HUNTING. 115 



will be able to keep going when others are 

 standing still. Always avoid bogs and heavy 

 bottoms ; they are most treacherous, and 

 swamp many an unwary hunter in their 

 dangerous depths. If you should ever have 

 the bad fortune to be caught in one, dismount 

 at once, and lead your horse. It is not a 

 pleasant thing to have to do, but if you 

 remain upon him, your weight, added to his 

 own, will probably sink him up to his saddle- 

 girths, and there he will stick. 



I would desire particularly to impress upon 

 you that if your horse carries you safely and 

 brilliantly through one good run, you ought 

 to be contented with that, and not attempt to 

 ride him a second. It is through the unwise 

 and cruel habit of riding beaten animals that 

 haK the serious accidents occur. Also re- 

 member that if you are waiting at a covert- 

 side where there seems likely to be a delay, 

 after your steed has had ^ gallop or a long 

 trot, you should get off his back and shift 

 your saddle an inch one way or the other, 

 generally backwards, as servants are usually 

 apt in the first instance to place the saddle 



8 * 



