132 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER 



does not suit mj taste." However, I went to the 

 place of meeting — a large cover of his own — and 

 there I found the squire. " But what are you going 

 to do with the spade ? " said I, seeing one in his 

 butler's hand ; "you are not going to dig a fox, are 

 you ? " " Why, no," he replied ; " but to tell you 

 the truth, as the ditches are very blind and my butler 

 is getting very fat, I thought he might as well walk 

 after us with a spade, and then, if we come to an 

 awkward place, he can throw the bank into the ditch 

 in a minute, and we can walk through." He had a 

 mortal aversion to a ditch, and on my once asking 

 him why he did not hunt his woodlands oftener, he 

 answered he did not like the deep ditches. " They 

 tell me," said he, " my horses will not put their feet 

 into them, but I can't help thinking they will, and 

 that's the same thing." ' 



The same writer records a little dispute between 

 Squire Chute and one of his servants, arising from 

 what the squire called ' a short answer.' 



' The squire sent for me one morning, as he 

 was often wont to do, and told me he wanted my 

 assistance — sometimes he would say, " I want your 

 advice," but in no one instance did he ever take it. 

 Well, when I got there, " I want a whipper-in," said 

 he. "Impossible!" said I; "you and John can 

 never part." " Why, yes, I think we must," was his 

 reply ; " he is got rather short in his answers lately." 

 Now, it so happened that I knew what one of these 



