6 In Scarlet and Silk 



lie never could avoid "running amuck" with 

 racing and coursing men, stag-hunters, and 

 what he contemptuously designated " mug- 

 gers." All I will say is this : Is there any- 

 thing on earth so good, so grand, so — well, 

 you know what I mean ! — as riding across 

 country ? 



If I live to the age of Methuselah, I shall 

 never forget my own first gallop over fences ; 

 and this was the " how" of it, as the Yankees 

 say. 



My grandfather — may the turf lie lightly 

 over one of the best and hardest cross-country 

 riders that ever lived — had just bought a very 

 handsome chestnut cob, a half-broken four- 

 year-old. One chiy he said to me— 



" Come up into the meadow, and you can 

 have a ride on the new cob." 



My small heart glowed with delight. What 

 promotion from the broken -winded pony ! As 

 Penley observes, "What glory!" Be it known 

 that I was then of the mature age of seven. 



A groom led up the four-year-old, looking 

 as if butter wouldn't melt in its mouth. I 



