116 WITH HOUND AND TERRIER. 



he retired, and Valesman became mine. After 

 the sale, my uncle told me, the stranger came to 

 him and asked him if he knew the horse, and on 

 his answering in the affirmative, the would-be pur- 

 chaser replied, " If I had known that, you should 

 never have had him." Valesman carried me for 

 ten years, and a pleasanter horse to ride home 

 after a day with hounds I have never known. 



The first day I rode him was to a meet at 

 Holnest, but owing to a sharp frost on the pre- 

 vious night hounds did not put in an appearance, 

 and remembering Valesman's dislike to a gate, I 

 resolved to have it out with him. I chose a gate 

 that led from a lane and tried to get him up to 

 it, but he refused to go anywhere near it. After 

 we had been busy for some minutes, out trotted 

 an old woman from a cottage at a little distance, 

 and in spite of all I could say to her, she flung 

 open the gate and stood curtseying beside it for 

 me to pass through. When I asked her to be 

 good enough to shut the gate and leave it, she 

 looked at me as if she thought me an escaped 

 lunatic, and with more curtseys stood her ground. 

 At last in desperation I said to her, " My good 

 woman, if I give you sixpence will you shut the 

 gate and go home ? " She then thought things 

 were serious, and taking the coin, she retreated, 

 giving me some very doubtful looks as she went 

 off". 



Then I set to work again, and as nothing would 

 induce Valesman to face the gate, I tried to back 



