-58- 



<2 ' , ;e brought hj e of the strongest of 



our ii '.and countries, and he took to hunti once. 



a rode cheap horses am long days, a 



generally see bo me stale, yet he i] 

 saw It well. Often I wondered ' it. 

 day I four 1J Hoping beside hi i, close to 

 hounds, up a long, steeply-sloping grass fie] . t the 

 top, sta ' out on the sky-line, n - 1 and 



ost forbidding- looking fence. There te and 



no gap; H ' not see. to atter you hac Lt, it 

 . s nasty eve ire. 



I looked at ray friend's horse and, at a rous 

 estimate, put hi three parts heat. ing that 



ot quite realise what he was in for, I called 

 to hi "We shall both take it ho at the top of the 

 hill.' 1 "Yes, ! ' he replied, 1: the most matter-of-fact 

 way, "I suppose we shall." 



he plodded steadily on, drove at the fence, t( 

 a fairly 11, lost not a ' be in get < i ig up, 

 jumped on i Lorse, and proceeded in the e of 



hout another wor . , that is the sort of 

 spirit that takes a man to hounds on all sorts of horses 

 and in' all sorts of countries. 



I may add I was riding a very brilliant horse and 

 had no intention of falling erely s;v Ln e" out of 

 politeness. ven so, I on] just got oi ith a "peck". 



piickness at the start is essential for ev an 

 who wants to ride his own line, and no doubt is even 

 moro essential for heavy than light weights. ith a 

 Dig field out you must gallop at once, whatever your 

 weight, hut when the field ir small a light -weir' 

 a fast horse can afford a little time. But he must 



ounds closel:/", a nd. be reaay to take a front seat 

 if they really settle to run. 



The quickest hen - " t at a start I ever saw \ 

 ole friend Tom Atkinson, of G-lenwilliar , to whose 

 help and judgment I owe many a good Irish hunter. To 



