o 



82 LEAVES FROM A HUNTING DIARY 



the Stag had taken to the enclosures, and the select few, going 

 at a good pace, I had therefore to clap on to make up for my 

 indolence, and gallantly little "Chancellor" responded to my 

 call upon his powers. 



But I could not help pausing to enjoy the scene at the first 

 fence, most of their horses attempting to bring them over, the 

 riders not being minded to come ; others with their nag's 

 forelegs and heads literally down in the ditch and their riders 

 telling them in that position to "go on." However, I found 

 that I need not wait, for at each fence was a repetition of the 

 scene, and I had no time to lose. "Chancellor" whom I was 

 riding in " Peep o' Day's " bridle, viz., a gag snaffle and curb 

 which suited him nicely, went splendidly, shooting past the 

 other horses and jumping all the fences (which were mostly 

 blind, cramped, and awkward) beautifully and without the 

 shadow of a mistake. I made him take his time at them, and 

 no place proved too big or too wide for him. It was a fine 

 line of grass meadow over Mr. Banbury's and Mr. Colvin's 

 land, until we came up to the stag in Cobbins Brook, which 

 " Chancellor '' crossed and recrossed by creeping through very 

 slowly. 



Dislodged from here he took another excellent line over 

 meadows, but the huntsman was not to be found, and there- 

 fore, at Colvin's suggestion, I got on with the leading couple 

 of hounds, and had a capital gallop with stiffish fencing, and 

 rather a nasty drop into a lane at which many got stuck up, 

 until we got to Cobbins Brook again, at another point where I 

 crossed and holloaing on the other hounds, and the huntsman 

 at length appearing, but keeping on the right side of the brook, 

 we ran on for a few fields further and took the stag underneath 

 a small hedge close by Copped Hall Park. The run in the 

 open must have been nearly if not quite an hour, and altogether 

 was about one hour and a-half; the hour over the enclo- 

 sures was really excellent, a good pace, nice riding turf and 

 sufficient fences. In addition to this piece of good fortune, 

 "Chancellor" delighted me, and I could not have been better 

 or more safely carried by "Wide-awake;" " Carlow " would 

 not have carried me so well, for he would have been too 

 excited. Probably the litde fellow not being in such high con- 

 dition was all in his and my favour to-day ; it reminded me 

 of old times (five or six seasons ago) when, on this same little 

 horse,* I would puzzle more than nine-tenths of the field. 



* See picture, p. 315. 



