8 Silk and Scarlet, 



Ranksboro*. That's your country. There's a bit of a 

 Marigold's Mud peek I had in this hollow, if it's worth 

 Bath. while putting down. It was in a ditch 

 full of mud. I was on Marigold, the mare I jumped 

 down that hill with. I was only schooling of her. 

 She went right backards, plump in. I claps my hand 

 on the saddle, and vaults clean over her head. Flat 

 on her back she lays, and I held her head up, or she'd 

 have been smothered. Dal ! that's the very place. 

 There was some of them ditching ; one of 'em — 

 Judd — John Judd — that's it — he says, " / hear some 

 one a hollering ; I'll lay a?iy money it's Christian in 

 that 'ere ditchr They gets cart-ropes, and pulled her 

 out. The mud was wedged in like mortar from the 

 pommel to the cantle. It did her good ; she never 

 drops short in a ditch no more. That's Old Hills — 

 they never miss finding ; nice great place. That's the 

 Holwell Honey Clump, it's a mark for fox-hunters 

 thirty miles away. 

 He does the hard- I had a queer go near here one day in 



riding farmers. Matty's time. I had three horses out, 

 two of 'em placed for me. The first stood still with 

 me, going through those sheep pens on the right 

 yonder ; the second was close by, and then I tires 

 it. Two farmers, John Parkes and Jack Perkins 

 — them were two owdacious boys at that time of 

 day — had been riding against me like fury, and never 

 left me. I gets on to my third horse, and rodci him 

 to the end of the run. Matty sold him for 300 

 guineas ; he wasn't worth a hundred. What luck it 

 was ! The other horses nicks in so handy that day, 

 they didn't know but this was the same horse I started 

 with ; you couldn't tell the three asunder ; all of 'em 

 bays. It's a real fact, I did the changing so sly ; be 

 hanged if they knew. How pleased old Mat was ! 

 He popped it on stiif ; but the gentlemen, they'd just 

 as soon then give two or three hundred as one. Blame 

 me, the more you asked them, the better they liked it. 



