form that was a model
of manly strength and vigor. Without a particle of superfluous flesh,
his rounded limbs and full broad chest seemed moulded from iron, yet at
the same time displaying all the elasticity which usually accompanies
elegance of proportion. His dress (strange as it may appear) was a
jacket and breeches of white linen, fitted to his form with the utmost
exactness. Boots of Russet leather were half-way up the leg, the broad
tops of which were turned down, and the heels garnished with spurs of an
immense size and length of rowel. On his head was a low-crowned hat
curiously formed from the snow white-feathers of the swan; and in his
hand he carried a heavy scourge, with shot well twisted into its knotted
lash. After looking round for a moment or two, as though to command the
attention of all, he advanced to the side of the horse, and disdaining
the use of the stirrup, with one bound threw himself into the saddle, at
the same time calling on the grooms to let him go. For an instant the
animal seemed paralyzed; then, with a perfect yell of rage, bounded into
the air like a stricken deer.

"The struggle for the mastery had commenced--bound succeeded bound with
the rapidity of thought; every device which its animal instinct could
teach, was resorted to by the maddened brute to shake off its unwelcome
burthen--but in vain. Its ruthless rider proved irresistible--and,
clinging like fate itself, plied the scourge and rowel like a fiend. The
punishment was too severe to be long withstood, and at length, after a
succession of frantic efforts, the tortured animal, with a scream of
agony, leaped forth upon the plain and flew across it with the speed of
an arrow. The ground upon which Tarleton had pitched his camp was an
almost perfectly level plain, something more than half a mile in
circumference.

"Around this, after getting him under way, he continued to urge his
furious steed, amid the raptures and shouts of the admiring soldiery,
plying the whip and spur at every leap, until wearied and worn down with
its prodigious efforts, the tired creature discontinued all exertion,
save that to which it was urged by its merciless rider.

[Illustration: TARLETON BREAKING THE HORSE.]

"At length, exhausted from the conflict, Tarleton drew up before his
tent and threw himself from his saddle. The horse was completely
subdued, and at the word of command followed him like a dog. The victory
was complete. His eye of fire was