186 The Hunting Field With Horse and Hound 



Each cross road that we passed poured into the main road 

 its contribution of riders, so that before the meet was reached 

 the highway contained almost an unbroken procession. Occa- 

 sionally a youth, or light headed rider in a new hunting coat, 

 or a horse dealer who could not resist the opportunity to dis- 

 play himself or his horse, went galloping by on the side of the 

 road as though he had been thrown out of the run and was 

 making all speed to recover the hounds. There was a timid 

 city chappie on a nervous three-cornered rake of a thorough- 

 bred that the best architect or land surveyor could neither 

 design nor measure. A very uncomfortable partnership they 

 made for each other, but they afforded a lot of amusement for 

 the lookers-on. The horse, instead of going forward head first, 

 went drifting down the road sideways like a yacht that had 

 slipped her moorings and was going down river beam first, 

 sometimes stern first. 



Now and again the horse would lower his head and throw 

 the rider — a tall, slim man — onto liis neck, then he would 

 start straight ahead as if a flag had fallen before him, in any 

 direction he happened to be heading, when the spell struck him. 

 Sometimes he headed down off the macadam as if he were 

 going to take the hedge. But instead he downed helm and 

 changed from the port to the starboard tack and so continued 

 until he finally fetched up on the opposite side of the road, 

 drifting, drifting, bolting ahead, coming in stays, and so on 

 from one side of the road to the other, greatly to the amuse- 

 ment of small boys and farm lads, who offered suggestions as 

 the pair drifted past. 



"Your 'orse is giving you lots of ride for your money," 

 volunteered one farm hand over the fence. 



Said another farm hand to liis companion: "I say, Bill, I 

 say. Bill, there goes a 'orse what 'ad 'is 'ead put on where his 

 tail oughter be. 'E's built to go tother end to." 



"No, hit's cause the rider is cross-eyed and 'e can't no 



