THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



truth, I beo-an not to like it, for the fences got very large and 

 strong, at least so they appeared to nie. 



' " A very stiff country this, sir," said I to a gentleman in black, 

 who appeared to be going very much at his ease ; " devilish big 

 fences, sir." 



' " Pretty well for that, sir," he replied ; " but you are young 

 enough, and strong enough. You've nothing to do but to throw 

 your heart over them, and follow it." 



' My heart, howe^'er, proved stouter than my horse. I went 

 boring along, losing around in every field we entered, and beine; 

 obliged to turn away from a stiff stile, with a foot-bridge over 

 a brook on the rising side, which I knew I had not in me at 

 the time, I lost sight of the leading men, and of the hounds of 

 course, only making my appearance at the last, by the help 

 of a turnpike road, with the rest of the awkward squad, 

 about ten minutes after the fox had been killed, which he was, 

 at the end of a beautiful and very fast burst of thirty-eight 

 minutes. 



' Nevertheless, all things considered, I had not great reason 

 to be dissatisfied with the occurrences of tliis day. I certainly 

 was in a very good place the first quarter of an hour, and not 

 in a bad one the next five minutes ; and, now I thiidc of it, I can 

 account for my not being able to go well to the end of the run. 

 I recollect hearing Mr. Somerby say, when at Amstead, that there 

 was a sort of, not ad valorem, but ad virtufeni, price upon horses 

 that were, as mine were, " well known in Leicestershire." "It 

 depends," said he, " on how long they can go. For example," 

 resumed he, " a horse that can go well for twenty minutes will 

 always fetch his 100 guineas, and if half an hour, double that 

 sum." Now as I only gave 150 guineas for Gentleman, at 

 Tattersall's, I had no reason to expect to have gone fartlier than 

 I did on that money. I shall, however, in future require a little 

 exposition of the words, "well known in Leicestershire " — whether 

 for good, or for evil. 



' I was rather surprised to find, judging from the state of my 

 own horse, and that of many others, that another fox was to be 

 drawn for, as, notwithstanding some of the leading men mounted 

 fresh horses, others rode the same which liad carried them so 

 forward in the first severe burst. This, however, was another 

 pi'oof of the superiority of tliese hor.ses; and when next in want 

 of hunters, it shall be from amongst such as are known to do 



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