My First Pony. ^^ 



but the sight of the pony was too much for 

 him, and it ended in a hearty laugh ; and he 

 said, " As you have done him, you must make 

 the best of him ; but I cannot take you to the 

 meet with such a httle hedgehog as that." By 

 the way, he very seldom went to a meet, but 

 started late, relying on his knowledge of the 

 country and the general run of foxes, and con- 

 trived to pick them up. 



The reader may guess I was not behind 

 time when the governor was ready, although 

 my get-up took some considerable time and 

 pains to accomplish : a pair of white duck 

 trowsers drawn over the ordinary ones, and 

 the two tucked into a pair of shining leather 

 gaiters, called antigropelos, the spurs of course, 

 and a natty new hunting-whip, the gift of 

 my mother, completed what I flattered myself 

 was a very correct and sportsmanlike costume. 

 M,y father (who always turned out exceedingly 

 neat himself), I thought, began to hesitate 

 whether he would take me at all, and having 

 compared the pony to a burnt cat, to which 

 I retorted that he would find he was better 

 than he looked, we started. I had strict 

 injunctions to keep with him if we fell in with 



