All the time this was going on, Mr. Rarey
spoke quietly and encouragingly to him, until at last Cruiser felt that
he had met a master and a friend.
In three hours Cruiser's owner was able to mount him, and Mr. Rarey's
fortune was made, for the horse was a distinguished individual, whose
return to society was hailed with joy. Queen Victoria expressed her
pleasure at Cruiser's improvement and frequently came to see him and
caress him.
Cruiser became the property of his tamer, and went with Mr. Rarey
through the principal countries of Europe. Everywhere throngs came to
see him and his still more wonderful master.
"My mission," said Mr. Rarey, "is to teach men that kindness, patience
and firmness must be used in the management of horses. They are taught
by gentleness and not by harshness."
Rarey gave free lectures to cabmen and truck-drivers wherever he went,
and the crowned heads of Europe were glad to share the privilege of
hearing and seeing him. Horses that had been frightened and angered by
ill-usage became, under his treatment, mild and easily governed. The
amount of good he accomplished it is not easy to estimate. He died
before he was forty years old, but the lesson he taught is not wholly
forgotten. Just before his death he said: "If I could only get back once
more to the old farm, and put my arms round my dear horses' necks, I
believe I should get well.
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