126 THE COMPLETE SPORTSMAN 



of all who remember him at all. Few men 

 possessed so intimate an acquaintance with the 

 highroads and byroads of the Belvoir country, 

 or knew as he did the exact whereabouts of 

 every gate and ford in Leicestershire. To 

 follow such a man was in itself a liberal educa- 

 tion, and one to which I owe much of my 

 subsequent prowess in the hunting-field. 



Rather a curious incident occurred to my 

 leader and myself one day when the hounds 

 were running along the Cottesmore boundary 

 between Folkingham and Grantham. Just 

 south of Aswarby Ave trotted across a grass 

 field separated from the highroad by a low 

 fence. There was no time to go back and 

 look for a gate, so Colonel Spongewell set his 

 teeth and put his old horse, Highw^ayman, at the 

 obstacle. Highwayman refused, and I managed 

 to pull up my Baronet in time to prevent his 

 following suit. Thereupon, out of sheer kind- 

 ness of heart, and with the intention of en- 

 couraging the Colonel's mount to negotiate the 

 fence, I drew my hunting-c^op and endeavoured 

 to strike Highwayman a shrewd blow across the 

 quarters. 



By some unfortunate accident the thong 

 curled round the Colonel instead of round his 

 horse, and became caught up in the two buttons 

 at the back of his pink coat; while Baronet, 



