56 REMINISCENCES OF 



the same side. He did this over and over again, do 

 what I would or could. The hounds ran away and 

 I remained. I tried over and over again ; he was 

 covered with foam and roared like a bull with rage. 

 He fell back into the brook with me four times and 

 wet me through, but he always jumped up again 

 without my getting off. He would always jump 

 over, but would not go a step further. He was in 

 such a state of fury, exhaustion and fever that I 

 thought he would die, so I desisted. I took my 

 knife and scraped him all over, put on my overcoat, 

 for I was covered with mud, waited till he got calm, 

 and then got on and walked quietly towards home, 

 about fourteen miles. When he got cool I turned 

 into a field, cantered across it, and jumped the fence 

 at the end, and across two or three fences quite 

 nicely. I got to Sulby, put him in the stable for 

 a few minutes, and went into the house. Lady 

 Elizabeth Villiers gave me a cup of tea and we 

 jogged home quite pleasantly, and we never 

 quarrelled again. 



" Iris" was bought by Mr. Padwick for his son 

 at the sale of the Pytchley horses. After the sale 

 he came to me and said, " I don't know if he will 

 suit my son. If not, I will give you the refusal of 

 him to get him back." He had been sold for 385 

 guineas. A few days after, on the i8th, I had a 

 letter from Mr. Edmund Tattersall saying, " ' Iris ' 

 will not suit Mr. Padwick. Come up and get your 

 old favourite back." The letter had been mis- 

 directed and had missed one post. I got into the 



