monday, pebnuapy 12th, 1894. 



But things sometimes occur which alter the whole 

 tenor of our plans. " Neptune" was brought up to 

 the inn door with his head pointing in the direction 

 opposite to that it had been on his arrival. This 

 upset and deranged all the captain's calculations. 

 He approached what he supposed to be the left side, 

 and put his left foot into the stirrup. But the right 

 foot, which had so cleverly made its way over the 

 saddle on leaving home, now struck against " Nep- 

 tune's " neck, entangled itself in the tiller ropes, 

 and could not be got over. How was this ? He 

 had been so full of theory and rules for regulating 

 his movements, that he had not taken a general 

 observation of his position and bearings ; but now 

 that he does so, he perceives that his face is towards 

 the tail of his horse, and not towards the head, as 

 he had been accustomed to find it in his daily 

 practice at home. 



** But this," said he, when speaking of the adven- 

 ture, '' would not have much mattered, for I could 

 have slewed round and headed the other way, but, as 

 ill-luck would have it, up came Mr. A.'s four-in-hand 

 drag at that critical moment.^ * Neptune' became 

 unsteady, and in his pitching and tossing off went 

 my hat in front of the leaders' feet, whilst I was left 

 grimly clinging to the saddle, and unable to clear 

 my foot from the stirrup so as to profit by the 

 ostler's suggestion that it would be better to * unlight,' 



