Rebecca. 173 



much, and was so tractable, that I was able to school 

 her on a small course Major Roberts (Bombay Artillery)^ 

 w4io commanded the battery at Cawnpore, allowed me ^ 

 to make on the ground occupied by the Artillery riding^ 

 school. I had an Irish double and a few walls of loose 

 bricks, which I found the best kind of obstacle for 

 teaching horses to jump walls cleverly without risking^ 

 one's neck too much in the tuition. I kept Rebecca 

 so quiet that only my own immediate friends knew 

 anything about her real good chasing form. On one 

 occasion, I took her across the river on the Oudh side tO' 

 our regular steeplechase course, and sent her over a fe\r 

 of the big jumps, which she negotiated with great ease 

 and precision. But judge of my dismay at seeing Mr. 

 Germany, on another part of the course, practising his 

 strangely named cross-country horse. Poor Cripple, wha 

 was clever enough, though too slow, to distinguish him- 

 self over a country. Mr. Germany rode up to me and 

 asked me the name of the extraordinary good jumper I 

 was riding. I was fortunately able to put him "off" 

 with an evasive answer. I schooled her, on that day^ 

 over some water, and then, to test her staunchness, I 

 raced her at a (ew deep circular water holes made b}^ 

 buffaloes for wallowing in. She neither turned to the 



