l was
that there were still at Kenilworth some hundreds of oxen, in perpetual
danger of being "sniped "; and the populace argued (not unreasonably)
that to force on us irrational rations was in the circumstances a
callous thing. There were doubtless considerations to palliate this
procedure on the part of the Protector, but we would not see them. The
cattle were there in sufficient numbers to feed us until relief arrived.
True, relief appeared to be remote, but our view was that (if a calamity
were to be averted) it _must_ come within a month at the outside. And
what a pretty _denouement_ it would be, we said, if, through thrusting
"strange food" upon us until the Column came in, there were left a
monster herd of jubilant bullocks to swell the chorus of welcome! And,
if I mistake not, they did actually swell it. At any rate, General
French was reported to have been highly indignant when informed of how
much more useful than palatable the horse was, and to have ordered its
exclusion from the abattoir forthwith. We had to continue vegetating on
Siege rations for two weeks after the arrival of French; but from the
first moment of his entry the nightmare of horseflesh troubled us no
more.

Those dark days were not without their humours withal; and there was a
piquancy in the very imperviousness of our risible faculties to their
correct appreciation. Asses and mules--it was said--were butchered in
common with horses, and discussion was wont to be rife on the relative
merits of the three animals in their new sphere of usefulness. The
difficulty involved in distinguishing a steak of one from a steak of
another was no small one; but donkey was reputed to taste sweeter than
common horse--a questionable recommendation!--and the advocates of this
theory were called cannibals. The mule had its backers, too; it was the
gentler animal, they contended in sustainment of their preference. But
all three beasts had acquired a fresh interest, notoriety, and dignity;
and it was edifying to watch men, not noted for their sporting
proclivities, eyeing an animal with the knowing look of a _connoisseur_
that seemed to say: "I wonder what he would taste like." Whether it was
that, being so cheap he might be regarded "gift horse," or for some less
occult reason, the points of a beast were never looked for in the mouth.
His age, for example, might strike a thinking person as an important
factor to be remembered in the summing up of a horse's fitne