BREEDING OF HUNTEKjS. 269 



together, and then parted. At Ashby and Brigsley, 

 Brooks was in difficulties, as his mare three times 

 refused a water-course with post and rails. All 

 seemed lost, but at the nick of time Nicholson ap- 

 peared over a fence. "Why, Field, you're just 

 the man I want I" roared Tom ; " give me a lead 

 over." " I'll show you the way to jump, my boy," 

 was the jaunty reply; and Tom's mare followed him 

 like a bird. They met no more in the race, as Field 

 went below Barnoldby and got too far out of his line, 

 while Tom kept the high ground on the other side of 

 the village, and reached the steeple, out of which 

 those two ancient elderberry bushes still persevere 

 in growing like a couple of ears, in the very teeth of 

 archdeacon and churchwardens, as clever a winner as 

 his fondest backers could wish. 



But we must bid good-bye to Brocklesby and 

 all its hunting glories, and wend our steps to the 

 little hunting metropolis of Leicestershire. It was 

 here that Cannon Ball made himself a name, and 

 season after season proved the sire of a very gentle- 

 manly class of brown and chesnut horses, which ran 

 from fifteen- two to fifteen- three, and inherited almost 

 universally his white face, round barrel, and short 

 legs. He was himself a beautifully rich brown, 

 with a white blaze and three white legs, but his 

 stock had all rather upright shoulders, and his suc- 

 cess was not proportionate to the immense amount 

 of superior mares that were sent to him. Umbriel 

 bears some strong general resemblance to him, as 

 we remember an ex-jockey coming up to him as he 

 took his last parade round the paddock, before the 

 Derby, and apostrophizing Templeman with "Why, 

 Sim ! there's old Cannon Ball back again I' 9 We 

 think it was a young Cannon Ball which took Sir 

 Tatton's fancy so much in one of his Leicestershire 

 journeys, that he purchased him, and for fear of ac- 

 cidents, led him all the way back from Loughborough 



