386 NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 



It seems he one day mounted a young lieutenant in the navy on this 

 horse with the hounds for the small sum of one guinea ; and on the cap- 

 tain asking- him how he could venture to put a young sailor on a horse 

 of that value ? — his answer was capital. *' Oh," said he, " I knew what 

 1 was about. You must know this horse pulled like a bull, (pronounc- 

 ing ;jz^// and bull as if there had been half a dozen letters u in each 

 word), and as soon as the lieutenant was able to stop him, after we found 

 the fox, he jumped off his back and led him home." John, it seems, 

 won two fifties with this nag afterwards, and sold him for the money he 

 gave for him. He also rode and won a match for 2001. a side, between 

 the Duke of Gordon, when Marquis of Huntley, and a Captain M'Cul- 

 loch who rode his own horse, four miles on a turnpike road. " Towards 

 the last," said John, " the captain thought I was done, because I kept 

 back as I used to do when I wanted to let in some tail hounds at the 

 death ; but I soon told him a different story, and threw the dirt in his 

 face when I had nursed my horse a little." 



Wednesday 18th. The fixture of this day I have forgotten, but what 

 happened upon it I shall never forget. At the second fence, after we 

 found our fox, the Duchess fell with me at a double fence, owing to the 

 ground being false, and, in getting up, put one hind foot on the crowm of 

 my hat, and the other on my left breast. As may be supposed, this was 

 what is called "a floorer;" for the mere weight of a horse's carcase on 

 that of a man is bad enough, but when added to the effort of rising from 

 the ground, as was the case here, it is almost more than could be 

 expected that I am alive to relate the fact. Neither shall I forget the 

 involuntary roar I gave during the pressure from the foot, which seemed 

 as if it was about to pass through my body. However, on getting on my 

 legs, and finding I did not spit blood, I mounted and got up to the hounds 



