THE GALWAY HOUNDS. I4I 



humour and encourage a timid or half-broken horse by patience 

 and good temper, or he can guide a finished hunter like a gentle- 

 man. While gifted with the skill of a perfect menage rider, he 

 exemplifies, as he goes over a country, that horses, when let alone 

 at their fences, seldom fall. Impressed with the necessity of hav- 

 ing a full command over his horse, he generally rides with severe 

 bridles, and is most particular about the fitting of his curb, which 

 he may be seen altering several times during a day's hunting ; such 

 tackle requires good hands, nor are they wanting. His seat is 

 graceful, his style of riding simple, not a symptom of the more 

 modern steeplechasing element being visible. Never flurried or 

 in a hurry, whether the fence is a mere water-cut or a binder lean- 

 ing towards him, or stiff timber with bad taking off: it seems a 

 matter of perfect indifference as he holds on the even tenor of his 

 way. Certain malpractices to secure a start, or to take any unfair 

 advantage by overriding hounds, he never availed himself of, nor 

 was he over particular in selecting the weak spot in a fence, for 

 with him the shortest way was the best way. It is a pleasant sen- 

 sation to get away on a good horse abreast of the leading hound, 

 but many a good man succumbs when he misses his start, having, 

 perhaps, fifty men before him and fifty men around him ; and few 

 have pluck and resolution to overcome difficulties — such as the 

 certainty of being ridden on if your horse makes a mistake, or the 

 collisions threatened by bad and reckless riders. But a bad start 

 never deterred Lord Clanricarde ; for he could tread his way with 

 perfect ease through a crowd, and bide his time with patience 

 until a check or lucky turn let him up to the front ; and when the 

 pace had begun to tell, when horses' legs were dropping into the 

 opposite ditches, when the timber rattled under their feet, or the 

 sob of distress gave warning that induce most prudent men to look 

 out for the nearest by-road or line of gates, he could assist a beaten 

 horse over a country with consummate judgment and skill. 



" ' To him nought came amiss, 

 One horse or that, one country or this. 

 He through falls and bad starts undauntedly still 

 Rides to the motto : Be with them I -will. 



" ' Running such risks, he could scarce come off scathless, and 

 although frequently knocked about, his activity, his presence of 

 mind, and his spare figure often saved him from serious conse- 

 quences. But no man ever received punishment more unflinch- 



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