124 ^-^^ nORSE AND HIS RIDER 



but his unfortunate follower's horse, striking the top 

 bar with his knee, came headlong into the road with 

 his rider, who was carried home senseless. The next 

 day, as the squire was riding through the village, he 

 was mobbed and hooted by the old women, as being 

 the man who had nearly killed their hard-riding 

 farrier. 



This anecdote is not unlike that told of Burton, 

 the Nuneaton tanner, who always made a dead set 

 at Mr. Smith in a similar way. The tanner was 

 habitually attired in a light-green coat, from which 

 lie received the name of the Paroquet, and he rode 

 remarkably well. The squire at last, being deter- 

 mined to shake him off, sent Jack o' Lantern at an 

 almost impracticable flight of stiff rails, the top bar 

 of which he broke, and, to his dismay, made the 

 passage easy for the tough man of hides, who was 

 soon once more at his side, and was not destined to 

 receive his tanning, at all events that time. 



Of course such desperate horsemanship brought 

 a fair share of accidents. In the words of a popular 

 sporting author, 'Mr. Smith got a many falls. He 

 always seemed to ride loose, quite by balance, not 

 sticking with his knees very much. He always went 

 slantways at his jumps; it is a capital plan. The 

 horse gets his measure better — he can give himself 

 more room. If you put his head straight it is 

 measured for him ; if you put him slantish he 

 measures it for himself; you always see Mr. Greene 



