ed forth
in the direction of the Devil's Hill, scattering dust and flint-stones on
every side; that ride, amongst other things, taught me that a lad with
thews and sinews was intended by nature for something better than mere
word-culling; and if I have accomplished anything in after life worthy of
mentioning, I believe it may partly be attributed to the ideas which that
ride, by setting my blood in a glow, infused into my brain. I might,
otherwise, have become a mere philologist; one of those beings who toil
night and day in culling useless words for some _opus magnum_ which
Murray will never publish, and nobody ever read--beings without
enthusiasm, who, having never mounted a generous steed, cannot detect a
good point in Pegasus himself; like a certain philologist, who, though
acquainted with the exact value of every word in the Greek and Latin
languages, could observe no particular beauty in one of the most glorious
of Homer's rhapsodies. {81} What knew he of Pegasus? he had never
mounted a generous steed; the merest jockey, had the strain been
interpreted to him, would have called it a brave song!--I return to the
brave cob.

On a certain day I had been out on an excursion. In a cross-road, at
some distance from the Satanic hill, the animal which I rode cast a shoe.
By good luck a small village was at hand, at the entrance of which was a
large shed, from which proceeded a most furious noise of hammering.
Leading the cob by the bridle, I entered boldly. "Shoe this horse, and
do it quickly, a gough," said I to a wild grimy figure of a man, whom I
found alone, fashioning a piece of iron.

"_Arrigod yuit_?" said the fellow, desisting from his work and staring at
me.

"O yes, I have money," said I, "and of the best;" and I pulled out an
English shilling.

"_Tabhair chugam_," said the smith, stretching out his grimy hand.

"No, I sha'n't," said I; "some people are glad to get their money when
their work is done."

The fellow hammered a little longer and then proceeded to shoe the cob,
after having first surveyed it with attention. He performed his job
rather roughly, and more than once appeared to give the animal
unnecessary pain, frequently making use of loud and boisterous words. By
the time the work was done, the creature was in a state of high
excitement, and plunged and tore. The smith stood at a short distance,
seeming to enjoy the irritation of the animal, and showing, in a
remarkable manner, a huge f