262 In Scarlet and Silk 



jumping because he wishes it, not we. If 

 possible, take him over small grips, through 

 gaps, and over low places in a hedge. Never 

 keep on for long at the same obstacle ; never 

 jump out of a field at the same place where 

 you jumped into it, unless some considerable 

 time has elapsed between the two perform- 

 ances. Lunging over some low rails which will 

 not give is also a good plan, but open to the 

 objection that your learner will probably at 

 once suspect you of giving him a lesson. 



Many an animal which has developed into 

 a magnificent fencer, has made a most un- 

 promising beginning — included in that cate- 

 gory being such celebrities as Congress, who 

 had to be dragged over small obstacles by men 

 with cart ropes ; Emblem and Emblematic, 

 both destined to take the highest honours at 

 Liverpool, and who, for a long time, refused 

 to jump even a grip ; and Midshipmite, who 

 came to very frequent grief on the schooling 

 ground before becoming one of the finest 

 jumpers of the century. For the beginner in 

 cross-country work, the sight of a pack of 



