The Leather Plater. 281 



out into a description of the colt, given with the most wonderful 

 accuracy, and after that gave me the performances and pedigree of 

 the old mare Plover in full, pointing out to me exactly where the 

 stain lay, which gave her, as he expressed it, " the long hairs in her 

 pasterns." As he warmed with his subject, I could not help gazing 

 in silent admiration on that wonderful old man, whose head could 

 not only carry a description of some scores of horses, but even 

 their pedigrees in full ; and I was just promising him that I would 

 certainly ride over and look at Jack Radfordls colt, when our lad 

 came up with the beaten horse, and we both went out to look at 

 him and see him done up for the night j so Mr. Radford's two- 

 year-old was forgotten for that evening. But as I bade old John 

 good-bye next morning, he strictly enjoined me to ride over soon 

 and look at the colt, adding impressively, " Now mind what I say. 

 If you don't buy him the day will come when you'll blame yourself 

 for not taking my word. If you can get him under one hundred 

 he's cheap ; but mind, it's no use trying to beat the old man down, 

 for he always asks what he means to take, and nothing else." And, 

 giving me a sly poke in the ribs, he added, with the knowingest 

 wink out of his keen little grey left eye, " There's a filly indoors 

 worth double the money, if you could only get her at the price j" 

 and so we parted. 



The village of Holliwell was perhaps one of the ugliest and dirtiest 

 in England ; and the only redeeming quality which it possessed was, 

 that Holliwell Hangers, one of the best coverts and surest finds in 

 our hunt, lay within its precincts. I don't believe, unless it was to 

 meet the hounds at " Holliwell Gibbet," that any stranger would 

 ever have found his way into this village from one year's end to the 

 other. It was a long, straggling village, situate on the borders of 

 Holliwell Openfield, a large, unenclosed tract of some thousands 

 of acres of stiff clay ground, and coarse, spongy, undrained grass 

 land, in which the holdings were divided from each other by broad, 

 deep ditches (big enough to hold a man and horse very comfortably), 

 with rotten banks, choked up with briars, coarse grass, and all such 

 other rubbish as a good farmer will never willingly see on his farm. 



