SOME HUMOURS OF THE CHASE 295 



edge, dismounted, and bestowed a hearty crack to the 

 quarters of his steed, which plunged into the water 

 and swam across. His master watched him land with 

 interest, and then, and only then, the idea seemed to 

 strike him that there might be a difficulty about 

 rejoining partnership. I saw him scratch his head 

 and stalk solemnly up the bank. The pace was too 

 good to make further inquiries, but it will be long 

 before I forget the scene. 



The inquiries, expostulations, warnings, and words 

 of advice that one hears flying about during the 

 progress of a run over a stiffly enclosed country are 

 often very comical ; but it is well to make up one's 

 mind to be good-humoured, if possible, during the 

 hustle that often ensues, particularly at the commence- 

 ment of the chase, and if one has to remonstrate, to 

 do it as politely as possible. 



A friend of mine — alas ! now with the majority — 

 used to contain his anger at times with difficulty, but 

 always so successfully that it exploded in withering 

 and overpowering politeness. " Pray, sir," I heard him 

 once exclaim to a stranger, "in all this fine country, 

 can you find no other place to ride but on the nape 

 of my neck or the small of my back, where you have 

 been the entire day ? " At the commencement of a 

 sharp gallop, in the long ago, which followed one of 

 the " invitation meets " I have noticed, one of the 

 strangers rode right into a well-known luminary of 

 the Kilkenny Hunt, an elderly gentleman of light 

 weight and lively temper, a very hard and slightly 



jealous man to hounds. Poor Mr. was sent flying 



into a deepish ditch just as his horse was taking off. 



