154 SPORTING REMINISCENCES 



and ended her career by flying over a drop on to 

 the road and dropping me into obhvion. She 

 struck the foot-path at the opposite side of the 

 wide main road, turned upside down and got up 

 unhurt. But she never ran away again. She was 

 the gentlest of ride afterwards, slow but a wonder- 

 ful fencer. 



Following her I had two four year olds, not my 

 own. Mr. White lent them to me — one a perfectly 

 wonderful animal and the other fast and free, but 

 a horse who never failed to hit his walls and fly 

 his banks and yet was so active that he never 

 actually fell. He crossed to England, where 

 having nothing to make up his mind about — he 

 was never certain in his own eager heart here — 

 he went splendidly. Poor little Sparks. If you 

 had turned him at an iron front gate he would have 

 tried it, but until he rose he would not have been 

 quite certain whether it was a fence to charge or 

 not. We find something to like in every willing 

 horse when we ride it, despite its faults. 



After this I had nothing until the Little Witch 

 was given to me. She was a compact bay, fast, 

 and did not know how to fall, very gentle and light- 

 mouthed, in fact, almost faultless, and too good 

 for me to keep, so she went to Mrs. Kavanagh of 

 Bonis. With her I had a grey cob which I raked 

 from a baker's cart at the door, thus delaying the 

 delivery of the day's bread. 



She was a mat of white hair and I bought her 



