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trying to get hold of my feet with her teeth. Now, 

 I can keep my temper with a young one, but when it does 

 go, it goes pretty completely. I just let her stand 

 still for a minute, and we were soon alone, as no strag- 

 glers or second horsemen were coming that way. "Now, 

 my lass," I said, "we will fight this to a finish." 

 Then, letting her head go more or less (I knew she could 

 not buck me off), I devoted all my strength to punish- 

 ment. At it we went, she bucking and kicking, I let- 

 ting her have it with whip and spur. I don't know how 

 long it took, but she tired at last and accepted her 

 defeat. Then we went on and soon found hounds. For 

 the rest of the day she never turned her head again, 

 and from that day onwards she began slowly and steadily 

 to improve. Even when she did refuse, she refused 

 without her old determination. When I left the Meynell 

 that winter I sent her to Leicester with my other 

 horses. They sold well enough, but there was no bid 

 for Friendship, only, as she was run up, a decided move- 

 ment to the rear, "according to plan," of onlookers and 

 buyers, for she had established quite a reputation in 

 the yard by kicking anyone who wanted to look her over 

 out of her box. So I had to keep her, and I am very 

 glad I did. She kept on improving, and carried me very 

 well in the Grafton country, which is by no means an 

 easy one to cross. I recollect one day when they were 

 on their woodland side, and few were out, seeing a very 

 good hunt on her in which she gave me great satisfaction, 

 It was rather foggy — a day on which it was necessary 

 to cling closely to hounds if one was to see them at all, 

 Just as they were settling to run really hard, we came 

 on one of those high hairy bullfinches so common in the 

 Grafton country. For a moment it seemed impregnable; 

 then I spotted a place I thought might do. My ex- 

 refuser went for it like a lion, and after a struggle 

 we emerged somehow in the next field without an actual 

 fall. I was just in time to catch a glimpse of the 

 flying pack, the great dog hounds looking as big as 

 bullocks in the mist. We made a six-mile point, the 

 latter part of it as straight as a Roman road, and 

 hounds ran so fast that, unless my mare had bored that 

 hole, nobody would have seen the way they went. It is 

 surely worth while, let me remark in passing, to keep a 

 little extra in hand for such emergencies. If horses 

 are often shoved into such fences when not actually 



