and smell vinegery. 'May be, next Christmas,' sais he,
'you won't larf so loud, when you find the mare is dead.
Goodish and the old mare are jist alike, they are all
tongue them critters. I rather think it's me,' sais he,
'has the right to larf, for I've got the best of this
bargain, and no mistake. This is as smart a little hoss
as ever I see. I know where I can put him off to great
advantage. I shall make a good day's work of this. It is
about as good a hoss trade as I ever made. The French
don't know nothin' about hosses; they are a simple people,
their priests keep 'em in ignorance on purpose, and they
don't know nothin'.'

"He cracked and bragged considerable, and as we progressed
we came to Montagon Bridge. The moment pony sot foot on
it, he stopped short, pricked up the latter eends of his
ears, snorted, squeeled and refused to budge an inch.
The Elder got mad. He first coaxed and patted, and soft
sawdered him, and then whipt and spurred, and thrashed
him like any thing. Pony got mad too, for hosses has
tempers as well as Elders; so he turned to, and kicked
right straight up on eend, like Old Scratch, and kept on
without stoppin' till he sent the Elder right slap over
his head slantendicularly, on the broad of his back into
the river, and he floated down thro' the bridge and
scrambled out at t'other side.

"Creation! how he looked. He was so mad, he was ready to
bile over; and as it was he smoked in the sun, like a
tea-kettle. His clothes stuck close down to him, as a