TOM FIRR. 247 



Penrhyn's absence, sent the hounds home." Huntsmen, 

 like other riding men, generally lose some of their nerve 

 after forty. Mr. Otho Paget tells us that the late Tom 

 Firr was the only huntsman he ever knew who retained 

 his riding nerve to the end. He was riding brilliantly 

 at fifty-eight, in his last season with the Quorn, when 

 he met with an accident which compelled him to resign 

 his post. With Lord Lonsdale as Master, and Tom 

 Firr as huntsman, the Quorn possessed two of the 

 most perfect horsemen who ever crossed Leicester- 

 shire. 



I think the best treatment for a lady suffering from 

 loss of nerve is, first of all, to attend to her health, 

 which will probably be out of order ; then get a steady 

 horse or pony and ride him quietly for a time, and the 

 chances are that the good nerve will all come back 

 again. It grieves people who have been unable, from 

 various causes, to keep up their riding practice, to 

 think that they have lost their nerve, and they 

 brood over it until they often imagine they are past 

 hope of recovery, but that is a great mistake. This 

 feeling can be struggled against, and, in most cases, 

 conquered, by quiet measures. Nothing but the most 

 " confidential " animal will help to do it, so I would 

 warn my riding brethren not to make matters worse 

 for their womenkind by providing any other kind of 

 mount. 



