THE CRISIS. 43 



drive your feet well down in your stirrups, fix your- 

 self, as much as to say " clear it or fall, we go 

 together," and put him at it as straight as a shot. 

 Keep your eye always on the leading hound. If you 

 find him only hesitate, take a pull at your horse : at the 

 slightest check, pull up at once. The moment the scent 

 is again hit, be off as quick as the hounds : in short, 

 lay with them, and sail away as long as you can. If you 

 find your horse getting blown, pull him off his pace ; it 

 is the only chance you have : he will probably shortly 

 recover ; but if you persevere, you will beat him in two 

 fields : when it is " bellows to mend," you must stop to 

 mend them. If he does not recover, you will be sure 

 you did right : he could not have gone on. Go home ; 

 you will save perhaps a really good hunter for another 

 day, and will at all events have the satisfaction of 

 feeling — if you have any feeling, which I hope you 

 have — that you have not wantonly butchered a 

 willino; servant after he had done all that nature 

 allowed him to do for you. A touch of the spurs may 

 be frequently necessary to the best of horses at large 

 fences ; but when a willing good horse comes to that 

 period of distress that he requires the application of 

 them to get him along, it is quite time to leave off 

 for that day. If we only look on our horses as 

 machines, we all know it is quite wonderful what they 

 can be made to do by the whip and spur when in the 

 greatest distress : but the man who could find grati- 

 fication in riding one in this state never ought to be 

 enabled to ride another. If a horse is a good one, he 

 will do all that can be fairly asked of him Avillingly : 

 if he fails we have either demanded too much of him, 

 or he was perhaps not quite right on the particular 

 day. If a horse frequently tires, sell him at once ; he 



