REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 123 



out of condition, and, my stable being full, I had 

 strongly recommended Mr. Magniac and other gen- 

 tlemen to buy him ; they however, on one plea or 

 other, — either that he was not handsome enough or 

 had not action enough, — neglected to do so; and the 

 instant that the run was over, and my man's horse 

 reported dead, I ordered old Pack, who had ridden 

 second horse for Mr. Lea Anthony, to jog on gently 

 to Plarrold, and put the boot-maker's horse in my 

 stable at the price his master had set on him, thirty 

 guineas or pounds, I forget which. The fact was, 

 as there were a vast number of horses stopped that 

 day, I feared other people might be in want of a 

 horse, and, aware of my recommendation, buy him. 

 This horse was afterwards ridden by Tom Skinner, 

 and then by George Carter, and his condition im- 

 proved and his fencing perfected, though the latter 

 was perfect indeed when I bought him, and " Ready" 

 then came into my stable as handsome and as good a 

 horse as ever huntsman rode. When the sorrowful 

 day had arrived and passed, the parting between me 

 and my hounds, I sold Ready to Lord Fitzhardinge 

 for three hundred guineas. 



