128 ECHOES OF SPORT 



riding sufficiently to put me into the con- 

 dition necessary to stand a long and hard 

 day's hunting. To make a long story short, 

 after various attempts to come out again, the 

 doctor's mandate went forth " No more hunt- 

 ing," at which I bit a pencil in half from sheer 

 rage. A few months afterwards my back 

 was fired as a restorative to its overstrained 

 muscles and nerves, so it is not horses' legs 

 alone that require hot irons after hard days 

 and breakdowns. 



That was the end for some years to my 

 hunting career at home, for after this 

 disastrous ending my good cousins at Thorpe 

 dared not take the responsibility of mount- 

 ing me, knowing that my love of the game 

 would break down all common sense and 

 vows of good behaviour. On one occasion 

 they did allow me to go out on a fourteen 

 hand pony, when I galloped myself silly for 

 about five hours, at the end of which time I 

 saw three men on every horse and had the 

 headache of my life ; so that was no use 

 either. As I did not seem capable of temper- 



