240 SPORTING AND 



had revived ; he heaved a deep sigh, and 

 helping himself to a bumper from the 

 decanter on the table, tossed it off and 

 commenced his story : 



" It is now some twenty years since I 

 took to my present occupation, and it was 

 by the merest chance that I did so, for all 

 my family were farmers and have lived on 

 the same land for the last hundred and 

 fifty years. My father and his family are 

 well known in the district as breeders of 

 the best and strongest hill ponies for 

 many miles round. He has an old pony 

 now, that he has ridden a hundred and 

 fifty miles without taking the saddle off, 

 giving him only one feed of grain, -or 

 parched peas, during the entire journey, 

 the pony was not in the least prepared 

 for this long journey as it came about all 

 of a sudden. My mother was going over 



