158 PEECEPT AND PEACTICE. 



but madness at the moment wouid have permitted a 

 man to even make the attempt." 



*' I did not make the attempt, knowing the odd 

 kind of feat I had undertaken ; but, as you shall 

 hear, there was no desperation in it, though it sounds 

 like it in the mentioning. Hounds were running very- 

 hard, I a little wide of them, and perhaps a hundred 

 yards or so in their rear. I saw them all top a fence, 

 and disappear. I of course inferred it was a drop 

 leap, with a pretty wide ditch on the other side, which 

 ^ they could not clear, so had jumped into it. I put on 

 the steam, trusting to clear the whole. To my dis- 

 may, on reaching the fence, I found it inclosed a lane, 

 with another fence on the landing side, and, to my 

 perfect astonishment, just in the place I was riding 

 at was the waggon before alluded to, laden with 

 sacks of corn. To stop a somewhat free-pulling 

 horse, going nearly top speed, would be next to im- 

 possible ; so I did the other thing, gave him an acce- 

 lerator, and a real Irish shout, and he landed safely, 

 crashing the opposite hedge, which was lower than 

 the one on the taking off side by several feet, which 



