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his hat was too much crushed to be worth picking up — 

 he was forced to content himself with following a leader 

 for the remainder of this day.' 



Mytton, however, was no mere reckless ' thruster.' 

 He had a thorough knowledge not only of the art of 

 horsemanship, but of the nature and temperament of 

 the horses he rode, and to this feature of his riding 

 ' Nimrod ' pays the following remarkable tribute : — 



' In speaking of Mytton as a horseman, I have stated 

 the singular fact of his never having so completely tired 

 his horses in the field as to have been obliged to walk 

 home, which I, in great part, attribute to his strength of 

 hand in assisting them in their work. It is true he rode 

 excellent horses, for bad ones were useless to him ; but 

 he really appeared to have a sort of magic influence 

 over their tempers — at all events it seemed as if they 

 sympathised with him in his frolics — for they were 

 always tranquil under him, and would do almost any- 

 thing he required them to do. He would ride them up 

 steps and down steps, and round the inside of the house 

 without their appearing to be the least bit disconcerted 

 or alarmed, nor did I ever hear that he was a sufferer by 

 such dangerous frolics.' 



John Mytton, the enthusiastic sportsman and dashing 

 Master of Foxhounds, was, as he deserved to be, the 

 most popular man in Shropshire. Nor was he without 

 other claims to popularity. He was a kind and con- 

 siderate landlord, the most lavishly liberal of hosts, the 

 best farmer in the county, and, until his habits of 

 inebriety grew upon him, a capital companion — for 

 his natural talents were excellent. He read with un- 

 usual rapidity, but with such quick intelligence, that he 

 remembered what he read. He had always an apt 



