HORSE DEALING 235 



easily accounted for, from his being one of the finest 

 horses I think I ever saw. But I found another 

 cause for this general attraction, when I heard he 

 was not only beyond competition the widest jumper 

 in the stud, but known to be the widest brook, or 

 drain-jumper in Lincolnshire, where he had been 

 hunted. He was put up with the rest, and I bought 

 him at a hundred guineas. He was no sooner 

 knocked down to me than I felt I had done wrong. 

 Several others of the same stud were sold at far 

 higher prices, not one of which could any way be 

 compared with him as to looks, size, or breeding ; 

 in short, I felt certain he was too cheap to be good. 

 A couple of guineas to the head groom produced no 

 explanation, but that he was a very good horse, the 

 fastest in the stud, and the biggest jumper in Lin- 

 colnshire. I hunted him; found him fast enough 

 to go at his ease up to any hounds with any scent ; 

 nothing too big for him in his stride, and a mistake 

 seemed impossible, so it was anything he chose to 

 try ; but he seemed to think it beneath his dignity 

 to jump at any ordinary fence, and I should say, 

 during three times I rode him with hounds, he was 

 on his nose with me twenty times. He had another 

 pleasing propensity ; if there were twenty little 

 water-drains in the field, I would back him to put 

 his foot in every one of them. I was lucky enough, 

 however, to find a farmer who piqued himself on 

 being the boldest rider in the country where I was 



