CHAPTER XXIV 



THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY JUMP 

 ON RECORD 



The other day I met an old gentleman in Northampton- 

 shire who, in his youth, had jumped into a quarry when 

 out with hounds — as the present Lord Coventry has also 

 done — and, though his horse was killed on the spot, he 

 escaped with a broken leg. 



The following adventure of General Moore's, however, the 

 veracity of which is attested by the word of a British officer, 

 will, I think, stand for a good many more years as a record, 

 although, as will be seen, it was not connected with hunting 

 in any shape or form. Here is the statement : — 



" United Service Club, 

 " i2>th March i860. 



"In June 1848, at the island of Dominica, in the West 

 Indies, I fell over a precipice of two hundred and thirty- 

 seven feet, perpendicular height, upon the rocks by the sea- 

 side. This occurred about a quarter past seven o'clock 

 p.m., then quite dark, as no twilight exists in the tropics. 

 Every bone of my horse was broken, and I conceive my 

 escape from instant death the most miraculous that ever 

 occurred. My recovery from the shock I sustained was 

 also as miraculous as my escape with life. I sent an artist 

 to take a drawing of the spot, and also had the place 

 surveyed by an engineer. I have often thought of putting 

 down all the circumstances of that extraordinary accident, 

 but the fear of being taken for a Baron Munchausen has 

 restrained me. I do not expect that anyone will believe it, 

 although there are many living witnesses. Nor do I expect 

 any sympathy ; for, as soon as I could hold a pen, I detailed 



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