24 REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 



where he imagined the fence was. Between the mare 

 and the horse I was completely cowed from riding, 

 and had not my brotlier Flenry taken compassion on 

 me, and lent me a fine old horse, a terrible " slug," 

 but a capital fencer, called Sultan, I think I never 

 should have ridden to hounds. It was so delightful 

 to me to be on this horse, and to have to put him at 

 fences to go clean over them, and to rouse him to his 

 work, after the hot, fretful whirlwinds I had been on, 

 who always went through everything, that I soon 

 could take a line of my own. At length the harriers, 

 after hunting occasional bag foxes, hunted occasional 

 fallow deer. We had a beautiful little fallow doe 

 that gave us several good runs, and then we had 

 some red deer. All this time I was assisting to whip 

 in, as we could not afford to keep servants for the 

 hounds, and my passion for the chase increased. I 

 bought a black horse soon after I joined the Guards, 

 of a gentlemen at Datchet, near Windsor, who car- 

 ried me very well, and was a perfect fencer. About 

 this time I caught my first lesson in horse-dealing. 

 I had an animal I drove in my tilbury, and, wishing 

 to change it, Mr. Thorpe, of Chippenham, who was in 

 the regjment with me, took me to a dealer set up for 

 a short time in \Yindsor. This man's name was 

 Everett, if I remember rightly, or some name very 

 like it. We exchanged horse for horse, and I gave 

 him a cheque on my banker in London for seven or 

 ten pounds, I forget which, to boot. The horse 

 seemed all right the day I bought it, and was war- 

 ranted sound ; but the next morning its name was 

 " Hobbler," for it could not put one foot, after stand- 

 ing still, before the other. On discovering this, I ran 

 down to the dealer's stables — doors locked, and no go ! 



