46 NIMROD'S HUNTING TOUR 



hounds as himself for three or four miles, when things went smooth 

 and well ; but when difficulties arose, horses became distressed, and 

 judgment was called into action, he was the man to look to. What 

 is not always the case with men that are called hard riders, all sorts 

 of fences came alike to Mr. Canning ; and those who have seen the 

 brooks and gates which he has ridden over in a run, have been 

 almost inclined to believe that he had borrowed Pegasus for the 

 day. 



Mr. Canning's stud generally consisted of five or six hunters, but 

 he seldom had more than one out at a time, and never appeared to 

 recollect that he rode seventeen stone. He was generally very 

 fortunate is not materially injuring them, and, all things considered, 

 escaped pretty well himself, although he has had some hard blows. 

 His horses, generally speaking, lasted several years, and he seldom 

 sold them, unless he was tempted with large prices. He rode one 

 horse, which he called Favorite, for eight seasons in succession ; 

 but the best hunter he ever had was a stallion, called Knoivsley, 

 which he purchased from Mr. Boycott, and which he hunted in the 

 winter, and bred from in the summer, producing some very useful 

 stock in the country. This horse • was not quite thorough-bred, 

 though he appeared to have a very small blot on his escutcheon ; and 

 when the country was not too deep, and with Mr. Canning on his 

 back, he proved himself to be one of the most brilliant and perfect 

 hunters that ever went into the field. Mr. C. lost his start one day 

 with this horse in Leicestershire, in a very quick thing of forty 

 minutes, and recovered it in a wonderful manner, getting quite into 

 a front place, and maintaining it to the end of the run. He had 

 another very wonderful hunter he called Conjurer. He was a 

 vulgar-looking horse, with extremely fine points about him, and 

 could go an extraordinary pace, and leap any thing. 



Having ventured to presume that this gallant horseman was born 

 to display the powers of the horse, I take leave to introduce one more 

 instance of his prowess. Towards the conclusion of Lord Middle- 

 ton's hunting Warwickshire, Mr. Canning got slack, and his stud 

 fell off. The hounds meeting near to him one day, he went to see 

 them find, on a little four-year-old mare that he had bred, equal to 

 about ten stone on the road, and which had never seen hounds 



