18 LADIES ON HORSEBACK. 



The shopman showed it off to me in gallant 

 style, expatiating upon its many excellencies, 

 and adroitly managing the stiff machinery 

 with his deft fingers, until I was fairly 

 deceived, and gave him a handful of money 

 for what subsequently proved a cause of 

 trouble. I lost more than one good run with 

 hounds through the breaking of this dearly- 

 bought stirrup, having upon one occasion to 

 ride quite a long distance away from the hunt 

 to seek out a forge at which I might undergo 

 repairs. Nor was this the worst, for one day, 

 having incautiously plunged into a bog in my 

 anxiety to be in at the death, my horse got 

 stuck and began to sink, and of course I sought 

 to release myself from him at once ; but no, 

 my foot was locked fast in that terrible 

 stirrup, and I could not stir. My position 

 was dreadful, for I had outridden my pilot, 

 my struggling steed was momentarily sinking 

 lower, and the shades of evening were fast 

 closing in. I shudder to think what might 

 have been my fate and that of my gallant 

 horse had not the fox happily turned and led 

 the hunt back along the skirts of the bog, 



