6o THE LIFE OF A HUNTER 



could carry me, in order that my master 

 might be marked "in" for Hall — a thing 

 insisted upon by the College authorities 

 during Newmarket meetings. Happily for 

 me, I had stable companions to share my 

 work with me, and I must admit that my 

 master, considering his age, showed me con- 

 sideration, and selected one of the two other 

 horses when he anticipated the Drag would 

 be a particularly rough one ; for you must 

 know that in my time there were some Drags 

 where it was on record that hardly anyone 

 had ever got to the end without a fall. The 

 lirst time I went out with the University 

 Drag, I was sent at a black gate in the 

 second fence. I had not been accustomed 

 to this sort of thing, and hit it hard with my 

 knees ; but I always had a leg to spare, so 



