6o HOUND AND HORN 



ever he rode had got to go where and how he 

 wanted, and whether it Hked it or not, although it 

 generally seemed to like it. His horses never pulled 

 or fought with him. He had one infallible cure for 

 a rash or impetuous one. " The first time out let 

 the beggar stretch his neck well and tire him out 

 proper, he'll never forget it or want to pull again." 

 It was a treat to see him on a young or half-broken 

 horse, for before the end of the day he had him with 

 the manners of an old one. 



But where he shone most was in a long fast chase 

 over a difficult country. He was generally seen 

 sailing away in front with the greatest apparent ease, 

 picking his place in the fences, riding straight at 

 them, and turning away from nothing, when sud- 

 denly we would see him shoot out right or left and 

 gallop for all he was worth. He had seen leading 

 hounds swing round one way or the other, and 

 quick as thought he was cutting across to get to 

 them. Of course, he at one time took many falls, 

 but being light, wiry, and supple, he thought little 

 of them. 



Having whipped in to my predecessor for six years 

 intermittently since the foundation of the pack, he 

 was no tyro, and knew the game well. Some 

 laughable occurrences had taken place in the em- 

 bryonic days before the Hunt had developed and 

 blossomed into the stage of advertising. 



It is told of him that he had a heated alterca- 

 tion with the huntsman on the occasion of the two 

 worthies donning pink for the first time. What 

 made the scene all the more ludicrous was, that 

 the huntsman, to complete his costume, had to 



