FIBST DAYS IN HANTS AND BERKS. 31 



was never an easy horse to ride. However, 

 he carried me well, and gave me very few falls 

 during the nine years I hunted him, and never 

 one that was his own fault. He proved to the 

 full as good a fencer as my brother expected, 

 and one day he cleared thirteen gates with me, 

 without touching a bar. 



It was, however, often the unexpected that 

 happened, for he might put up and refuse to 

 go the way he was wanted to, for half an hour 

 at a time. When Campbell and I were riding 

 to meet one morning in Hampshire, Tom sud- 

 denly stopped at a cross - road and refused to 

 move a step, even to follow his stable com- 

 panion. At last Campbell rode off laughing, 

 saying he supposed we should meet again in 

 time. After fighting Tom for some twenty 

 minutes and getting very warm over it, I was 

 thankful to hear the sound of the horn coming 

 my way. Hounds were running from Bramshill, 

 and no sooner had they appeared in sight than 

 Tom pricked his ears and, jumping out of the 

 road, joined in the chase as usual. He was 

 a rare hand at bucking, and once burst his 

 girths at the game, so that I had to jump oif 

 to prevent the saddle going round. At times 

 too he would rear, so that there was a pleasing 

 variety about riding him. 



One of the falls I had with him was in the Black- 

 more Vale during a run from Mudford Bridge, 

 when I was following Sir Richard Glyn. Tom 



