y from those to be employed in the government of
children or of men.

Some of the accounts of Mr. Rarey's system, however, which have been
published, are liable to mislead, and to foster a mischievous error. His
procedure was eminently kind and gentle. The horse became fully assured
that no harm was intended towards him. This conviction is essential to
success in securing a perfect and willing obedience, whether from brute
or human. But the distinctness with which this feature of the treatment
was brought out in Mr. Rarey's exhibitions, led some apparently to think
that this was the main, if not the only feature. Kindness alone,
however, will not tame, and will not govern, brutes or men. There must
be power. There must be, in the mind of the party to be governed, a full
conviction that the power of the other party is superior to his
own--that there is, in the party claiming obedience, an ample reserve of
power fully adequate to enforce the claim. The more complete this
conviction is, the less occasion there will be for the exercise of the
power. The most headstrong horse, once convinced that he is helpless in
this contest of strength, and convinced at the same time that his master
is his friend, may be led by a straw.

Mr. Rarey went through various preliminary steps, the object of which
was to make the horse acquainted with him, and to prevent fright or
panic. But obedience was not claimed, and was not given, until there had
been a demonstration of power--until the horse was convinced that the
man was entirely too much for him. By a very simple adjustment of straps
to the forefeet of the animal, he became perfectly helpless in the hands
of his tamer. The struggle, indeed, was sometimes continued for a good
while. The horse put forth his prodigious strength to the utmost. He
became almost wild at the perfect ease and quietude with which all his
efforts were baffled, until at length, fully satisfied that further
struggles were useless, he made a complete surrender, and lay down as
peaceful and submissive as an infant.

This point is of some importance. I do not underrate the value of
kindness and love in any system of government, whether in the household,
the school, the stable, the menagerie, or in civil society. But love is
not the basis of government. Obedience is yielded to authority, and
authority is based on right and power. The child who complies with his
father's wishes, only because a different course would ma