A CITY "HUNTING HIANr 17 



eloquence on the subject of good shoulders, of the 

 absolute necessity for shoulder action as opposed to 

 knee action, and the impossibility of a horse staying 

 over a deep country, unless his shoulders are so placed 

 that the weight of his foreparts are thrown upon the 

 hind limbs, &c., &c., &c., is untiring. He has views — 

 very strong ones — on the question of a hunter's feet, 

 even to the number of nails that should be put into his 

 shoes ; and on wide hips, muscular quarters, straight, 

 clean, flat legs, he is oracular. 



Yet with all this wisdom on the matter, the fact 

 remains that his steeds are, for the most part, the veriest 

 crocks, and I am inclined to think that some cunning 

 dealer must have found out the many weak places in 

 poor Checkley's superficial knowledge of horse-flesh, and, 

 by fooling his customer to the top of his bent, is able to 

 palm off upon him for good prices screws which are 

 unsaleable elsewhere. 



There can be little doubt, in fact, that Checkley is in a 

 mortal "funk" when he gets on ahorse. Even when 

 he sees his way safely out of a field by an open gate, or 

 a very flat gap, he always finds something to cause him 

 uneasiness. In grass land there may be rabbit holes ; 

 in plough, there are flints to get in his horse's feet ; he 

 constantly fears that he has cast a shoe, or that some- 

 thing or other is somewhere wrong, and threatens im- 

 mediate danger. 



Why then, it may be asked, does he hunt ? He does 

 not enjoy it; his doctors do not specially recommend it; 



C 



