THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



next, he acquired some excellent lessons on the use of the 

 bridle hand from some of the best men in the Hunt; and from 

 none more to his edification than from one whose callino- con- 

 fined him to the use of tlie black coat : this was the Rev. James 

 Tomlinson, quite the crack man of the field, being a horseman 

 of the very first class, and a good sportsman withal. Our 

 hero was delighted as well as edified by the manner in which 

 this gentleman crossed this cramped and difficult country, 

 conceiving him to be a man who would shine in any country, 

 forasmuch as he combined quickness with his judgment of 

 every point relating to hounds ; and his hand was equal to 

 anything. His stud was not large — not exceeding half a 

 dozen; but, when disposed to sell, they commanded any 

 price. 



It has happened to most men who have ridden after hounds 

 — although not perhaps more than once in their life — to feel a 

 horse take what is called a second spring when in the air. This 

 circumstance occurred one day to our hero, when hunting with 

 the Cheshire hounds, and on mentioning the subject to Mr. 

 Home, he thus delivered his opinion upon it : — 



' I have experienced this extra exertion in a hunter more 

 than once,' observed Mr. Home, ' but I admit the difficulty 

 of accounting for it. Leaping commonly takes place on a 

 fixed surface, which possesses the power of resistance, in con- 

 sequence of its firmness ; still, leaping, as we know, can be 

 performed, to a certain degree, from a yielding surface, 

 although the retrograde motion of the surface produces a 

 diminution in the velocity of the leap, compared with that 

 which is made from firm ground. However, here is a fulcrum 

 to spring from in each case ; but how a horse, having once 

 made his spring, has the power to increase the velocity of it, 

 is difficult to account for, unless, as is the case with serpents, 

 and such aquatic insects as have long bodies and no fins, he 

 have the power of inflecting the body to a certain extent, and 

 thence acquire an impetus. Swimming and flying are leaps 

 which take place in fluids, but they are produced b}^ the re- 

 sistance these fluids make to the impulse of certain surfaces, 

 througli which swimming or flying animals move with great 

 rapidity ; but the velocity is necessarily great in proportion to 

 the variety of the medium.. The muscles which produce it 

 require, therefore, a force vastly superior to that which is 



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