346 THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



courage and resolution so desirable in horses who have to 

 face the thickly-set thorn fences of the countries we have 

 just alluded to, are the reverse of what is wanting here. 

 Extreme steadiness is required amounting, indeed, to 

 slackness at the generality of the fences we have been 

 describing ; and it being the lot of our hero to have only 

 two of his stud (which consisted of eight hunters and two 

 hacks) possessing these qualities, he never went out with- 

 out a fall. Butjhe profited by these mishaps in more ways 

 than one. Before he had been a month in the country, his 

 horses were up to every description of trap, in the first 

 place ; and, in the next, he acquired some excellent lessons 

 on the use of the bridle hand from some of the best men 

 in the Hunt ; and from none more to his edification than 

 from one whose calling confined him to the use of the 

 black coat : this was the Rev. James Tomlinson, quite the 

 crack man of the field, being a horseman of the very 

 first class, 'and a good sportsman withal. Our hero was 

 delighted as well as edified by the manner in which this 

 gentleman crossed this cramped and difficult country, 

 conceiving him to be a man who would shine in any 

 country, forasmuch as he combined quickness with his 

 judgment of every point relating to hounds ; and his hand 

 was equal to anything. His stud was not large not 

 exceeding half a dozen ; but, when disposed to sell, they 

 commanded any price. 



It has happened to most men who have ridden after 

 hounds although not perhaps more than once in their 

 life to feel a horse take what is called a second spring 

 when in the air. This circumstance occurred one day to 

 our hero, when hunting with the Cheshire hounds, and 

 on mentioning the subject to Mr. Home, he thus delivered 

 his opinion upon it : 



" I have experienced this extra exertion in a hunter 

 more than once," observed Mr. Home, " but I admit the 

 difficulty of accounting for it. Leaping commonly takes 

 place on a fixed surface, which possesses the power of 

 resistance, in consequence of its firmness ; still, leaping, as 

 we know, can be performed, to a certain degree, from a 

 yielding surface, although the retrograde motion of the 

 surface produces a diminution in the velocity of the leap, 

 compared with that which is made from firm ground. 

 However, here is a fulcrum to spring from in each case ; 

 but how a horse, having once made his spring, has the 



