154 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER 



not a very fast horse, but his extraordinary jump- 

 ing and powers of endurance made up for it. He 

 was as perfect at a brook as he was at timber or 

 hedge and ditch, double and single, and I rode him 

 over all the timber divisions of the Home Park at 

 Windsor Castle, the stag and the hounds gaining an 

 - entrance over the river at Datchet, where a portion 

 of the park wall had fallen down. Running round 

 the park, after a very sharp run, I secured the stag 

 with my whip under the walls of the Castle, the 

 Prince Regent or his Majesty witnessing the conclu- 

 sion of the run from the Castle windows. 



' Brutus had more than once set the field over 

 park pales, and once by jumping the Brent, on 

 the other side of which I stopped the hounds 

 while the field went round, feeling no pleasure in 

 riding to the hounds alone. Another remarkable 

 jump made by him was over a gravel-pit on the 

 powder-mill stream. It was the first day of the 

 season, before advertising the meets, and I had 

 a good many young hounds out, one of which 

 hesitated to swim the stream. Knowing the fact 

 that there ous^ht to be nothino- before me but a 

 little bank and young quickset after I had ascended 

 the bank of the river, I had therefore turned my 

 head round to cheer the hounds across, when after 

 his little spring over the young quick I felt my horse 

 make a momentary pause, and an immense effort 

 between my knees to get himself together. Turning 



