368 LEAVES FROM A HUNTING DIARY 



throuqh St. Mary's Mead Into Partridge Hills, when being 

 anxious to lose no time in letting him see " Cognac " go and 

 jump, as the time was running very close for getting to Leaden 

 Roothing, I offered to ride him a short round and turned him 

 over the fence into further Partridge Hills, which he flew 

 beautifully ; then across the brook into further Blacklands, over 

 the fence, near the covert, into Spring field, which had been 

 recently ploughed, and was desperately heavy, and had a very 

 awkward fence out of it into the Twenty Acres. I steadied him 

 therefore across the field, and made him take his time at the 

 fence, which he did very well. Then I took the circuit of 

 the Twenty Acres (which he was inclined to avoid) into the 

 turnip field called Nick Adams ; and then turning to the right 

 jumped the fence Into Broad Meadows, which he did well, and 

 then right down the meadows towards the fence, separating 

 this field from nearer Blacklands, in which fence with ditch 

 towards I had ordered hurdles to be placed on the top of the 

 bank, being the last fence before the brook which I had 

 determiined should complete my circuit. 



As soon as the horse had jumped Into Broad Meadows 

 and found his head set towards the hurdles in the fence, I could 

 perceive that he recognised an unusual appearance and that 

 he would do his best to avoid them. However, the jump would 

 certainly have been a rasper for any horse, however powerful 

 and fresh. I had, perhaps, too much confidence In the horse's 

 powers so that I did not make sufficient allowance for the 

 very heavy state of the ground after the frost, and his having 

 done no work for a month or more, and did not, therefore, 

 pay sufficient attention to certain indications of his being 

 rather blown, not allowing him to refuse and taking him too 

 cjuickly at the fence to permit him to stop, which he did his 

 best to do. Making an attempt to jump It askew towards 

 the other horses then approaching, his hind legs, after sliding 

 two or three yards along the turf, dropped into the ditch, and 

 he fell with tremendous violence on his near side on the 

 other side of the fence, breaking down the hurdles and going 

 with such force as to brlno- his hind le""s well after him 

 and clear of the ditch. He fell on to my left leg and foot, 

 bringing my left shoulder into collision with the ground. 

 Getting clear of him, in an instant I was on my legs, and 

 observed that he had positively ploughed up a large space in 

 the turf with his side which retained the Impression of it, but 

 on attempting to shake myself as usual, I found that on this 

 occasion It would not do, and that I could not stand upright 



