240 SOME CURIOUS HOUSES 



just jumped over into a lane and was riding at the 

 fence on the opposite side, when I caught sight of 

 a man in pink riding down the lane. I turned my 

 head quickly to look at him, and the horse feeling 

 the slight motion I suppose, and thinking that I 

 was going to join the man swerved round, but, on 

 my turning his head to the fence again, he took it 

 at once. This was the only time he ever swerved 

 at or refused a fence. 



I lost him in a very curious way. I was out 

 hunting one day when the going was very deep 

 and bad, and we were galloping through a piece of 

 plough. At the top of the field was a cut quickset 

 hedge and a gate. I rode at the latter, thinking 

 that the ground would be sounder there, and the 

 jump would not take so much out of my horse. 

 When I got to the gate, he rose at it, and then 

 made a tremendous effort to draw his hind-legs out 

 of the deep mud. Not meeting the resistance he 

 expected, his hind-legs flew up so that he landed 

 on the other side almost in a perpendicular position, 

 his tail brushing my hat, and for a moment I really 

 thought he would fall over on me. However he 

 came down apparently all right and cantered a few 

 yards into the next field, when he made a most 

 extraordinary flounder and stopped. I jumped off 

 at once, and found him sitting up, just as you often 



