2 ;o The Post and the Paddock. 



bruising away from his first find as if he had been at 

 it all his life, comforting himself with the notion that 

 " if heavy men break their horses' backs, light men 

 break their hearts." 



It was a royal sight to see him go pounding along 

 on Robin, with a pound weight of gold and silver jin- 

 gling in his waistcoat; and if he did not jump through 

 a gate, out would come half-a-crown and a very 

 forcible sanatory recommendation to any old stick- 

 gathering lady who had the luck to open it for him. 

 In spite of his always getting so forward, he sat like a 

 sack, and could never be said to have any hands on a 

 horse. Old Prince was also another of these thorough- 

 bred waggon horses ; so good, in fact, that the late 

 Lord Forester and Sir Robert Leighton posted a 

 thousand-guinea challenge at Tattersall's, about the 

 year 1813, for him and his owner (old George Harriot, 

 of Melton) to run against any or all comers over 

 Leicestershire at sixteen stone for 1000 guineas. One 

 morning, just as the hounds found at Whetstone 

 Gorse, Sir Robert said to his owner " For goodness' 

 sake don't ride to-day ; Canning's brother is here to 

 get your measure and make the match." But the 

 reply was " You are too late ; the horse would break 

 my neck if I tried to stop him now." So away went 

 " the heavies," side by side, till they reached a brook, 

 which the old horse, pricking his ears as was his wont, 

 took in his stride, while his companion floundered, 

 fell, and was no more seen, and thus ended all hopes 

 of the match ; but the old horse went on through the 

 fifty minutes without a check, and Mr. Assheton 

 Smith was only second up that day. 



The late Lord Sefton's father, when he hunted 

 Leicestershire, had the finest stable of horses that 

 ever man possessed ; they were most of them tho- 

 rough-bred and as strong as dray-horses. He was 

 the first^ to introduce the second-horse system, which 

 he did in right good earnest, as he had not unfre- 



