleman, who was about to drive Billy
+out, stung by the reflection that he had not taken blackberries and
+cream twice, ran into the house to repair the omission, and left Billy,
+as usual, unhitched at the door. During his absence, Billy caught sight
+of his stable, and involuntarily moved towards it. Finding himself
+unchecked, he gently increased his pace; and when my friend, looking up
+from the melon-patch which he was admiring, called out, "Ho, Billy!
+Whoa, Billy!" and headed him off from the gap, Billy profited by the
+circumstance to turn into the pear orchard. The elastic turf under his
+unguided hoof seemed to exhilarate him; his pace became a trot, a
+canter, a gallop, a tornado; the reins fluttered like ribbons in the
+air; the phaeton flew ruining after. In a terrible cyclone the equipage
+swept round the neighbor's house, vanished, reappeared, swooped down his
+lawn, and vanished again. It was incredible.
+
+My friend stood transfixed among his melons. He knew that his neighbor's
+children played under the porte-coch�re on the other side of the house
+which Billy had just surrounded in his flight, and probably.... My
+friend's first impulse was not to go and see, but to walk into his own
+house, and ignore the whole affair. But you cannot really ignore an
+affair of that kind. You must face it, and commonly it stares you out of
+countenance. Commonly, too, it knows how to choose its time so as to
+disgrace as well as crush its victim. His neighbor had people to tea,
+and long before my friend reached the house the host and his guests were
+all out on the lawn, having taken the precaution to bring their napkins
+with them.
+
+"The children!" gasped my friend.
+
+"Oh, they were all in bed," said the neighbor, and he began to laugh.
+That was right; my friend would have mocked at the calamity if it had
+been his neighbor's. "Let us go and look up your phaeton." He put his
+hand on the naked flank of a fine young elm, from which the bark had
+just been stripped. "Billy seems to have passed this way."
+
+At the foot of a stone-wall four feet high lay the phaeton, with three
+wheels in the air, and the fourth crushed flat against the axle; the
+willow back was broken, the shafts were pulled out, and Billy was gone.
+
+"Good thing there was nobody in it," said the neighbor.
+
+"Good thing it didn't run down some Irish family, and get you in for
+damages," said a guest.
+
+It appeared, then, that there were two good things about this disaster.
+My friend had not thought there were so many, but while he rejoiced in
+this fact, he rebelled at the notion that a sorrow like that rendered
+the sufferer in any event liable for damages, and he resolved that he
+never would have paid them. But probably he would.
+
+Some half-grown boys got the phaeton right-side up, and restored its
+shafts and cushions, and it limped away with them towards the
+carriage-house. Presently another half-grown boy came riding Billy up
+the hill. Billy showed an inflated nostril and an excited eye, but
+physically he was unharmed, save for a slight scratch on what was
+described as the off hind-leg; the reader may choose which leg this was.
+
+"The worst of it is," said the guest, "that you never can trust 'em
+after they've run off once."
+
+"Have some tea?" said the host to my friend.
+
+"No, thank you," said my friend, in whose heart the worst of it rankled;
+and he walked home embittered by his guilty consciousness that Billy
+ought never to have been left untied. But it was not this self-reproach;
+it was not the mutilated phaeton; it was not the loss of Billy, who must
+now be sold; it was the wreck of settled hopes, the renewed suspense of
+faith, the repetition of the tragical farce of buying another horse,
+that most grieved my friend.
+
+Billy's former owners made a feint of supplying other horses in his
+place, but the only horse supplied was an aged veteran with the
+scratches, who must have come seven early in our era, and who, from his
+habit of getting about on tiptoe, must have been tender for'a'd beyond
+anything of my friend's previous experience. Probably if he could have
+waited they might have replaced Billy in time, but their next
+installment from the West produced nothing suited to his wants but a
+horse with the presence and carriage of a pig, and he preferred to let
+them sell Billy for what he would bring, and to trust his fate
+elsewhere. Billy had fallen nearly one half in value, and he brought
+very little--to his owner; though the new purchaser was afterwards
+reported to value him at much more than what my friend had paid for him.
+These things are really mysteries; you cannot fathom them; it is idle to
+try. My friend remained grieving over his own folly and carelessness,
+with a fond hankering for the poor little horse he had lost, and the
+belief that he should never find such another. Yet he was not without a
+philanthropist's consolation. He had added to the stock of harmless
+pleasures in a degree of which he could not have dreamed. All his
+acquaintance knew that he had bought a horse, and they all seemed now to
+conspire in asking him how he got on with it. He was forced to confess
+the truth. On hearing it, his friends burst into shouts of laughter, and
+smote their persons, and stayed themselves against lamp-posts and
+house-walls. They begged his pardon, and then they began again, and
+shouted and roared anew. Since the gale which blew down the poet ----'s
+chimneys and put him to the expense of rebuilding them, no joke so
+generally satisfactory had been offered to the community. My friend had,
+in his time, achieved the reputation of a wit by going about and and
+saying, "Did you know ----'s chimneys had blown down?" and he had now
+himself the pleasure of causing the like quality of wit in others.
+
+Having abandoned the hope of getting anything out of the people who had
+sold him Billy, he was for a time the prey of an inert despair, in which
+he had not even spirit to repine at the disorder of a universe in which
+he could not find a horse. No horses were now offered to him, for it had
+become known throughout the trade that he had bought a horse. He had
+therefore to set about counteracting this impression with what feeble
+powers were left him. Of the facts of that period he remembers with
+confusion and remorse the trouble to which he put the owner of the
+pony-horse Pansy, whom he visited repeatedly in a neighboring town, at a
+loss of time and money to himself, and with no result but to embarrass
+Pansy's owner in his relations with people who had hired him and did not
+wish him sold. Something of the old baffling mystery hung over Pansy's
+whereabouts; he was with difficulty produced, and when _en evidence_ he
+was not the Pansy my friend had expected. He paltered with his regrets;
+he covered his disappointment with what pretenses he could; and he
+waited till he could telegraph back his adverse decision. His conclusion
+was that, next to proposing marriage, there was no transaction of life
+that involved so many delicate and complex relations as buying a horse,
+and that the rupture of a horse-trade was little less embarrassing and
+distressing to all concerned than a broken engagement. There was a
+terrible intimacy in the affair; it was alarmingly personal. He went
+about sorrowing for the pain and disappointment he had inflicted on many
+amiable people of all degrees who had tried to supply him with a horse.
+
+"Look here," said his neighbor, finding him in this low state, "why
+don't you get a horse of the gentleman who furnishes mine?" This had
+been suggested before, and my friend explained that he had disliked to
+make trouble. His scruples were lightly set aside, and he suffered
+himself to be entreated. The fact was he was so discouraged with his
+attempt to buy a horse that if any one had now given him such a horse as
+he wanted he would have taken it.
+
+One sunny, breezy morning his neighbor drove my friend over to the
+beautiful farm of the good genius on whose kindly offices he had now
+fixed his languid hopes. I need not say what the landscape was in
+mid-August, or how, as they drew near the farm, the air was enriched
+with the breath of vast orchards of early apples,--apples that no forced
+fingers rude shatter from their stems, but that ripen and mellow
+untouched, till they drop into the straw with which the orchard aisles
+are bedded; it is the poetry of horticulture; it is Art practicing the
+wise and gracious patience of Nature, and offering to the Market a
+Summer Sweeting of the Hesperides.
+
+The possessor of this luscious realm at once took my friend's case into
+consideration; he listened, the owner of a hundred horses, with gentle
+indulgence to the shapeless desires of a man whose wildest dream was
+_one_ horse. At the end he said, "I see you want a horse that can take
+care of himself."
+
+"No," replied my friend, with the inspiration of despair. "I want a
+horse that can take care of me."
+
+The good genius laughed, and turned the conversation. Neither he nor my
+friend's neighbor was a man of many words, and like taciturn people they
+talked in low tones. The three moved about the room and looked at the
+Hispano-Roman pictures; they had a glass of sherry; from time to time
+something was casually murmured about Frank. My friend felt that he was
+in good hands, and left the affair to them. It ended in a visit to the
+stable, where it appeared that this gentleman had no horse to sell among
+his hundred which exactly met my friend's want, but that he proposed to
+lend him Frank while a certain other animal was put in training for the
+difficult office he required of a horse. One of the men was sent for
+Frank, and in the mean time my friend was shown some gaunt and graceful
+thoroughbreds, and taught to see the difference between them and the
+plebeian horse. But Frank, though no thoroughbred, eclipsed these
+patricians when he came. He had a little head, and a neck gallantly
+arched; he was black and plump and smooth, and though he carried himself
+with a petted air, and was a dandy to the tips of his hooves, his
+knowing eye was kindly. He turned it upon my friend with the effect of
+understanding _his_ case at a glance.
+
+It was in this way that for the rest of the long, lovely summer peace
+was re-established in his heart. There was no question of buying or
+selling Frank; there were associations that endeared him beyond money to
+his owner; but my friend could take him without price. The situation had
+its humiliation for a man who had been arrogantly trying to buy a horse,
+but he submitted with grateful meekness, and with what grace Heaven
+granted him; and Frank gayly entered upon the peculiar duties of his
+position. His first duty was to upset all preconceived notions of the
+advantage of youth in a horse. Frank was not merely not coming seven or
+nine, but his age was an even number,--he was sixteen; and it was his
+owner's theory, which Frank supported, that if a horse was well used he
+was a good horse till twenty-five.
+
+The truth is that Frank looked like a young horse; he was a dandy
+without any of the ghastliness which attends the preservation of youth
+in old beaux of another species. When my friend drove him in the
+rehabilitated phaeton he felt that the turn-out was stylish, and he
+learned to consult certain eccentricities of Frank's in the satisfaction
+of his pride. One of these was a high reluctance to be passed on the
+road. Frank was as lazy a horse--but lazy in a self-respectful, �sthetic
+way--as ever was; yet if he heard a vehicle at no matter how great
+distance behind him (and he always heard it before his driver), he
+brightened with resolution and defiance, and struck out with speed that
+made competition difficult. If my friend found that the horse behind was
+likely to pass Frank, he made a merit of holding him in. If they met a
+team, he lay back in his phaeton, and affected not to care to be going
+faster than a walk, any way.
+
+One of the things for which he chiefly prized Frank was his skill in
+backing and turning. He is one of those men who become greatly perturbed
+when required to back and turn a vehicle; he cannot tell (till too late)
+whether he ought to pull the right rein in order to back to the left, or
+_vice versa_; he knows, indeed, the principle, but he becomes paralyzed
+in its application. Frank never was embarrassed, never confused. My
+friend had but to say, "Back, Frank!" and Frank knew from the nature of
+the ground how far to back and which way to turn. He has thus extricated
+my friend from positions in which it appeared to him that no earthly
+power could relieve him.
+
+In going up hill Frank knew just when to give himself a rest, and at
+what moment to join the party in looking about and enjoying the
+prospect. He was also an adept in scratching off flies, and had a
+precision in reaching an insect anywhere in his van with one of his rear
+hooves which few of us attain in slapping mosquitoes. This action
+sometimes disquieted persons in the phaeton, but Frank knew perfectly
+well what he was about, and if harm had happened to the people under his
+charge my friend was sure that Frank could have done anything short of
+applying arnica and telegraphing to their friends. His varied knowledge
+of life and his long experience had satisfied him that there were very
+few things to be afraid of in this world. Such womanish weaknesses as
+shying and starting were far from him, and he regarded the boisterous
+behavior of locomotives with indifference. He had not, indeed, the
+virtue of one horse offered to my friend's purchase, of standing,
+unmoved, with his nose against a passing express train; but he was
+certainly not afraid of the cars.
+
+Frank was by no means what Mr. Emerson calls a mush of concession; he
+was not merely amiable; he had his moments of self-assertion, his
+touches of asperity. It was not safe to pat his nose, like the erring
+Billy's; he was apt to bring his handsome teeth together in proximity to
+the caressing hand with a sharp click and a sarcastic grin. Not that he
+ever did, or ever would really bite. So, too, when left to stand long
+under fly-haunted cover, he would start off afterwards with alarming
+vehemence; and he objected to the saddle. On the only occasion when any
+of my friend's family mounted him, he trotted gayly over the grass
+towards the house, with the young gentleman on his back; then, without
+warning, he stopped short, a slight tremor appeared to pass over him,
+and his rider continued the excursion some ten feet farther, alighting
+lump-wise on a bunch of soft turf which Frank had selected for his
+reception.
+
+The summer passed, and in the comfort of Frank's possession my friend
+had almost abandoned the idea of ever returning him to his owner. He had
+thoughts of making the loan permanent, as something on the whole
+preferable to a purchase. The drives continued quite into December, over
+roads as smooth and hard as any in June, and the air was delicious. The
+first snow brought the suggestion of sleighing; but that cold weather
+about Christmas dispersed these gay thoughts, and restored my friend to
+virtue. Word came from the stable that Frank's legs were swelling from
+standing so long without going out, and my friend resolved to part with
+an animal for which he had no use. I do not praise him for this; it was
+no more than his duty; but I record his action in order to account for
+the fact that he is again without a horse, and now, with the opening of
+the fine weather, is beginning once more to think of buying one.
+
+But he is in no mood of arrogant confidence. He has satisfied himself
+that neither love nor money is alone adequate to the acquisition: the
+fates also must favor it. The horse which Frank's owner has had in
+training may or may not be just the horse he wants. He does not know; he
+humbly waits; and he trembles at the alternative of horses, mystically
+summoned from space, and multitudinously advancing upon him,
+parrot-mouthed, pony-gaited, tender for'a'd, and traveling wide behind.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Buying a Horse, by William Dean Howells
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUYING A HORSE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 23030-8.txt or 23030-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/0/3/23030/
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/23030-8.zip b/23030-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..789eac4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-8.zip
diff --git a/23030-h.zip b/23030-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bde4b30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-h.zip
diff --git a/23030-h/23030-h.htm b/23030-h/23030-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b598e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-h/23030-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,1182 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Buying A Horse, by William Dean Howells.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+/*<![CDATA[  XML blockout */
+<!--
+    p {  margin-top: .75em;
+         text-align: justify;
+         margin-bottom: .75em;
+         }
+    h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {
+         text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+         clear: both;
+         }
+    hr { width: 33%;
+	 margin-top: 2em;
+	 margin-bottom: 2em;
+         margin-left: auto;
+         margin-right: auto;
+         clear: both;
+       }
+
+    table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;}
+
+    body{margin-left: 10%;
+         margin-right: 10%;
+        }
+
+    .pagenum  { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+            /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+                position: absolute;
+                left: 92%;
+                font-size: smaller;
+                text-align: right;
+              } /* page numbers */
+
+    .linenum  {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */
+    .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em;
+               padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em;
+               float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em;
+               font-size: smaller; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;}
+
+    .bb       {border-bottom: solid 2px;}
+    .bl       {border-left: solid 2px;}
+    .bt       {border-top: solid 2px;}
+    .br       {border-right: solid 2px;}
+    .bbox     {border: solid 2px;}
+
+    .center   {text-align: center;}
+    .smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+    .u        {text-decoration: underline;}
+
+    .caption  {font-weight: bold;}
+
+    .figcenter   {margin: auto; text-align: center;}
+
+    .figleft     {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top:
+                 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;}
+
+    .figright    {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;
+                 margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;}
+
+    .footnotes        {border: dashed 1px;}
+    .footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+    .footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+    .fnanchor         {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;}
+
+    .poem             {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;}
+    .poem br          {display: none;}
+    .poem .stanza     {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;}
+    .poem span.i0     {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    .poem span.i2     {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    .poem span.i4     {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    // -->
+    /* XML end  ]]>*/
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Buying a Horse, by William Dean Howells
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Buying a Horse
+
+Author: William Dean Howells
+
+Release Date: October 14, 2007 [EBook #23030]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUYING A HORSE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a href="images/illus1.jpg"><img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/></a>
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<h1>BUYING A HORSE</h1>
+
+<h2>BY <span class="smcap">William Dean Howells</span></h2>
+
+<h4>BOSTON AND NEW YORK<br />
+HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY</h4>
+
+<h4><i>The Riverside Press Cambridge</i><br />
+1916</h4>
+
+<h4>COPYRIGHT, 1879<br />
+BY HOUGHTON, OSGOOD &amp; CO.</h4>
+
+<h4>COPYRIGHT, 1916<br />
+BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY</h4>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>BUYING A HORSE</h2>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<p>If one has money enough, there seems no reason why one should not go and
+buy such a horse as he wants. This is the commonly accepted theory, on
+which the whole commerce in horses is founded, and on which my friend
+proceeded.</p>
+
+<p>He was about removing from Charlesbridge, where he had lived many happy
+years without a horse, farther into the country, where there were
+charming drives and inconvenient distances, and where a horse would be
+very desirable, if not quite necessary. But as a horse seemed at first
+an extravagant if not sinful desire, he began by talking vaguely round,
+and rather hinting than declaring that he thought somewhat of buying.
+The professor to whom he first intimated his purpose flung himself from
+his horse's back to the grassy border of the sidewalk where my friend
+stood, and said he would give him a few points. "In the first place
+don't buy a horse that shows much daylight under him, unless you buy a
+horse-doctor <i>with</i> him; get a short-legged horse; and he ought to be
+short and thick in the barrel,"&mdash;or words to that effect. "Don't get a
+horse with a narrow forehead: there are horse-fools as well as the other
+kind, and you want a horse with room for brains. And look out that he's
+<i>all right forward</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that?" asked my friend, hearing this phrase for the first time.</p>
+
+<p>"That he isn't tender in his fore-feet,&mdash;that the hoof isn't
+contracted," said the professor, pointing out the well-planted foot of
+his own animal.</p>
+
+<p>"What ought I to pay for a horse?" pursued my friend, struggling to fix
+the points given by the professor in a mind hitherto unused to points of
+the kind.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, horses are cheap, now; and you ought to get a fair family
+horse&mdash;You want a family horse?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Something you can ride and drive both? Something your children can
+drive?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you ought to get such a horse as that for a hundred and
+twenty-five dollars."</p>
+
+<p>This was the figure my friend had thought of; he drew a breath of
+relief. "Where did you buy your horse?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I always get my horses"&mdash;the plural abashed my friend&mdash;"at the
+Chevaliers'. If you throw yourself on their mercy, they'll treat you
+well. I'll send you a note to them."</p>
+
+<p>"Do!" cried my friend, as the professor sprang upon his horse, and
+galloped away.</p>
+
+<p>My friend walked home encouraged; his purpose of buying a horse had not
+seemed so monstrous, at least to this hardened offender. He now began to
+announce it more boldly; he said right and left that he wished to buy a
+horse, but that he would not go above a hundred. This was not true, but
+he wished to act prudently, and to pay a hundred and twenty-five only in
+extremity. He carried the professor's note to the Chevaliers', who duly
+honored it, understood at once what my friend wanted, and said they
+would look out for him. They were sorry he had not happened in a little
+sooner,&mdash;they had just sold the very horse he wanted. I may as well say
+here that they were not able to find him a horse, but that they used him
+with the strictest honor, and that short of supplying his want they were
+perfect.</p>
+
+<p>In the mean time the irregular dealers began to descend upon him, as
+well as amateurs to whom he had mentioned his wish for a horse, and his
+premises at certain hours of the morning presented the effect of a
+horse-fair, or say rather a museum of equine bricabrac. At first he
+blushed at the spectacle, but he soon became hardened to it, and liked
+the excitement of driving one horse after another round the block, and
+deciding upon him. To a horse, they had none of the qualities commended
+by the professor, but they had many others which the dealers praised.
+These persons were not discouraged when he refused to buy, but
+cheerfully returned the next day with others differently ruinous. They
+were men of a spirit more obliging than my friend has found in other
+walks. One of them, who paid him a prefatory visit in his library, in
+five minutes augmented from six to seven hundred and fifty pounds the
+weight of a pony-horse, which he wished to sell. ("What you want," said
+the Chevaliers, "is a pony-horse," and my friend, gratefully catching at
+the phrase, had gone about saying he wanted a pony-horse. After that,
+hulking brutes of from eleven to thirteen hundred pounds were every day
+brought to him as pony-horses.) The same dealer came another day with a
+mustang, in whom was no fault, and who had every appearance of speed,
+but who was only marking time as it is called in military drill, I
+believe, when he seemed to be getting swiftly over the ground; he showed
+a sociable preference for the curbstone in turning corners, and was
+condemned, to be replaced the next evening by a pony-horse that a child
+might ride or drive, and that especially would not shy. Upon experiment,
+he shied half across the road, and the fact was reported to the dealer.
+He smiled compassionately. "What did he shy <i>at</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"A wheelbarrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Well! I never see the hoss <i>yet</i> that <i>wouldn't</i> shy at a wheelbarrow."</p>
+
+<p>My friend owned that a wheelbarrow was of an alarming presence, but he
+had his reserves respecting the self-control and intelligence of this
+pony-horse. The dealer amiably withdrew him, and said that he would
+bring next day a horse&mdash;if he could get the owner to part with a family
+pet&mdash;that <i>would</i> suit; but upon investigation it appeared that this
+treasure was what is called a calico-horse, and my friend, who was
+without the ambition to figure in the popular eye as a stray
+circus-rider, declined to see him.</p>
+
+<p>These adventurous spirits were not squeamish. They thrust their hands
+into the lathery mouths of their brutes to show the state of their
+teeth, and wiped their fingers on their trousers or grass afterwards,
+without a tremor, though my friend could never forbear a shudder at the
+sight. If sometimes they came with a desirable animal, the price was far
+beyond his modest figure; but generally they seemed to think that he did
+not want a desirable animal. In most cases, the pony-horse pronounced
+sentence upon himself by some gross and ridiculous blemish; but
+sometimes my friend failed to hit upon any tenable excuse for refusing
+him. In such an event, he would say, with an air of easy and candid
+comradery, "Well, now, what's the matter with him?" And then the dealer,
+passing his hand down one of the pony-horse's fore-legs, would respond,
+with an upward glance of searching inquiry at my friend, "Well, he's a
+leetle mite tender for'a'd."</p>
+
+<p>I am afraid my friend grew to have a cruel pleasure in forcing them to
+this exposure of the truth; but he excused himself upon the ground that
+they never expected him to be alarmed at this tenderness forward, and
+that their truth was not a tribute to virtue, but was contempt of his
+ignorance. Nevertheless, it was truth; and he felt that it must be his
+part thereafter to confute the common belief that there is no truth in
+horse-trades.</p>
+
+<p>These people were not usually the owners of the horses they brought, but
+the emissaries or agents of the owners. Often they came merely to show a
+horse, and were not at all sure that his owner would part with him on
+any terms, as he was a favorite with the ladies of the family. An
+impenetrable mystery hung about the owner, through which he sometimes
+dimly loomed as a gentleman in failing health, who had to give up his
+daily drives, and had no use for the horse. There were cases in which
+the dealer came secretly, from pure zeal, to show a horse whose owner
+supposed him still in the stable, and who must be taken back before his
+absence was noticed. If my friend insisted upon knowing the owner and
+conferring with him, in any of these instances, it was darkly admitted
+that he was a gentleman in the livery business over in Somerville or
+down in the Lower Port. Truth, it seemed, might be absent or present in
+a horse-trade, but mystery was essential.</p>
+
+<p>The dealers had a jargon of their own, in which my friend became an
+expert. They did not say that a horse weighed a thousand pounds, but ten
+hundred; he was not worth a hundred and twenty-five dollars, but one and
+a quarter; he was not going on seven years old, but was coming seven.
+There are curious facts, by the way, in regard to the age of horses
+which are not generally known. A horse is never of an even age: that is,
+he is not six, or eight, or ten, but five, or seven, or nine years old;
+he is sometimes, but not often, eleven; he is <i>never</i> thirteen; his
+favorite time of life is seven, and he rarely gets beyond it, if on
+sale. My friend found the number of horses brought into the world in
+1871 quite beyond computation.</p>
+
+<p>He also found that most hard-working horses were sick or ailing, as most
+hard-working men and women are; that perfectly sound horses are as rare
+as perfectly sound human beings, and are apt, like the latter, to be
+vicious.</p>
+
+<p>He began to have a quick eye for the characteristics of horses, and
+could walk round a proffered animal and scan his points with the best.
+"What," he would ask, of a given beast, "makes him let his lower lip
+hang down in that imbecile manner?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, he's got a parrot-mouth. Some folks like 'em." Here the dealer
+would pull open the creature's flabby lips, and discover a beak like
+that of a polyp; and the cleansing process on the grass or trousers
+would take place.</p>
+
+<p>Of another. "What makes him trot in that spread-out, squatty way,
+behind?" he demanded, after the usual tour of the block.</p>
+
+<p>"He travels wide. Horse men prefer that."</p>
+
+<p>They preferred any ugliness or awkwardness in a horse to the opposite
+grace or charm, and all that my friend could urge, in meek withdrawal
+from negotiation, was that he was not of an educated taste. In the
+course of long talks, which frequently took the form of warnings, he
+became wise in the tricks practiced by all dealers except his
+interlocutor. One of these, a device for restoring youth to an animal
+nearing the dangerous limit of eleven, struck him as peculiarly
+ingenious. You pierce the forehead, and blow into it with a quill; this
+gives an agreeable fullness, and erects the drooping ears in a spirited
+and mettlesome manner, so that a horse coming eleven will look for a
+time as if he were coming five.</p>
+
+<p>After a thorough course of the volunteer dealers, and after haunting the
+Chevaliers' stables for several weeks, my friend found that not money
+alone was needed to buy a horse. The affair began to wear a sinister
+aspect. He had an uneasy fear that in several cases he had refused the
+very horse he wanted with the <i>aplomb</i> he had acquired in dismissing
+undesirable beasts. The fact was he knew less about horses than when he
+began to buy, while he had indefinitely enlarged his idle knowledge of
+men, of their fatuity and hollowness. He learned that men whom he had
+always envied their brilliant omniscience in regard to horses, as they
+drove him out behind their dashing trotters, were quite ignorant and
+helpless in the art of buying; they always got somebody else to buy
+their horses for them. "Find a man you can trust," they said, "and then
+put yourself in his hands. And <i>never</i> trust anybody about the health of
+a horse. Take him to a veterinary surgeon, and have him go all over
+him."</p>
+
+<p>My friend grew sardonic; then he grew melancholy and haggard. There was
+something very strange in the fact that a person unattainted of crime,
+and not morally disabled in any known way, could not take his money and
+buy such a horse as he wanted with it. His acquaintance began to
+recommend men to him. "If you want a horse, Captain Jenks is your man."
+"Why don't you go to Major Snaffle? He'd take pleasure in it." But my
+friend, naturally reluctant to trouble others, and sickened by long
+failure, as well as maddened by the absurdity that if you wanted a horse
+you must first get a man, neglected this really good advice. He lost his
+interest in the business, and dismissed with lack-lustre indifference
+the horses which continued to be brought to his gate. He felt that his
+position before the community was becoming notorious and ridiculous. He
+slept badly; his long endeavor for a horse ended in nightmares.</p>
+
+<p>One day he said to a gentleman whose turn-out he had long admired, "I
+wonder if you couldn't find me a horse!"</p>
+
+<p>"Want a horse?"</p>
+
+<p>"Want a horse! I thought my need was known beyond the sun. I thought my
+want of a horse was branded on my forehead."</p>
+
+<p>This gentleman laughed, and then he said, "I've just seen a mare that
+would suit you. I thought of buying her, but I want a match, and this
+mare is too small. She'll be round here in fifteen minutes, and I'll
+take you out with her. Can you wait?"</p>
+
+<p>"Wait!" My friend laughed in his turn.</p>
+
+<p>The mare dashed up before the fifteen minutes had passed. She was
+beautiful, black as a coal; and kind as a kitten, said her driver. My
+friend thought her head was rather big. "Why, yes, she's a <i>pony</i>-horse;
+that's what I like about her."</p>
+
+<p>She trotted off wonderfully, and my friend felt that the thing was now
+done.</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman, who was driving, laid his head on one side, and listened.
+"Clicks, don't she?"</p>
+
+<p>"She <i>does</i> click," said my friend obligingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Hear it?" asked the gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, if you ask me," said my friend, "I <i>don't</i> hear it. What <i>is</i>
+clicking?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, striking the heel of her fore-foot with the toe of her hind-foot.
+Sometimes it comes from bad shoeing. Some people like it. I don't
+myself." After a while he added, "If you can get this mare for a hundred
+and twenty-five, you'd better buy her."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I will," said my friend. He would have bought her, in fact, if
+she had clicked like a noiseless sewing-machine. But the owner, remote
+as Medford, and invisibly dealing, as usual, through a third person,
+would not sell her for one and a quarter; he wanted one and a half.
+Besides, another Party was trying to get her; and now ensued a
+negotiation which for intricacy and mystery surpassed all the others. It
+was conducted in my friend's interest by one who had the difficult task
+of keeping the owner's imagination in check and his demands within
+bounds, for it soon appeared that he wanted even more than one and a
+half for her. Unseen and inaccessible, he grew every day more
+unmanageable. He entered into relations with the other Party, and it all
+ended in his sending her out one day after my friend had gone into the
+country, and requiring him to say at once that he would give one and a
+half. He was not at home, and he never saw the little mare again. This
+confirmed him in the belief that she was the very horse he ought to have
+had.</p>
+
+<p>People had now begun to say to him, "Why don't you advertise? Advertise
+for a gentleman's pony-horse and phaeton and harness complete. You'll
+have a perfect procession of them before night." This proved true. His
+advertisement, mystically worded after the fashion of those things,
+found abundant response. But the establishments which he would have
+taken he could not get at the figure he had set, and those which his
+money would buy he would not have. They came at all hours of the day;
+and he never returned home after an an absence without meeting the
+reproach that <i>now</i> the very horse he wanted had just been driven away,
+and would not be brought back, as his owner lived in Billerica, and only
+happened to be down. A few equipages really appeared desirable, but in
+regard to these his jaded faculties refused to work: he could decide
+nothing; his volition was extinct; he let them come and go.</p>
+
+<p>It was at this period that people who had at first been surprised that
+he wished to buy a horse came to believe that he had bought one, and
+were astonished to learn that he had not. He felt the pressure of public
+opinion.</p>
+
+<p>He began to haunt the different sale-stables in town, and to look at
+horses with a view to buying at private sale. Every facility for testing
+them was offered him, but he could not make up his mind. In feeble
+wantonness he gave appointments which he knew he should not keep, and,
+passing his days in an agony of multitudinous indecision, he added to
+the lies in the world the hideous sum of his broken engagements. From
+time to time he forlornly appeared at the Chevaliers', and refreshed his
+corrupted nature by contact with their sterling integrity. Once he
+ventured into their establishment just before an auction began, and
+remained dazzled by the splendor of a spectacle which I fancy can be
+paralleled only by some dream of a medi&aelig;val tournament. The horses,
+brilliantly harnessed, accurately shod, and standing tall on burnished
+hooves, their necks curved by the check rein and their black and blonde
+manes flowing over the proud arch, lustrous and wrinkled like satin,
+were ranged in a glittering hemicycle. They affected my friend like the
+youth and beauty of his earliest evening parties; he experienced a sense
+of bashfulness, of sickening personal demerit. He could not have had the
+audacity to bid on one of those superb creatures, if all the Chevaliers
+together had whispered him that here at last was the very horse.</p>
+
+<p>I pass over an unprofitable interval in which he abandoned himself to
+despair, and really gave up the hope of being able ever to buy a horse.
+During this interval he removed from Charlesbridge to the country, and
+found himself, to his self-scorn and self-pity, actually reduced to
+hiring a livery horse by the day. But relief was at hand. The carpenter
+who had remained to finish up the new house after my friend had gone
+into it bethought himself of a firm in his place who brought on horses
+from the West, and had the practice of selling a horse on trial, and
+constantly replacing it with other horses till the purchaser was suited.
+This seemed an ideal arrangement, and the carpenter said that he
+<i>thought</i> they had the very horse my friend wanted.</p>
+
+<p>The next day he drove him up, and upon the plan of successive exchanges
+till the perfect horse was reached, my friend bought him for one and a
+quarter, the figure which he had kept in mind from the first. He bought
+a phaeton and harness from the same people, and when the whole equipage
+stood at his door, he felt the long-delayed thrill of pride and
+satisfaction. The horse was of the Morgan breed, a bright bay, small and
+round and neat, with a little head tossed high, and a gentle yet alert
+movement. He was in the prime of youth, of the age of which every horse
+desires to be, and was just coming seven. My friend had already taken
+him to a horse-doctor, who for one dollar had gone all over him, and
+pronounced him sound as a fish, and complimented his new owner upon his
+acquisition. It all seemed too good to be true. As Billy turned his soft
+eye on the admiring family group, and suffered one of the children to
+smooth his nose while another held a lump of sugar to his dainty lips,
+his amiable behavior restored my friend to his peace of mind and his
+long-lost faith in a world of reason.</p>
+
+<p>The ridiculous planet, wavering bat-like through space, on which it had
+been impossible for an innocent man to buy a suitable horse was a dream
+of the past, and he had the solid, sensible old earth under his feet
+once more. He mounted into the phaeton and drove off with his wife; he
+returned and gave each of the children a drive in succession. He told
+them that any of them could drive Billy as much as they liked, and he
+quieted a clamor for exclusive ownership on the part of each by
+declaring that Billy belonged to the whole family. To this day he cannot
+look back to those moments without tenderness. If Billy had any apparent
+fault, it was an amiable indolence. But this made him all the safer for
+the children, and it did not really amount to laziness. While on sale he
+had been driven in a provision cart, and had therefore the habit of
+standing unhitched. One had merely to fling the reins into the bottom of
+the phaeton and leave Billy to his own custody. His other habit of
+drawing up at kitchen gates was not confirmed, and the fact that he
+stumbled on his way to the doctor who pronounced him blameless was
+reasonably attributed to a loose stone at the foot of the hill; the
+misstep resulted in a barked shin, but a little wheel-grease, in a horse
+of Billy's complexion, easily removed the evidence of this.</p>
+
+<p>It was natural that after Billy was bought and paid for, several
+extremely desirable horses should be offered to my friend by their
+owners, who came in person, stripped of all the adventitious mystery of
+agents and middle-men. They were gentlemen, and they spoke the English
+habitual with persons not corrupted by horses. My friend saw them come
+and go with grief; for he did not like to be shaken in his belief that
+Billy was the only horse in the world for him, and he would have liked
+to purchase their animals, if only to show his appreciation of honor and
+frankness and sane language. Yet he was consoled by the possession of
+Billy, whom he found increasingly excellent and trustworthy. Any of the
+family drove him about; he stood unhitched; he was not afraid of cars;
+he was as kind as a kitten; he had not, as the neighboring coachman
+said, a voice, though he seemed a little loively in coming out of the
+stable sometimes. He went well under the saddle; he was a beauty, and if
+he had a voice, it was too great satisfaction in his personal
+appearance.</p>
+
+<p>One evening after tea, the young gentleman, who was about to drive Billy
+out, stung by the reflection that he had not taken blackberries and
+cream twice, ran into the house to repair the omission, and left Billy,
+as usual, unhitched at the door. During his absence, Billy caught sight
+of his stable, and involuntarily moved towards it. Finding himself
+unchecked, he gently increased his pace; and when my friend, looking up
+from the melon-patch which he was admiring, called out, "Ho, Billy!
+Whoa, Billy!" and headed him off from the gap, Billy profited by the
+circumstance to turn into the pear orchard. The elastic turf under his
+unguided hoof seemed to exhilarate him; his pace became a trot, a
+canter, a gallop, a tornado; the reins fluttered like ribbons in the
+air; the phaeton flew ruining after. In a terrible cyclone the equipage
+swept round the neighbor's house, vanished, reappeared, swooped down his
+lawn, and vanished again. It was incredible.</p>
+
+<p>My friend stood transfixed among his melons. He knew that his neighbor's
+children played under the porte-coch&egrave;re on the other side of the house
+which Billy had just surrounded in his flight, and probably.... My
+friend's first impulse was not to go and see, but to walk into his own
+house, and ignore the whole affair. But you cannot really ignore an
+affair of that kind. You must face it, and commonly it stares you out of
+countenance. Commonly, too, it knows how to choose its time so as to
+disgrace as well as crush its victim. His neighbor had people to tea,
+and long before my friend reached the house the host and his guests were
+all out on the lawn, having taken the precaution to bring their napkins
+with them.</p>
+
+<p>"The children!" gasped my friend.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, they were all in bed," said the neighbor, and he began to laugh.
+That was right; my friend would have mocked at the calamity if it had
+been his neighbor's. "Let us go and look up your phaeton." He put his
+hand on the naked flank of a fine young elm, from which the bark had
+just been stripped. "Billy seems to have passed this way."</p>
+
+<p>At the foot of a stone-wall four feet high lay the phaeton, with three
+wheels in the air, and the fourth crushed flat against the axle; the
+willow back was broken, the shafts were pulled out, and Billy was gone.</p>
+
+<p>"Good thing there was nobody in it," said the neighbor.</p>
+
+<p>"Good thing it didn't run down some Irish family, and get you in for
+damages," said a guest.</p>
+
+<p>It appeared, then, that there were two good things about this disaster.
+My friend had not thought there were so many, but while he rejoiced in
+this fact, he rebelled at the notion that a sorrow like that rendered
+the sufferer in any event liable for damages, and he resolved that he
+never would have paid them. But probably he would.</p>
+
+<p>Some half-grown boys got the phaeton right-side up, and restored its
+shafts and cushions, and it limped away with them towards the
+carriage-house. Presently another half-grown boy came riding Billy up
+the hill. Billy showed an inflated nostril and an excited eye, but
+physically he was unharmed, save for a slight scratch on what was
+described as the off hind-leg; the reader may choose which leg this was.</p>
+
+<p>"The worst of it is," said the guest, "that you never can trust 'em
+after they've run off once."</p>
+
+<p>"Have some tea?" said the host to my friend.</p>
+
+<p>"No, thank you," said my friend, in whose heart the worst of it rankled;
+and he walked home embittered by his guilty consciousness that Billy
+ought never to have been left untied. But it was not this self-reproach;
+it was not the mutilated phaeton; it was not the loss of Billy, who must
+now be sold; it was the wreck of settled hopes, the renewed suspense of
+faith, the repetition of the tragical farce of buying another horse,
+that most grieved my friend.</p>
+
+<p>Billy's former owners made a feint of supplying other horses in his
+place, but the only horse supplied was an aged veteran with the
+scratches, who must have come seven early in our era, and who, from his
+habit of getting about on tiptoe, must have been tender for'a'd beyond
+anything of my friend's previous experience. Probably if he could have
+waited they might have replaced Billy in time, but their next
+installment from the West produced nothing suited to his wants but a
+horse with the presence and carriage of a pig, and he preferred to let
+them sell Billy for what he would bring, and to trust his fate
+elsewhere. Billy had fallen nearly one half in value, and he brought
+very little&mdash;to his owner; though the new purchaser was afterwards
+reported to value him at much more than what my friend had paid for him.
+These things are really mysteries; you cannot fathom them; it is idle to
+try. My friend remained grieving over his own folly and carelessness,
+with a fond hankering for the poor little horse he had lost, and the
+belief that he should never find such another. Yet he was not without a
+philanthropist's consolation. He had added to the stock of harmless
+pleasures in a degree of which he could not have dreamed. All his
+acquaintance knew that he had bought a horse, and they all seemed now to
+conspire in asking him how he got on with it. He was forced to confess
+the truth. On hearing it, his friends burst into shouts of laughter, and
+smote their persons, and stayed themselves against lamp-posts and
+house-walls. They begged his pardon, and then they began again, and
+shouted and roared anew. Since the gale which blew down the poet &mdash;&mdash;'s
+chimneys and put him to the expense of rebuilding them, no joke so
+generally satisfactory had been offered to the community. My friend had,
+in his time, achieved the reputation of a wit by going about and and
+saying, "Did you know &mdash;&mdash;'s chimneys had blown down?" and he had now
+himself the pleasure of causing the like quality of wit in others.</p>
+
+<p>Having abandoned the hope of getting anything out of the people who had
+sold him Billy, he was for a time the prey of an inert despair, in which
+he had not even spirit to repine at the disorder of a universe in which
+he could not find a horse. No horses were now offered to him, for it had
+become known throughout the trade that he had bought a horse. He had
+therefore to set about counteracting this impression with what feeble
+powers were left him. Of the facts of that period he remembers with
+confusion and remorse the trouble to which he put the owner of the
+pony-horse Pansy, whom he visited repeatedly in a neighboring town, at a
+loss of time and money to himself, and with no result but to embarrass
+Pansy's owner in his relations with people who had hired him and did not
+wish him sold. Something of the old baffling mystery hung over Pansy's
+whereabouts; he was with difficulty produced, and when <i>en evidence</i> he
+was not the Pansy my friend had expected. He paltered with his regrets;
+he covered his disappointment with what pretenses he could; and he
+waited till he could telegraph back his adverse decision. His conclusion
+was that, next to proposing marriage, there was no transaction of life
+that involved so many delicate and complex relations as buying a horse,
+and that the rupture of a horse-trade was little less embarrassing and
+distressing to all concerned than a broken engagement. There was a
+terrible intimacy in the affair; it was alarmingly personal. He went
+about sorrowing for the pain and disappointment he had inflicted on many
+amiable people of all degrees who had tried to supply him with a horse.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here," said his neighbor, finding him in this low state, "why
+don't you get a horse of the gentleman who furnishes mine?" This had
+been suggested before, and my friend explained that he had disliked to
+make trouble. His scruples were lightly set aside, and he suffered
+himself to be entreated. The fact was he was so discouraged with his
+attempt to buy a horse that if any one had now given him such a horse as
+he wanted he would have taken it.</p>
+
+<p>One sunny, breezy morning his neighbor drove my friend over to the
+beautiful farm of the good genius on whose kindly offices he had now
+fixed his languid hopes. I need not say what the landscape was in
+mid-August, or how, as they drew near the farm, the air was enriched
+with the breath of vast orchards of early apples,&mdash;apples that no forced
+fingers rude shatter from their stems, but that ripen and mellow
+untouched, till they drop into the straw with which the orchard aisles
+are bedded; it is the poetry of horticulture; it is Art practicing the
+wise and gracious patience of Nature, and offering to the Market a
+Summer Sweeting of the Hesperides.</p>
+
+<p>The possessor of this luscious realm at once took my friend's case into
+consideration; he listened, the owner of a hundred horses, with gentle
+indulgence to the shapeless desires of a man whose wildest dream was
+<i>one</i> horse. At the end he said, "I see you want a horse that can take
+care of himself."</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied my friend, with the inspiration of despair. "I want a
+horse that can take care of me."</p>
+
+<p>The good genius laughed, and turned the conversation. Neither he nor my
+friend's neighbor was a man of many words, and like taciturn people they
+talked in low tones. The three moved about the room and looked at the
+Hispano-Roman pictures; they had a glass of sherry; from time to time
+something was casually murmured about Frank. My friend felt that he was
+in good hands, and left the affair to them. It ended in a visit to the
+stable, where it appeared that this gentleman had no horse to sell among
+his hundred which exactly met my friend's want, but that he proposed to
+lend him Frank while a certain other animal was put in training for the
+difficult office he required of a horse. One of the men was sent for
+Frank, and in the mean time my friend was shown some gaunt and graceful
+thoroughbreds, and taught to see the difference between them and the
+plebeian horse. But Frank, though no thoroughbred, eclipsed these
+patricians when he came. He had a little head, and a neck gallantly
+arched; he was black and plump and smooth, and though he carried himself
+with a petted air, and was a dandy to the tips of his hooves, his
+knowing eye was kindly. He turned it upon my friend with the effect of
+understanding <i>his</i> case at a glance.</p>
+
+<p>It was in this way that for the rest of the long, lovely summer peace
+was re-established in his heart. There was no question of buying or
+selling Frank; there were associations that endeared him beyond money to
+his owner; but my friend could take him without price. The situation had
+its humiliation for a man who had been arrogantly trying to buy a horse,
+but he submitted with grateful meekness, and with what grace Heaven
+granted him; and Frank gayly entered upon the peculiar duties of his
+position. His first duty was to upset all preconceived notions of the
+advantage of youth in a horse. Frank was not merely not coming seven or
+nine, but his age was an even number,&mdash;he was sixteen; and it was his
+owner's theory, which Frank supported, that if a horse was well used he
+was a good horse till twenty-five.</p>
+
+<p>The truth is that Frank looked like a young horse; he was a dandy
+without any of the ghastliness which attends the preservation of youth
+in old beaux of another species. When my friend drove him in the
+rehabilitated phaeton he felt that the turn-out was stylish, and he
+learned to consult certain eccentricities of Frank's in the satisfaction
+of his pride. One of these was a high reluctance to be passed on the
+road. Frank was as lazy a horse&mdash;but lazy in a self-respectful, &aelig;sthetic
+way&mdash;as ever was; yet if he heard a vehicle at no matter how great
+distance behind him (and he always heard it before his driver), he
+brightened with resolution and defiance, and struck out with speed that
+made competition difficult. If my friend found that the horse behind was
+likely to pass Frank, he made a merit of holding him in. If they met a
+team, he lay back in his phaeton, and affected not to care to be going
+faster than a walk, any way.</p>
+
+<p>One of the things for which he chiefly prized Frank was his skill in
+backing and turning. He is one of those men who become greatly perturbed
+when required to back and turn a vehicle; he cannot tell (till too late)
+whether he ought to pull the right rein in order to back to the left, or
+<i>vice versa</i>; he knows, indeed, the principle, but he becomes paralyzed
+in its application. Frank never was embarrassed, never confused. My
+friend had but to say, "Back, Frank!" and Frank knew from the nature of
+the ground how far to back and which way to turn. He has thus extricated
+my friend from positions in which it appeared to him that no earthly
+power could relieve him.</p>
+
+<p>In going up hill Frank knew just when to give himself a rest, and at
+what moment to join the party in looking about and enjoying the
+prospect. He was also an adept in scratching off flies, and had a
+precision in reaching an insect anywhere in his van with one of his rear
+hooves which few of us attain in slapping mosquitoes. This action
+sometimes disquieted persons in the phaeton, but Frank knew perfectly
+well what he was about, and if harm had happened to the people under his
+charge my friend was sure that Frank could have done anything short of
+applying arnica and telegraphing to their friends. His varied knowledge
+of life and his long experience had satisfied him that there were very
+few things to be afraid of in this world. Such womanish weaknesses as
+shying and starting were far from him, and he regarded the boisterous
+behavior of locomotives with indifference. He had not, indeed, the
+virtue of one horse offered to my friend's purchase, of standing,
+unmoved, with his nose against a passing express train; but he was
+certainly not afraid of the cars.</p>
+
+<p>Frank was by no means what Mr. Emerson calls a mush of concession; he
+was not merely amiable; he had his moments of self-assertion, his
+touches of asperity. It was not safe to pat his nose, like the erring
+Billy's; he was apt to bring his handsome teeth together in proximity to
+the caressing hand with a sharp click and a sarcastic grin. Not that he
+ever did, or ever would really bite. So, too, when left to stand long
+under fly-haunted cover, he would start off afterwards with alarming
+vehemence; and he objected to the saddle. On the only occasion when any
+of my friend's family mounted him, he trotted gayly over the grass
+towards the house, with the young gentleman on his back; then, without
+warning, he stopped short, a slight tremor appeared to pass over him,
+and his rider continued the excursion some ten feet farther, alighting
+lump-wise on a bunch of soft turf which Frank had selected for his
+reception.</p>
+
+<p>The summer passed, and in the comfort of Frank's possession my friend
+had almost abandoned the idea of ever returning him to his owner. He had
+thoughts of making the loan permanent, as something on the whole
+preferable to a purchase. The drives continued quite into December, over
+roads as smooth and hard as any in June, and the air was delicious. The
+first snow brought the suggestion of sleighing; but that cold weather
+about Christmas dispersed these gay thoughts, and restored my friend to
+virtue. Word came from the stable that Frank's legs were swelling from
+standing so long without going out, and my friend resolved to part with
+an animal for which he had no use. I do not praise him for this; it was
+no more than his duty; but I record his action in order to account for
+the fact that he is again without a horse, and now, with the opening of
+the fine weather, is beginning once more to think of buying one.</p>
+
+<p>But he is in no mood of arrogant confidence. He has satisfied himself
+that neither love nor money is alone adequate to the acquisition: the
+fates also must favor it. The horse which Frank's owner has had in
+training may or may not be just the horse he wants. He does not know; he
+humbly waits; and he trembles at the alternative of horses, mystically
+summoned from space, and multitudinously advancing upon him,
+parrot-mouthed, pony-gaited, tender for'a'd, and traveling wide behind.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Buying a Horse, by William Dean Howells
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUYING A HORSE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 23030-h.htm or 23030-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/0/3/23030/
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/23030-h/images/illus1.jpg b/23030-h/images/illus1.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b795976
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-h/images/illus1.jpg
diff --git a/23030-page-images/f001.png b/23030-page-images/f001.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9db3803
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/f001.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/f002.jpg b/23030-page-images/f002.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f25b767
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/f002.jpg
diff --git a/23030-page-images/f003.png b/23030-page-images/f003.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa7ef6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/f003.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/f004.png b/23030-page-images/f004.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a763f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/f004.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/f005.jpg b/23030-page-images/f005.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dfe02bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/f005.jpg
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p003.png b/23030-page-images/p003.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9449d7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p003.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p004.png b/23030-page-images/p004.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7aafecc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p004.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p005.png b/23030-page-images/p005.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..000573a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p005.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p006.png b/23030-page-images/p006.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a511e74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p006.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p007.png b/23030-page-images/p007.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb01f00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p007.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p008.png b/23030-page-images/p008.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2410fe9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p008.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p009.png b/23030-page-images/p009.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..331186a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p009.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p010.png b/23030-page-images/p010.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..acf85a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p010.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p011.png b/23030-page-images/p011.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44e0096
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p011.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p012.png b/23030-page-images/p012.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db4e1a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p012.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p013.png b/23030-page-images/p013.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce627a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p013.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p014.png b/23030-page-images/p014.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3988344
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p014.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p015.png b/23030-page-images/p015.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0b416d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p015.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p016.png b/23030-page-images/p016.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43e0d88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p016.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p017.png b/23030-page-images/p017.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d0627e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p017.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p018.png b/23030-page-images/p018.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e3b3f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p018.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p019.png b/23030-page-images/p019.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5291cd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p019.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p020.png b/23030-page-images/p020.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..037d8f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p020.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p021.png b/23030-page-images/p021.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6937eca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p021.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p022.png b/23030-page-images/p022.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e331bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p022.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p023.png b/23030-page-images/p023.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e34ca7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p023.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p024.png b/23030-page-images/p024.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c3ad30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p024.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p025.png b/23030-page-images/p025.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ad61e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p025.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p026.png b/23030-page-images/p026.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d840562
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p026.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p027.png b/23030-page-images/p027.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1695fdd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p027.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p028.png b/23030-page-images/p028.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cfa8a90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p028.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p029.png b/23030-page-images/p029.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c2e647
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p029.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p030.png b/23030-page-images/p030.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05de32c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p030.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p031.png b/23030-page-images/p031.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7db419b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p031.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p032.png b/23030-page-images/p032.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b91ded3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p032.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p033.png b/23030-page-images/p033.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f6ced6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p033.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p034.png b/23030-page-images/p034.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac97e82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p034.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p035.png b/23030-page-images/p035.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d42adb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p035.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p036.png b/23030-page-images/p036.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2eaa13c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p036.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p037.png b/23030-page-images/p037.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cbf3182
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p037.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p038.png b/23030-page-images/p038.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3feb907
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p038.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p039.png b/23030-page-images/p039.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..022c08c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p039.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p040.png b/23030-page-images/p040.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3376d98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p040.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p041.png b/23030-page-images/p041.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bfa465
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p041.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p042.png b/23030-page-images/p042.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8630fe3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p042.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p043.png b/23030-page-images/p043.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c152dd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p043.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p044.png b/23030-page-images/p044.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..421b08d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p044.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p045.png b/23030-page-images/p045.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b2afb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p045.png
diff --git a/23030-page-images/p046.png b/23030-page-images/p046.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0250a59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030-page-images/p046.png
diff --git a/23030.txt b/23030.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fabc4b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1072 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Buying a Horse, by William Dean Howells
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Buying a Horse
+
+Author: William Dean Howells
+
+Release Date: October 14, 2007 [EBook #23030]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUYING A HORSE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                            BUYING A HORSE
+
+                       BY WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS
+
+
+
+
+BOSTON AND NEW YORK
+HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
+
+_The Riverside Press Cambridge_
+1916
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1879
+BY HOUGHTON, OSGOOD & CO.
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1916
+BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+BUYING A HORSE
+
+
+If one has money enough, there seems no reason why one should not go and
+buy such a horse as he wants. This is the commonly accepted theory, on
+which the whole commerce in horses is founded, and on which my friend
+proceeded.
+
+He was about removing from Charlesbridge, where he had lived many happy
+years without a horse, farther into the country, where there were
+charming drives and inconvenient distances, and where a horse would be
+very desirable, if not quite necessary. But as a horse seemed at first
+an extravagant if not sinful desire, he began by talking vaguely round,
+and rather hinting than declaring that he thought somewhat of buying.
+The professor to whom he first intimated his purpose flung himself from
+his horse's back to the grassy border of the sidewalk where my friend
+stood, and said he would give him a few points. "In the first place
+don't buy a horse that shows much daylight under him, unless you buy a
+horse-doctor _with_ him; get a short-legged horse; and he ought to be
+short and thick in the barrel,"--or words to that effect. "Don't get a
+horse with a narrow forehead: there are horse-fools as well as the other
+kind, and you want a horse with room for brains. And look out that he's
+_all right forward_."
+
+"What's that?" asked my friend, hearing this phrase for the first time.
+
+"That he isn't tender in his fore-feet,--that the hoof isn't
+contracted," said the professor, pointing out the well-planted foot of
+his own animal.
+
+"What ought I to pay for a horse?" pursued my friend, struggling to fix
+the points given by the professor in a mind hitherto unused to points of
+the kind.
+
+"Well, horses are cheap, now; and you ought to get a fair family
+horse--You want a family horse?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Something you can ride and drive both? Something your children can
+drive?"
+
+"Yes, yes."
+
+"Well, you ought to get such a horse as that for a hundred and
+twenty-five dollars."
+
+This was the figure my friend had thought of; he drew a breath of
+relief. "Where did you buy your horse?"
+
+"Oh, I always get my horses"--the plural abashed my friend--"at the
+Chevaliers'. If you throw yourself on their mercy, they'll treat you
+well. I'll send you a note to them."
+
+"Do!" cried my friend, as the professor sprang upon his horse, and
+galloped away.
+
+My friend walked home encouraged; his purpose of buying a horse had not
+seemed so monstrous, at least to this hardened offender. He now began to
+announce it more boldly; he said right and left that he wished to buy a
+horse, but that he would not go above a hundred. This was not true, but
+he wished to act prudently, and to pay a hundred and twenty-five only in
+extremity. He carried the professor's note to the Chevaliers', who duly
+honored it, understood at once what my friend wanted, and said they
+would look out for him. They were sorry he had not happened in a little
+sooner,--they had just sold the very horse he wanted. I may as well say
+here that they were not able to find him a horse, but that they used him
+with the strictest honor, and that short of supplying his want they were
+perfect.
+
+In the mean time the irregular dealers began to descend upon him, as
+well as amateurs to whom he had mentioned his wish for a horse, and his
+premises at certain hours of the morning presented the effect of a
+horse-fair, or say rather a museum of equine bricabrac. At first he
+blushed at the spectacle, but he soon became hardened to it, and liked
+the excitement of driving one horse after another round the block, and
+deciding upon him. To a horse, they had none of the qualities commended
+by the professor, but they had many others which the dealers praised.
+These persons were not discouraged when he refused to buy, but
+cheerfully returned the next day with others differently ruinous. They
+were men of a spirit more obliging than my friend has found in other
+walks. One of them, who paid him a prefatory visit in his library, in
+five minutes augmented from six to seven hundred and fifty pounds the
+weight of a pony-horse, which he wished to sell. ("What you want," said
+the Chevaliers, "is a pony-horse," and my friend, gratefully catching at
+the phrase, had gone about saying he wanted a pony-horse. After that,
+hulking brutes of from eleven to thirteen hundred pounds were every day
+brought to him as pony-horses.) The same dealer came another day with a
+mustang, in whom was no fault, and who had every appearance of speed,
+but who was only marking time as it is called in military drill, I
+believe, when he seemed to be getting swiftly over the ground; he showed
+a sociable preference for the curbstone in turning corners, and was
+condemned, to be replaced the next evening by a pony-horse that a child
+might ride or drive, and that especially would not shy. Upon experiment,
+he shied half across the road, and the fact was reported to the dealer.
+He smiled compassionately. "What did he shy _at_?"
+
+"A wheelbarrow."
+
+"Well! I never see the hoss _yet_ that _wouldn't_ shy at a wheelbarrow."
+
+My friend owned that a wheelbarrow was of an alarming presence, but he
+had his reserves respecting the self-control and intelligence of this
+pony-horse. The dealer amiably withdrew him, and said that he would
+bring next day a horse--if he could get the owner to part with a family
+pet--that _would_ suit; but upon investigation it appeared that this
+treasure was what is called a calico-horse, and my friend, who was
+without the ambition to figure in the popular eye as a stray
+circus-rider, declined to see him.
+
+These adventurous spirits were not squeamish. They thrust their hands
+into the lathery mouths of their brutes to show the state of their
+teeth, and wiped their fingers on their trousers or grass afterwards,
+without a tremor, though my friend could never forbear a shudder at the
+sight. If sometimes they came with a desirable animal, the price was far
+beyond his modest figure; but generally they seemed to think that he did
+not want a desirable animal. In most cases, the pony-horse pronounced
+sentence upon himself by some gross and ridiculous blemish; but
+sometimes my friend failed to hit upon any tenable excuse for refusing
+him. In such an event, he would say, with an air of easy and candid
+comradery, "Well, now, what's the matter with him?" And then the dealer,
+passing his hand down one of the pony-horse's fore-legs, would respond,
+with an upward glance of searching inquiry at my friend, "Well, he's a
+leetle mite tender for'a'd."
+
+I am afraid my friend grew to have a cruel pleasure in forcing them to
+this exposure of the truth; but he excused himself upon the ground that
+they never expected him to be alarmed at this tenderness forward, and
+that their truth was not a tribute to virtue, but was contempt of his
+ignorance. Nevertheless, it was truth; and he felt that it must be his
+part thereafter to confute the common belief that there is no truth in
+horse-trades.
+
+These people were not usually the owners of the horses they brought, but
+the emissaries or agents of the owners. Often they came merely to show a
+horse, and were not at all sure that his owner would part with him on
+any terms, as he was a favorite with the ladies of the family. An
+impenetrable mystery hung about the owner, through which he sometimes
+dimly loomed as a gentleman in failing health, who had to give up his
+daily drives, and had no use for the horse. There were cases in which
+the dealer came secretly, from pure zeal, to show a horse whose owner
+supposed him still in the stable, and who must be taken back before his
+absence was noticed. If my friend insisted upon knowing the owner and
+conferring with him, in any of these instances, it was darkly admitted
+that he was a gentleman in the livery business over in Somerville or
+down in the Lower Port. Truth, it seemed, might be absent or present in
+a horse-trade, but mystery was essential.
+
+The dealers had a jargon of their own, in which my friend became an
+expert. They did not say that a horse weighed a thousand pounds, but ten
+hundred; he was not worth a hundred and twenty-five dollars, but one and
+a quarter; he was not going on seven years old, but was coming seven.
+There are curious facts, by the way, in regard to the age of horses
+which are not generally known. A horse is never of an even age: that is,
+he is not six, or eight, or ten, but five, or seven, or nine years old;
+he is sometimes, but not often, eleven; he is _never_ thirteen; his
+favorite time of life is seven, and he rarely gets beyond it, if on
+sale. My friend found the number of horses brought into the world in
+1871 quite beyond computation.
+
+He also found that most hard-working horses were sick or ailing, as most
+hard-working men and women are; that perfectly sound horses are as rare
+as perfectly sound human beings, and are apt, like the latter, to be
+vicious.
+
+He began to have a quick eye for the characteristics of horses, and
+could walk round a proffered animal and scan his points with the best.
+"What," he would ask, of a given beast, "makes him let his lower lip
+hang down in that imbecile manner?"
+
+"Oh, he's got a parrot-mouth. Some folks like 'em." Here the dealer
+would pull open the creature's flabby lips, and discover a beak like
+that of a polyp; and the cleansing process on the grass or trousers
+would take place.
+
+Of another. "What makes him trot in that spread-out, squatty way,
+behind?" he demanded, after the usual tour of the block.
+
+"He travels wide. Horse men prefer that."
+
+They preferred any ugliness or awkwardness in a horse to the opposite
+grace or charm, and all that my friend could urge, in meek withdrawal
+from negotiation, was that he was not of an educated taste. In the
+course of long talks, which frequently took the form of warnings, he
+became wise in the tricks practiced by all dealers except his
+interlocutor. One of these, a device for restoring youth to an animal
+nearing the dangerous limit of eleven, struck him as peculiarly
+ingenious. You pierce the forehead, and blow into it with a quill; this
+gives an agreeable fullness, and erects the drooping ears in a spirited
+and mettlesome manner, so that a horse coming eleven will look for a
+time as if he were coming five.
+
+After a thorough course of the volunteer dealers, and after haunting the
+Chevaliers' stables for several weeks, my friend found that not money
+alone was needed to buy a horse. The affair began to wear a sinister
+aspect. He had an uneasy fear that in several cases he had refused the
+very horse he wanted with the _aplomb_ he had acquired in dismissing
+undesirable beasts. The fact was he knew less about horses than when he
+began to buy, while he had indefinitely enlarged his idle knowledge of
+men, of their fatuity and hollowness. He learned that men whom he had
+always envied their brilliant omniscience in regard to horses, as they
+drove him out behind their dashing trotters, were quite ignorant and
+helpless in the art of buying; they always got somebody else to buy
+their horses for them. "Find a man you can trust," they said, "and then
+put yourself in his hands. And _never_ trust anybody about the health of
+a horse. Take him to a veterinary surgeon, and have him go all over
+him."
+
+My friend grew sardonic; then he grew melancholy and haggard. There was
+something very strange in the fact that a person unattainted of crime,
+and not morally disabled in any known way, could not take his money and
+buy such a horse as he wanted with it. His acquaintance began to
+recommend men to him. "If you want a horse, Captain Jenks is your man."
+"Why don't you go to Major Snaffle? He'd take pleasure in it." But my
+friend, naturally reluctant to trouble others, and sickened by long
+failure, as well as maddened by the absurdity that if you wanted a horse
+you must first get a man, neglected this really good advice. He lost his
+interest in the business, and dismissed with lack-lustre indifference
+the horses which continued to be brought to his gate. He felt that his
+position before the community was becoming notorious and ridiculous. He
+slept badly; his long endeavor for a horse ended in nightmares.
+
+One day he said to a gentleman whose turn-out he had long admired, "I
+wonder if you couldn't find me a horse!"
+
+"Want a horse?"
+
+"Want a horse! I thought my need was known beyond the sun. I thought my
+want of a horse was branded on my forehead."
+
+This gentleman laughed, and then he said, "I've just seen a mare that
+would suit you. I thought of buying her, but I want a match, and this
+mare is too small. She'll be round here in fifteen minutes, and I'll
+take you out with her. Can you wait?"
+
+"Wait!" My friend laughed in his turn.
+
+The mare dashed up before the fifteen minutes had passed. She was
+beautiful, black as a coal; and kind as a kitten, said her driver. My
+friend thought her head was rather big. "Why, yes, she's a _pony_-horse;
+that's what I like about her."
+
+She trotted off wonderfully, and my friend felt that the thing was now
+done.
+
+The gentleman, who was driving, laid his head on one side, and listened.
+"Clicks, don't she?"
+
+"She _does_ click," said my friend obligingly.
+
+"Hear it?" asked the gentleman.
+
+"Well, if you ask me," said my friend, "I _don't_ hear it. What _is_
+clicking?"
+
+"Oh, striking the heel of her fore-foot with the toe of her hind-foot.
+Sometimes it comes from bad shoeing. Some people like it. I don't
+myself." After a while he added, "If you can get this mare for a hundred
+and twenty-five, you'd better buy her."
+
+"Well, I will," said my friend. He would have bought her, in fact, if
+she had clicked like a noiseless sewing-machine. But the owner, remote
+as Medford, and invisibly dealing, as usual, through a third person,
+would not sell her for one and a quarter; he wanted one and a half.
+Besides, another Party was trying to get her; and now ensued a
+negotiation which for intricacy and mystery surpassed all the others. It
+was conducted in my friend's interest by one who had the difficult task
+of keeping the owner's imagination in check and his demands within
+bounds, for it soon appeared that he wanted even more than one and a
+half for her. Unseen and inaccessible, he grew every day more
+unmanageable. He entered into relations with the other Party, and it all
+ended in his sending her out one day after my friend had gone into the
+country, and requiring him to say at once that he would give one and a
+half. He was not at home, and he never saw the little mare again. This
+confirmed him in the belief that she was the very horse he ought to have
+had.
+
+People had now begun to say to him, "Why don't you advertise? Advertise
+for a gentleman's pony-horse and phaeton and harness complete. You'll
+have a perfect procession of them before night." This proved true. His
+advertisement, mystically worded after the fashion of those things,
+found abundant response. But the establishments which he would have
+taken he could not get at the figure he had set, and those which his
+money would buy he would not have. They came at all hours of the day;
+and he never returned home after an an absence without meeting the
+reproach that _now_ the very horse he wanted had just been driven away,
+and would not be brought back, as his owner lived in Billerica, and only
+happened to be down. A few equipages really appeared desirable, but in
+regard to these his jaded faculties refused to work: he could decide
+nothing; his volition was extinct; he let them come and go.
+
+It was at this period that people who had at first been surprised that
+he wished to buy a horse came to believe that he had bought one, and
+were astonished to learn that he had not. He felt the pressure of public
+opinion.
+
+He began to haunt the different sale-stables in town, and to look at
+horses with a view to buying at private sale. Every facility for testing
+them was offered him, but he could not make up his mind. In feeble
+wantonness he gave appointments which he knew he should not keep, and,
+passing his days in an agony of multitudinous indecision, he added to
+the lies in the world the hideous sum of his broken engagements. From
+time to time he forlornly appeared at the Chevaliers', and refreshed his
+corrupted nature by contact with their sterling integrity. Once he
+ventured into their establishment just before an auction began, and
+remained dazzled by the splendor of a spectacle which I fancy can be
+paralleled only by some dream of a mediaeval tournament. The horses,
+brilliantly harnessed, accurately shod, and standing tall on burnished
+hooves, their necks curved by the check rein and their black and blonde
+manes flowing over the proud arch, lustrous and wrinkled like satin,
+were ranged in a glittering hemicycle. They affected my friend like the
+youth and beauty of his earliest evening parties; he experienced a sense
+of bashfulness, of sickening personal demerit. He could not have had the
+audacity to bid on one of those superb creatures, if all the Chevaliers
+together had whispered him that here at last was the very horse.
+
+I pass over an unprofitable interval in which he abandoned himself to
+despair, and really gave up the hope of being able ever to buy a horse.
+During this interval he removed from Charlesbridge to the country, and
+found himself, to his self-scorn and self-pity, actually reduced to
+hiring a livery horse by the day. But relief was at hand. The carpenter
+who had remained to finish up the new house after my friend had gone
+into it bethought himself of a firm in his place who brought on horses
+from the West, and had the practice of selling a horse on trial, and
+constantly replacing it with other horses till the purchaser was suited.
+This seemed an ideal arrangement, and the carpenter said that he
+_thought_ they had the very horse my friend wanted.
+
+The next day he drove him up, and upon the plan of successive exchanges
+till the perfect horse was reached, my friend bought him for one and a
+quarter, the figure which he had kept in mind from the first. He bought
+a phaeton and harness from the same people, and when the whole equipage
+stood at his door, he felt the long-delayed thrill of pride and
+satisfaction. The horse was of the Morgan breed, a bright bay, small and
+round and neat, with a little head tossed high, and a gentle yet alert
+movement. He was in the prime of youth, of the age of which every horse
+desires to be, and was just coming seven. My friend had already taken
+him to a horse-doctor, who for one dollar had gone all over him, and
+pronounced him sound as a fish, and complimented his new owner upon his
+acquisition. It all seemed too good to be true. As Billy turned his soft
+eye on the admiring family group, and suffered one of the children to
+smooth his nose while another held a lump of sugar to his dainty lips,
+his amiable behavior restored my friend to his peace of mind and his
+long-lost faith in a world of reason.
+
+The ridiculous planet, wavering bat-like through space, on which it had
+been impossible for an innocent man to buy a suitable horse was a dream
+of the past, and he had the solid, sensible old earth under his feet
+once more. He mounted into the phaeton and drove off with his wife; he
+returned and gave each of the children a drive in succession. He told
+them that any of them could drive Billy as much as they liked, and he
+quieted a clamor for exclusive ownership on the part of each by
+declaring that Billy belonged to the whole family. To this day he cannot
+look back to those moments without tenderness. If Billy had any apparent
+fault, it was an amiable indolence. But this made him all the safer for
+the children, and it did not really amount to laziness. While on sale he
+had been driven in a provision cart, and had therefore the habit of
+standing unhitched. One had merely to fling the reins into the bottom of
+the phaeton and leave Billy to his own custody. His other habit of
+drawing up at kitchen gates was not confirmed, and the fact that he
+stumbled on his way to the doctor who pronounced him blameless was
+reasonably attributed to a loose stone at the foot of the hill; the
+misstep resulted in a barked shin, but a little wheel-grease, in a horse
+of Billy's complexion, easily removed the evidence of this.
+
+It was natural that after Billy was bought and paid for, several
+extremely desirable horses should be offered to my friend by their
+owners, who came in person, stripped of all the adventitious mystery of
+agents and middle-men. They were gentlemen, and they spoke the English
+habitual with persons not corrupted by horses. My friend saw them come
+and go with grief; for he did not like to be shaken in his belief that
+Billy was the only horse in the world for him, and he would have liked
+to purchase their animals, if only to show his appreciation of honor and
+frankness and sane language. Yet he was consoled by the possession of
+Billy, whom he found increasingly excellent and trustworthy. Any of the
+family drove him about; he stood unhitched; he was not afraid of cars;
+he was as kind as a kitten; he had not, as the neighboring coachman
+said, a voice, though he seemed a little loively in coming out of the
+stable sometimes. He went well under the saddle; he was a beauty, and if
+he had a voice, it was too great satisfaction in his personal
+appearance.
+
+One evening after tea, the young gentleman, who was about to drive Billy
+out, stung by the reflection that he had not taken blackberries and
+cream twice, ran into the house to repair the omission, and left Billy,
+as usual, unhitched at the door. During his absence, Billy caught sight
+of his stable, and involuntarily moved towards it. Finding himself
+unchecked, he gently increased his pace; and when my friend, looking up
+from the melon-patch which he was admiring, called out, "Ho, Billy!
+Whoa, Billy!" and headed him off from the gap, Billy profited by the
+circumstance to turn into the pear orchard. The elastic turf under his
+unguided hoof seemed to exhilarate him; his pace became a trot, a
+canter, a gallop, a tornado; the reins fluttered like ribbons in the
+air; the phaeton flew ruining after. In a terrible cyclone the equipage
+swept round the neighbor's house, vanished, reappeared, swooped down his
+lawn, and vanished again. It was incredible.
+
+My friend stood transfixed among his melons. He knew that his neighbor's
+children played under the porte-cochere on the other side of the house
+which Billy had just surrounded in his flight, and probably.... My
+friend's first impulse was not to go and see, but to walk into his own
+house, and ignore the whole affair. But you cannot really ignore an
+affair of that kind. You must face it, and commonly it stares you out of
+countenance. Commonly, too, it knows how to choose its time so as to
+disgrace as well as crush its victim. His neighbor had people to tea,
+and long before my friend reached the house the host and his guests were
+all out on the lawn, having taken the precaution to bring their napkins
+with them.
+
+"The children!" gasped my friend.
+
+"Oh, they were all in bed," said the neighbor, and he began to laugh.
+That was right; my friend would have mocked at the calamity if it had
+been his neighbor's. "Let us go and look up your phaeton." He put his
+hand on the naked flank of a fine young elm, from which the bark had
+just been stripped. "Billy seems to have passed this way."
+
+At the foot of a stone-wall four feet high lay the phaeton, with three
+wheels in the air, and the fourth crushed flat against the axle; the
+willow back was broken, the shafts were pulled out, and Billy was gone.
+
+"Good thing there was nobody in it," said the neighbor.
+
+"Good thing it didn't run down some Irish family, and get you in for
+damages," said a guest.
+
+It appeared, then, that there were two good things about this disaster.
+My friend had not thought there were so many, but while he rejoiced in
+this fact, he rebelled at the notion that a sorrow like that rendered
+the sufferer in any event liable for damages, and he resolved that he
+never would have paid them. But probably he would.
+
+Some half-grown boys got the phaeton right-side up, and restored its
+shafts and cushions, and it limped away with them towards the
+carriage-house. Presently another half-grown boy came riding Billy up
+the hill. Billy showed an inflated nostril and an excited eye, but
+physically he was unharmed, save for a slight scratch on what was
+described as the off hind-leg; the reader may choose which leg this was.
+
+"The worst of it is," said the guest, "that you never can trust 'em
+after they've run off once."
+
+"Have some tea?" said the host to my friend.
+
+"No, thank you," said my friend, in whose heart the worst of it rankled;
+and he walked home embittered by his guilty consciousness that Billy
+ought never to have been left untied. But it was not this self-reproach;
+it was not the mutilated phaeton; it was not the loss of Billy, who must
+now be sold; it was the wreck of settled hopes, the renewed suspense of
+faith, the repetition of the tragical farce of buying another horse,
+that most grieved my friend.
+
+Billy's former owners made a feint of supplying other horses in his
+place, but the only horse supplied was an aged veteran with the
+scratches, who must have come seven early in our era, and who, from his
+habit of getting about on tiptoe, must have been tender for'a'd beyond
+anything of my friend's previous experience. Probably if he could have
+waited they might have replaced Billy in time, but their next
+installment from the West produced nothing suited to his wants but a
+horse with the presence and carriage of a pig, and he preferred to let
+them sell Billy for what he would bring, and to trust his fate
+elsewhere. Billy had fallen nearly one half in value, and he brought
+very little--to his owner; though the new purchaser was afterwards
+reported to value him at much more than what my friend had paid for him.
+These things are really mysteries; you cannot fathom them; it is idle to
+try. My friend remained grieving over his own folly and carelessness,
+with a fond hankering for the poor little horse he had lost, and the
+belief that he should never find such another. Yet he was not without a
+philanthropist's consolation. He had added to the stock of harmless
+pleasures in a degree of which he could not have dreamed. All his
+acquaintance knew that he had bought a horse, and they all seemed now to
+conspire in asking him how he got on with it. He was forced to confess
+the truth. On hearing it, his friends burst into shouts of laughter, and
+smote their persons, and stayed themselves against lamp-posts and
+house-walls. They begged his pardon, and then they began again, and
+shouted and roared anew. Since the gale which blew down the poet ----'s
+chimneys and put him to the expense of rebuilding them, no joke so
+generally satisfactory had been offered to the community. My friend had,
+in his time, achieved the reputation of a wit by going about and and
+saying, "Did you know ----'s chimneys had blown down?" and he had now
+himself the pleasure of causing the like quality of wit in others.
+
+Having abandoned the hope of getting anything out of the people who had
+sold him Billy, he was for a time the prey of an inert despair, in which
+he had not even spirit to repine at the disorder of a universe in which
+he could not find a horse. No horses were now offered to him, for it had
+become known throughout the trade that he had bought a horse. He had
+therefore to set about counteracting this impression with what feeble
+powers were left him. Of the facts of that period he remembers with
+confusion and remorse the trouble to which he put the owner of the
+pony-horse Pansy, whom he visited repeatedly in a neighboring town, at a
+loss of time and money to himself, and with no result but to embarrass
+Pansy's owner in his relations with people who had hired him and did not
+wish him sold. Something of the old baffling mystery hung over Pansy's
+whereabouts; he was with difficulty produced, and when _en evidence_ he
+was not the Pansy my friend had expected. He paltered with his regrets;
+he covered his disappointment with what pretenses he could; and he
+waited till he could telegraph back his adverse decision. His conclusion
+was that, next to proposing marriage, there was no transaction of life
+that involved so many delicate and complex relations as buying a horse,
+and that the rupture of a horse-trade was little less embarrassing and
+distressing to all concerned than a broken engagement. There was a
+terrible intimacy in the affair; it was alarmingly personal. He went
+about sorrowing for the pain and disappointment he had inflicted on many
+amiable people of all degrees who had tried to supply him with a horse.
+
+"Look here," said his neighbor, finding him in this low state, "why
+don't you get a horse of the gentleman who furnishes mine?" This had
+been suggested before, and my friend explained that he had disliked to
+make trouble. His scruples were lightly set aside, and he suffered
+himself to be entreated. The fact was he was so discouraged with his
+attempt to buy a horse that if any one had now given him such a horse as
+he wanted he would have taken it.
+
+One sunny, breezy morning his neighbor drove my friend over to the
+beautiful farm of the good genius on whose kindly offices he had now
+fixed his languid hopes. I need not say what the landscape was in
+mid-August, or how, as they drew near the farm, the air was enriched
+with the breath of vast orchards of early apples,--apples that no forced
+fingers rude shatter from their stems, but that ripen and mellow
+untouched, till they drop into the straw with which the orchard aisles
+are bedded; it is the poetry of horticulture; it is Art practicing the
+wise and gracious patience of Nature, and offering to the Market a
+Summer Sweeting of the Hesperides.
+
+The possessor of this luscious realm at once took my friend's case into
+consideration; he listened, the owner of a hundred horses, with gentle
+indulgence to the shapeless desires of a man whose wildest dream was
+_one_ horse. At the end he said, "I see you want a horse that can take
+care of himself."
+
+"No," replied my friend, with the inspiration of despair. "I want a
+horse that can take care of me."
+
+The good genius laughed, and turned the conversation. Neither he nor my
+friend's neighbor was a man of many words, and like taciturn people they
+talked in low tones. The three moved about the room and looked at the
+Hispano-Roman pictures; they had a glass of sherry; from time to time
+something was casually murmured about Frank. My friend felt that he was
+in good hands, and left the affair to them. It ended in a visit to the
+stable, where it appeared that this gentleman had no horse to sell among
+his hundred which exactly met my friend's want, but that he proposed to
+lend him Frank while a certain other animal was put in training for the
+difficult office he required of a horse. One of the men was sent for
+Frank, and in the mean time my friend was shown some gaunt and graceful
+thoroughbreds, and taught to see the difference between them and the
+plebeian horse. But Frank, though no thoroughbred, eclipsed these
+patricians when he came. He had a little head, and a neck gallantly
+arched; he was black and plump and smooth, and though he carried himself
+with a petted air, and was a dandy to the tips of his hooves, his
+knowing eye was kindly. He turned it upon my friend with the effect of
+understanding _his_ case at a glance.
+
+It was in this way that for the rest of the long, lovely summer peace
+was re-established in his heart. There was no question of buying or
+selling Frank; there were associations that endeared him beyond money to
+his owner; but my friend could take him without price. The situation had
+its humiliation for a man who had been arrogantly trying to buy a horse,
+but he submitted with grateful meekness, and with what grace Heaven
+granted him; and Frank gayly entered upon the peculiar duties of his
+position. His first duty was to upset all preconceived notions of the
+advantage of youth in a horse. Frank was not merely not coming seven or
+nine, but his age was an even number,--he was sixteen; and it was his
+owner's theory, which Frank supported, that if a horse was well used he
+was a good horse till twenty-five.
+
+The truth is that Frank looked like a young horse; he was a dandy
+without any of the ghastliness which attends the preservation of youth
+in old beaux of another species. When my friend drove him in the
+rehabilitated phaeton he felt that the turn-out was stylish, and he
+learned to consult certain eccentricities of Frank's in the satisfaction
+of his pride. One of these was a high reluctance to be passed on the
+road. Frank was as lazy a horse--but lazy in a self-respectful, aesthetic
+way--as ever was; yet if he heard a vehicle at no matter how great
+distance behind him (and he always heard it before his driver), he
+brightened with resolution and defiance, and struck out with speed that
+made competition difficult. If my friend found that the horse behind was
+likely to pass Frank, he made a merit of holding him in. If they met a
+team, he lay back in his phaeton, and affected not to care to be going
+faster than a walk, any way.
+
+One of the things for which he chiefly prized Frank was his skill in
+backing and turning. He is one of those men who become greatly perturbed
+when required to back and turn a vehicle; he cannot tell (till too late)
+whether he ought to pull the right rein in order to back to the left, or
+_vice versa_; he knows, indeed, the principle, but he becomes paralyzed
+in its application. Frank never was embarrassed, never confused. My
+friend had but to say, "Back, Frank!" and Frank knew from the nature of
+the ground how far to back and which way to turn. He has thus extricated
+my friend from positions in which it appeared to him that no earthly
+power could relieve him.
+
+In going up hill Frank knew just when to give himself a rest, and at
+what moment to join the party in looking about and enjoying the
+prospect. He was also an adept in scratching off flies, and had a
+precision in reaching an insect anywhere in his van with one of his rear
+hooves which few of us attain in slapping mosquitoes. This action
+sometimes disquieted persons in the phaeton, but Frank knew perfectly
+well what he was about, and if harm had happened to the people under his
+charge my friend was sure that Frank could have done anything short of
+applying arnica and telegraphing to their friends. His varied knowledge
+of life and his long experience had satisfied him that there were very
+few things to be afraid of in this world. Such womanish weaknesses as
+shying and starting were far from him, and he regarded the boisterous
+behavior of locomotives with indifference. He had not, indeed, the
+virtue of one horse offered to my friend's purchase, of standing,
+unmoved, with his nose against a passing express train; but he was
+certainly not afraid of the cars.
+
+Frank was by no means what Mr. Emerson calls a mush of concession; he
+was not merely amiable; he had his moments of self-assertion, his
+touches of asperity. It was not safe to pat his nose, like the erring
+Billy's; he was apt to bring his handsome teeth together in proximity to
+the caressing hand with a sharp click and a sarcastic grin. Not that he
+ever did, or ever would really bite. So, too, when left to stand long
+under fly-haunted cover, he would start off afterwards with alarming
+vehemence; and he objected to the saddle. On the only occasion when any
+of my friend's family mounted him, he trotted gayly over the grass
+towards the house, with the young gentleman on his back; then, without
+warning, he stopped short, a slight tremor appeared to pass over him,
+and his rider continued the excursion some ten feet farther, alighting
+lump-wise on a bunch of soft turf which Frank had selected for his
+reception.
+
+The summer passed, and in the comfort of Frank's possession my friend
+had almost abandoned the idea of ever returning him to his owner. He had
+thoughts of making the loan permanent, as something on the whole
+preferable to a purchase. The drives continued quite into December, over
+roads as smooth and hard as any in June, and the air was delicious. The
+first snow brought the suggestion of sleighing; but that cold weather
+about Christmas dispersed these gay thoughts, and restored my friend to
+virtue. Word came from the stable that Frank's legs were swelling from
+standing so long without going out, and my friend resolved to part with
+an animal for which he had no use. I do not praise him for this; it was
+no more than his duty; but I record his action in order to account for
+the fact that he is again without a horse, and now, with the opening of
+the fine weather, is beginning once more to think of buying one.
+
+But he is in no mood of arrogant confidence. He has satisfied himself
+that neither love nor money is alone adequate to the acquisition: the
+fates also must favor it. The horse which Frank's owner has had in
+training may or may not be just the horse he wants. He does not know; he
+humbly waits; and he trembles at the alternative of horses, mystically
+summoned from space, and multitudinously advancing upon him,
+parrot-mouthed, pony-gaited, tender for'a'd, and traveling wide behind.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Buying a Horse, by William Dean Howells
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUYING A HORSE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 23030.txt or 23030.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/0/3/23030/
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/23030.zip b/23030.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a34ebf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23030.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5253817
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #23030 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23030)