Mrs F--mentions several instances of the sagacity of horses. Some
horses in the county of Limerick, which were pastured in a field, broke
bounds like a band of unruly schoolboys, and scrambling through a gap
which they had made in a fence, found themselves in a narrow lane.
Along the quiet by-road they galloped helter-skelter, at full speed,
snorting and tossing their manes in the full enjoyment of their freedom,
but greatly to the terror of a party of children who were playing in the
lane. As the horses were seen tearing wildly along, the children
scrambled up the bank into the hedge, and buried themselves in the
bushes, regardless of thorns,--with the exception of one poor little
thing, who, too small to run, fell down on its face, and lay crying
loudly in the middle of the narrow way.
On swept the horses; but when the leader of the troop saw the little
child lying in his path, he suddenly stopped, and so did the others
behind him. Then stooping his head, he seized the infant's clothes with
his teeth, and carefully lifted it to the side of the road, laying it
gently and quite unhurt on the tender grass. He and his companions then
resumed their gallop in the lane, unconscious of having performed a
remarkable act.
Learn a lesson from those wild Irish horses. As you hurry along in the
joyousness of youth, reflect and look before you to see whether there
lies not on your road some one who requires your help. Believe me, in
your path through life you will find many poor little infants who
require to be lifted up and placed in safety. Do not be less obedient
to the promptings of duty than were those dumb animals to the reason or
the instinct implanted in their breasts.