Hunting Enjoyment 



elude the performance, he would slip off grace- 

 fully down the horse's tail. Despite his ' dicky ' 

 legs, ' Ilex ' made a splendid hunter, and his 

 jockey used to go very well on him with the 

 Surrey Staghounds. As to that, a good story 

 is told in Epsom and the surrounding parishes ; 

 how much of it is believed does not affect its 

 humour. On a day there was a brilliant run 

 with those hounds in the Chessington country, 

 then fairly good, and foremost among the lead- 

 ing division was Arthur Nightingall on his 

 ' National ' champion, going great guns, or h — 11 

 for leather, as the experts say ; he looked like 

 catching anything (particularly a fox) in a single- 

 handed encounter. A rather swell gentleman 

 was following him on a first-class hunter, jump- 

 ing what Arthur negotiated and so on, fancying 

 himself not a little, and seemingly intent on 

 cutting-down tactics, until a high hedge with a 

 stiff rail in it was reached. ' Ilex ' did it all 

 right, of course, with a nice margin for contin- 

 gencies ; but the swell on his beautiful hunter 

 'took a toss.' When he got up — a fearsome 

 object covered with ooze — a friend said to him 

 cheerfully : ' Well, and do you know what you 

 have been trying to beat?' 'N-no,' muttered 

 the valiant one, now shivering. ' You have been 

 trying,' said the other, 'to beat the winner of 

 the Grand National and the finest cross-country 

 jockey in the world.' ' Gracious heavens ! ' 

 groaned the swell personage, ' 1 ought to have 

 my head stuffed full of shavings ready for Guy 

 Fawkes' night. Trying to beat " Ilex," eh ? 



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