CHAPTER II.

THE HORSE-STORY.

A

S the hardy yeomen of Pennsylvania had possessed themselves of some of the best horses America produces, so the emigrants from that noble old State to the younger States of the West carried the same custom with them. All classes, from the oldest to the youngest, were supposed to be good judges of horse-flesh. In Ohio, this was an important requisite. The country was of such a nature, that large, strong horses were necessary for the profitable cultivation of the crops and the prosecution of business.. In the working of his tannery and farm, Jesse Grant required another horse. He sent Ulysses, who was then assisting him in the tan-yard, to make the purchase. The animal was to be bought of a neighbor; and the boy was anxious to make a trade that would please his father. Young as he was then, he had learned the difference in horses.

"Go to neighbor Ralston, my son," said Mr. Grant, and tell him I have sent you to buy the horse we talked about. You may offer him fifty dollars at first. If he says he won't take that, offer him fifty

five. If that won't bring the creetur, you might go as high as sixty."

Ulysses started on his expedition, and soon reached the neighbor and the horse.

"Your father sent you to buy this mare of me, did he?" inquired Mr. Ralston.

"Yes, sir, he did," replied young Grant, eying the animal closely.

"Did he tell you how much you were to give me for him?" continued Ralston, looking down on the thirteen-year-old trader.

"Yes, sir," responded Ulysses in the frankness and integrity of his nature.

"Father told me to offer you fifty dollars for the horse; and then he said, if you wouldn't take that, I might rise to fifty-five, but I mustn't go above sixty."

"Oh, that's it!" said neighbor Ralston. dollars is my price for the mare."

"Sixty

Ulysses, with a look of youthful gravity becoming the occasion, quickly added, "Father said I might give sixty dollars; but, after seeing the horse again, I don't think she's worth more than fifty to us: so you may take that, or it's no trade."

Neighbor Ralston looked at the little fellow, quite astonished. But he saw that Ulysses had the best of the bargain; that he had been outwitted by a smart boy. He let him have the horse for fifty dollars; and Ulysses rode her home to his father.

THE CANADIAN COUSIN.

17

Here was the first practical illustration of youthful self-reliance. It shows that Ulysses, the tanner-boy, had a mind of his own. We shall see, as we go on

with our story of his life, how well he maintains this character. The youth who studies obedience to parents, who rightly honors his father and mother, will sooner or later enjoy the reward of his welldoing.

Ulysses had a cousin who was born in Canada. It was natural that this cousin, who was a spirited boy, should have learned something from his ancestors prejudicial to the Americans. Some of the most bitter enemies of the United States are to be found in the British North-American provinces. This is owing to the fact that among their forefathers were to be found many of the Tories of the American Revolution, the men who sided against America in favor of the attempt of the British Crown to maintain its hold on all the North-American continent. The resident Englishmen did not all feel so. Their fathers fought the Americans in battle; and, when they were conquered, they withdrew from the country, under the regulations of an honorable peace. They could not but respect the character of a nation which had proved its valor through a bloody struggle that lasted for seven years, and that had triumphed over the most powerful and most warlike people of modern Europe. Nearly all of the tens of thousands who departed from the shores of America to their homes