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THE HORSE AND ITS MASTEE.*
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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NOTHING LIKE : HOME . * rpHE ' -present volume is devoted to a study and description of JL English antiquities , dating 1 from the remotest period of our national his . tory . The ; author aptly observes in , his preface , that this braiicli of research must necessarily' possess . in the eyes ot Englishmen an interest not inferior to that formerly felt by the learned in the classic remains of the ancient world . Hitherto , in order to arrive at any satisfactory information relative to the past condition of pur island home , its * heirlooms , architectural remains , &c ., it has been necessary to wade through so many erudite
compositions , as might well have the effect of deterring- even the most industrious from making the attempt ; how that difficulty is removed by the zealous aid of collectors of Mediaeval and Renaissance art , who have thrown their collections open to all who choose to take advantage ofthe facilities they afford . This work is intended as a slight contribution to such as are entering- for the first time into this field of inquiry , and contains a great deal that is both valuable and interesting to the reader ,- so much so indeed , that we vhall proceed to s > -ive a slight analysis of its contents . tion ofthe habitations of the ancient
the trading classes , peasantry . Ac . during- the fifteenth century , none of whom could be said at that time to derive much benefit from the numerous inventions and improvements -. which added sogreatly to the domestic happiness of their betters . It was , however , at the close ofthe Tudor dynasty that the real era of civilization commenced in Eng-land . Men , ' in proportion as they began to enjoy the blessings of more liberal constitutions , also engendered a taste for domestic enjoyments . And if " the exterior of the Stuart homes were less ambitious in style , and the graces of ornament were too readily sacrificed for the useful , the interior could boast of fresh charms and new home attractions . The hall was no longer a
characteristic feature in the English mansion . Hospitality suffered , but men grew more independent , and found a wider market for their labour than of old . " We will conclude our notice of this admirable little work with the closing remark of the author . ¦¦ " Those innumerable enjoyments which we pass unobserved , because we have always been ' familiar with their presence , were in the old times luxuries , of which we can find no trace save in the household records ofthe great ; and it is by no means exceeding- the bounds of truth , when we say that the homes of English artizans in the nineteenth century are * surrounded with more conveniences , and possess within themselves more ofthe accessories to comfort , than were enjoyedby tlie majority of the nobility in the vaunted days of chivalry
The book opens with a descrip Britons , which , it appears , were far superior to those of most barbarous nations ... though they were not , of course , constructed with a view to many of the comforts of domestic life . We are . however , told' -that the Britons understood the art of working inetal , of sluiping timber . , of-moulding clay into pottery , of making cloth .-and manufacturing articles of dress ; " but it does not appear that they appliedthe knowledge of these . -arts to many useful purposes ; ' When the Romans evacuated Britain , they left behind them many traces of their civilization ; but this part of our history is so well known that the author passes lightly over it , and comes directly to aii account of - ' Homes in Pagan Saxondom . " History does not throw much light upon this particular era , and the information we possess concerning it is chiefly contained in the song-of BeowulfVwhich ; coijiposed by a Saxon minstrel , ihay be
considered as atriithfiil exponent of Saxon mariners arid peculiarities . The author thus describes the celebrated ' \ ihead hall , " or" Heorat , " btiilt by Herothgar , chief of the Saxons ; and which description is oL" course tukeii from the poetical effusion ahove alluded to . It was approached by stairs , arid when Herothgar spoke he stood upon the steps . ; and saw the steep roof variegated : with gold . It rose aloft ; and was " high , and carved with pinnacles ; " the doors were hung on hinges , and made strong and fast with bands hardened-in the fire . Thfr floor , Jake therroof , was variegated ; the wooden walls were made fast within and without , with bands of iron curiously' wrought- The interior was furnished with many a mead bench ; golden . tapestries hung upon the walls , and were things of winder and admiration to all who gazed upon their refulgent beauties . " This hall was dedicated to the god of wine , and the festivities which were held in it were of the most riotous
and uncontrolled description . We now pass over to the period of Christianity , when the ecclesiasticis iiltrodiieed a more . elevated style of architecture in the erection of churches , which was in many instances successfully iiriitated in the construction of domestic buildings . Still the hall was the . principal , and , only too of ten , the sole apartment in a Saxon
Home , and , spite of ~ t 1 te" 7 Rlmotr iti ^ to purposes of drunkenness and revelry .. With the Norman conquest commenced an eritii'ely hew era of things . "This period , " says the author , " was one of . slow but gradual progress ; step by step , hy rude efforts of invention , by slight improvements upon ancient contrivances , and by a partial encouragement of art , something * more was gained in the appliances and adornments of home , than was required by the mere promptings of necessity . " We have thon it graphic description of the manners and customs of the middle ages , some of which are so obnoxious as to cause us to dwell
with peculiar satisfaction upon the cultivated tastes of the nineteenth century . For instance , in speaking of the banquet halls belonging to the baronial castles , which , instead of being boarded or paved , as is the case in all modern habitations , were simply strewed over with a slight covering of straw and rushes , the author says , " the straw was allowed to remain so long that , mingled with the refuse of the table , it often became rotten and offensive , Nor was this the only annoyance to which the inmates were subject ; it was complained that even the hall of the king was insupportable from the stench arising from an uncovered drain , which passed almost under the noses of the guests as they sat at table , "
It is somewhat curious to note the extraordinary hour of the day at which our ancestors considered it fashionable to partake of their pr incipal meal , being , as it is , so entirely opposed to modern usages . In tho dnys of Queen Elizabeth , the gentry novor dined later than eleven o ' clock a . m ;; before her reign an hour earlier , the exact period at which we consider it fashionable to breakfast . We never read of Into' dinners in the olden time , unless , indeed , as a freak , or from eccentricity . Tho ceremony of spreading tho cloth in the nudillejig'CH iiLHoinewJuit ludicrous ^ ; we jjuiye it thus described : — Two ushers entered theliallT they Tiotlii Knelt dmvri 7 antl 7 unf 6 ld
ing tho cloth , commenced Mpreaduig * it on thetnbloat the lower end ; when they reached tho middle of trie board , they again made a low oboisunco ' , find on arriving at tho top they knelt a third time with the moat -profound rovorohco . Thin ridiculous ceremony was performed oven if the hall was vacant . " The author then goes on to enumerate , and give us . a slight history of the different articles of utility , hlxury , nnd . refinement , ' which , at different periods , made their appearance in the houses of our aritttocrucy and gentry . He also presents us with an interesting sketch of tho social condition of
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\ 7 | " 7 "E are taught in an old book , or rathei in a collection of old VV Looks , that daily rises in estimation the more severely it is criticised , and the better it is understood , that " the merciful man is merciful to his beast . " Mr . Edward Mayhew has -written a volume on the horse in the spirit of this text , and has called upon man , who derivesfsuch services froih the faithful , feeling creature over whom he tyrannises so unjustlyj to mend his . manners as a ruler of the inferior ianimals , and to act in a manner inbre rational and kindly towards them , . ' - the closing sentences of his treatise he tells us that "he lias designedly rather appealed to the
reason of his readers , than sought to enlist their feelings . The subject was , indeed , a wide one . ilanhas hitherto been too content to consider animals as something given absolutely to him , to be treated according to his sovereign will , or merest pleasure . He has riot reflected that , when he was created lord of this earth , he was invested with a title which has its responsibilities as well as its privileges . " Mr . Edward MayheW entered the veterinary profession late in life , and after much exercise as a literary man ; and carried into It the feelings and intelligence of his former calling . -r-Hence ^ the noble sentiment which pervades his productioh : arid hence its excellence as a composition ; Besides this ,
Mr . Ed \ yaM May hew has proved himself capable of some capital artist work , and has furni s hed the volume with , more than ibiuhundred drawings illustrative of the text . Mr . JEdward Mayhew is not / . afraid of the ridicule that lie may provoke by his affection towards the animal that lie has so diligently studied . Should he be accused of wishing to institute an hospital for liorses , he replies that something like ohis exists now in the lioyal Veterinary College of Camden Town , and that what ho Tial ^ ^* ^ ^^
wo add , he wishes that every stable should be such on a small scale . He would take the noble beast out of the hands of the ignorant , aiid treat him according to science . What is there really '' ' absurd in this ? Yet the interested will answer superciliously , as they have answered Mr , Mechi in regard to his agricultural experiments , and proGably , as in that case , demand a sight of his balance-sheet . But it is not always right to " answer a fool according to his foil }' . " though sometimes it undoubtedly is . But of this tho judicious must judge for themselves . They must not suffer the fools to judge , or rather misjudge , for them . hew
True to his old instincts for the stage , Mr . Edward May commences his argument in a startling and dramatio manner . He begins with , the mad horse , both in picture and letter-press . The former is spirited and the latter eloquent . And , after all , the subject is rigntly started ; for is it not proper to commence with the root of all , " the brain and nervous system ? " The poor animal suffering under phrenitis is violent , but not malicious . " The creature strives only to injure itself . It may , in its efforts , shatter and . demolish the structures which surround it ; bnt it does so without intention . That is merely the result of its being earned etieay beyond the things of , this world by a mighty anguish . It desires harm to no ono ; but it oannot remain quiescent , and
endure the torment whioh ragos within its skull . " , Thero is something more than merely fine writing in . this description of tho mysterious rapture of tho great agony that posesses the phrcnitic brain . It is only tho extreme of that exoitemont which while genial —( wo use the word with . rotbronce to its root)—is pleusurablo . Pain is but the opposito pole of an intelligent P ?^® ' wjios q _ beginnings ! and ^ cpntmuatipns aro but degrees of dohght , untif the fatal limit ih reaohecl . - ^ points to tho analogies in tho human and brutal devolopnients ;•—and suroly those should awakon somo sympathies . Wo aro alike kindred , to tho animnl and tho angelic . Think of this , and leei accordingly . ' * : Abundant aro tho reasons why , in . tho language of tlio author , man should establish more than a brutal mastory over the animal
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088 The Saturday Analyst cmd Leader . [ , Iu : ly 28 , 1860
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• Our KntrllHh Honic . Its Ki \ v \ y History n »< l rrogross , with Notes on tlio liuioduull . ni »» f IKtiMOMli' liivciitlnnu . l . oinlon : « r .-H * Jamkb Paiikku .
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• The Illustrated Hone Doctor : belnff an nccurnto nnd Uotallod account , , Tf .. \ l pnnlcd l > y uioro than 400 plcturtul ropnmcntntloiiH of the various « llHe « son to wait- " '" ^ c < l » li : < i nniu nro tmlijcctci ); ti > jf « tlier wllh llio latest nio » Hi of troatmont , niicl nil xiu r «* imlHlt «< nrcdiTlptluiiH , wiHtcn In pliiln Knjrllrth . l » y K . nwAnp Mayiikw , M . lt . t . v . n . W , IL Allen unit Co .
The Horse And Its Mastee.*
THE HORSE AND ITS MASTEE . *
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 28, 1860, page 688, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2358/page/8/
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