3 1 6 The Post and the Paddock. 



seemed as if part of the calf had come away with it, 

 and left the bones exposed. 



It would be hopeless to try and describe the tor- 

 ments he has endured since then how he broke the 

 leg once, if not twice how pieces of bone, nine or 

 ten, came away how he was twice over-fired by the 

 Oldfield-lane Doctor in that quaint old Manchester 

 fleshery, where toes and fingers were nipped off as 

 coolly as if they were sugar nibs ; and the patients 

 were set to hold one another, nine out of ten being 

 assured they were " regular bad-plucked uns !" Suf- 

 fice it to say, that the calf continued to be little more 

 than a bundle of bones and ligaments, strapped toge- 

 ther with diachylon plaster; and yet it was under 

 this martyrdom riding with one stirrup shorter 

 than the other, often hunting six days a week, while 

 not closing his eyes for agony at night, and adding a 

 little to the heel of his boot each year as the knee 

 tendons contracted that he won his spurs in Cheshire, 

 and served Mr. Davenport for several seasons. How- 

 ever, while exercising the young hounds one dewy 

 morning in Trentham Park, he caught a chill, and on 

 coming home it was found that mortification had 

 commenced in the limb. That was temporarily 

 averted ; but things looked so threatening, that it 

 was deemed advisable to take the leg off in the 

 November of 1855. Chloroform was a long time 

 doing its duty ; but all was skilfully achieved, and he 

 only awoke at the very fag-end of the operation. H e was 

 able to get into another room by Christmas-day, but 

 lie was so wasted that his wife could easily carry him 

 about, and all hope of hunting seemed gone for ever 

 and aye.^ By the day of the second Quorn sale he 

 had furnished himself with two legs, one for walking 

 and the other for riding, and reappeared at Quorn on 

 a crutch, where he was looked upon and hailed by 

 his brother huntsmen as quite a Crimean veteran. 

 Unfortunately his walking leg would not ride, while 



