"Yes, sir; yes, sir"--touching his hat at every word; and every one
thought he was a very nice young man and that Mr. Barry was very
fortunate to meet with him. I should say he was the laziest, most
conceited fellow I ever came near. Of course, it was a great thing not
to be ill-used, but then a horse wants more than that. I had a loose
box, and might have been very comfortable if he had not been too
indolent to clean it out. He never took all the straw away, and the
smell from what lay underneath was very bad; while the strong vapors
that rose made my eyes smart and inflame, and I did not feel the same
appetite for my food.

One day his master came in and said, "Alfred, the stable smells rather
strong; should not you give that stall a good scrub and throw down
plenty of water?"

"Well, sir," he said, touching his cap, "I'll do so if you please, sir;
but it is rather dangerous, sir, throwing down water in a horse's box;
they are very apt to take cold, sir. I should not like to do him an
injury, but I'll do it if you please, sir."

"Well," said his master, "I should not like him to take cold; but I
don't like the smell of this stable. Do you think the drains are all
right?"

"Well, sir, now you mention it, I think the drain does sometimes send
back a smell; there may be something wrong, sir."

"Then send for the bricklayer and have it seen to," said his master.

"Yes, sir, I will."

The bricklayer came and pulled up a great many bricks, but found nothing
amiss; so he put down some lime and charged the master five shillings,
and the smell in my box was as bad as ever. But that was not all:
standing as I did on a quantity of moist straw my feet grew unhealthy
and tender, and the master used to say:

"I don't know what is the matter with this horse; he goes very
fumble-footed. I am sometimes afraid he will stumble."

"Yes, sir," said Alfred, "I have noticed the same myself, when I have
exercised him."

Now the fact was that he hardly ever did exercise me, and when the
master was busy I often stood for days together without stretching my
legs at all, and yet being fed just as high as if I were at hard work.
This often disordered my health, and made me sometimes heavy and dull,
but more often restless and feverish. He never even gave me a meal
of green food or a bran mash, which would have cooled me, for he
was altogether as ignorant as he was conceited; and then, instead of
exercise or change of food, I had to