The Little Grey Horse.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 15 October 1891, Page 2

The Little Grey Horse.

A popular man, though Young, is the subject of my tale. He has inherited a taste for horse flesh, and many a knowing deal can be laid to his door. To own a horse is one thing, to show him off, to advertise him in every possible way, is another. A real dealer never misses a chance, though our Young friend was " very near it "on this occassion. A pushing business man had arranged with a photographer to take a view of his premises, and the chance of finding a space in the foreground for his • Intpjt «^w. Wt»« "fflugmmi ''ftt oncp\

It is of no use to advertise an .empty hdrs6; arid bats tafce a lOiig tinie to show, so our dealer, a real genius in his way, determined to dump the horse with water, which we all know is very filling, at the price. With joyous heart did the dealer lead his horse to the water ; an old proverb asserts that one man can take a horse to the water, but a dozen cannot make him drink ; but in this case one man took the horse, but he needed, but in vain, a dozen men to keep him from falling in. It was so. while the horse was taking " a strong pull, and and a long pull," his water-ballast canted to leeward, and he gave " a pull all together ', over the ledge, into the river. There was a smart fresh running down, and a wail, wafted to town on the southerly breeze, broke from the owner, somewhat to this effect — » Where, and oh ! where is my little gray horse, "Where and oh ! where can he be ?, which was totally unnecessary, as the quadruped might have been observed in the centre of the river " pulling hard against the stream." The woe of losing a £20 horse by drowning, inside and out, the loss of the profft that should be made out of sale, and the loss of getting a cheap photograph of the animal, worked upon the owner so as to cause him to take most prompt measures to recover the treasure. A boat was manned, when the animal obstinately refused to head for the town shore, and he had to be indulged, to get him to any shore. The owner then had to return to town and swim another horse over, to capture the first, then the two had to be swum back again with the aid of the natives in boats, so that, taking time and money, the game was hardly worth the candle. The photo was obtained after all. The animal is most suited for a flax-miller, as he is everything that can be wished provided he is watered with a forcepump. ______________