150 THE BARB AND THE BRIDLE. 



fast hold of the saddle, and laughing, declared it was " capital fun."" 

 I confess, on her account, and that of the horses, I did not think so ; 

 but encouraged her in her fearlessness. We gave the horses their 

 heads, and they struck out bravely towards the cliff. As soon as 

 they recovered their footing, the lady, having been previously 

 cautioned to extricate her foot from the stirrup, shpped off her horse, 

 the water taking her up to her waist. I lost no time in following her 

 example, and turning the horses loose, we drove them at the sharp 

 and slippery incline up the hill. Both horses scrambled up, with no 

 further damage than the breaking of a bridle ; but to get the lady 

 (encmnbered as she was with her wet garments) up the steep hillside 

 Was a task I have not forgotten to this day. The face of the cliff was 

 studded with patches of gorse here and there, which assisted us 

 certainly at the expense, of my companion, of severely scratched 

 hands and torn gloves. But the ground was so slippery that our 

 •vi^et boots caused us continually to slip back, both of us in this 

 rfespect being at a great disadvantage with the horses, whose iron 

 shoes and corkings enabled them to obtain better foothold. Partly, 

 hbwever, by dragging, partly by cheering the lady to persevere, 

 I succeeded in gaining the level ground with her, while the sea broke 

 lA heavy, noisy surges below, and sent the spray flying over us. The 

 lidy, who had borne up bravely so far, fainted from reaction when 

 we gained the level sward, where the horses were grazing quietly, 

 none the worse for their bath. But there were three stalwart Basque 

 p(easants at work hard by, turning up the soil with their four-pronged 

 iton forks. Their cottage was close at hand, and having partially 

 revived the fair sufferer, we carried her to the house, where she 

 received every attention from the padrona, and no further evil 

 resulted, except scratches and torn garments. But while I was 

 sensibly impressed with the courage displayed by my companion, 

 who was a shght, delicate woman, I am quite certain that ignorance 

 of the right thing to do at the right time would have been fatal to 

 both of us. As the tide gained so rapidly upon us, had the lady 

 allowed her horse to flounder or plunge m it, she would inevitably 

 have become entangled with him and drowned, despite any effort of 

 mine to save her. 



