44 SKETCHES IN THE HUNTING FIELD. 



ality and dispatch by those who found themselves in 

 the altitude of his saddle. Wonderful stories had been 

 told of what Fireworks, as he was called, could do when 

 he liked ; but the prospect of verifying these anecdotes 

 seemed small, as his proceedings were generally limited 

 to bucking, with an ability which the most experienced 

 Australian waler might env}^, and to stopping dead at 

 his fences just at the moment when his rider had con- 

 cluded that he certainly meant going this time. 



The second whij^, who usually rode Sir Henry's 

 horses, had been put down so regularly that his con- 

 fidence — to say nothing of his mortal frame — was 

 severely shaken, and odds of three to one that whoever 

 appeared on his back would not remain in that pre- 

 carious situation till the end of the day were always to 

 be obtained by the rashly speculative. 



We heard, however, just before the INIeadowmere 

 Race IMeeting, a couple of years ago, that a jockey was 

 coming down who had won on Fireworks before, 

 against very good horses; and not knowing Wynnerly 

 in those days we were astonished at his arrival, on the 

 morning of the races, to go round and inspect the 

 course, with a couple of other strangers ; he looked go 

 young and tender and artless that none of us could 

 believe he was able to ride Fireworks. 



Downing, whose chief characteristic is the perfect 

 satisfaction with which he regards himself, his opinions, 

 his horses, and in fact all that is his — men who do not 

 like him call him a supercilious ass — was a steward of 



