Dick Christian again. 1 7 



Head, right away to Melton Spinney. My horse was 

 so beat, he could just trot — that was all he could do. 

 Blame me, he couldn't walk, and he couldn't gallop ; 

 if he offered to walk, he slipped down. Mr. Charles 

 Manners and one Flintham were out, and they went 

 and stopped the hounds. It's truth ; I never told a 

 lie in my life, that I know of. 



That's a bulfinch, not half a good one His Buifinch 

 though ; not stiff enough through. Come, Meditations. 

 there we have it at last. Them's the bulfinches ; 

 them's the stitchers. They're thickest about Ashby 

 Pasture and Barkby Holt. In 0I4 times, we used to 

 go slap-bang at them, hollering like fun, to cheer up 

 horses and men. Captain White was a good un at 

 that game. How he would holler, to be sure ! Those 

 are rails, just ; a horse 'ud want a deal of handling at 

 them ; if we didn't get their fore legs high enough, 

 their knees 'ud get below it, and over they goes ; their 

 tails often came clean bang into my face ; my word, 

 it made you look out sharp. What a one the Cap- 

 tain's Merry Lad was for rails in a corner ! he popped 

 over, for all the world like a deer. You see Mundy's 

 Gorse over there, it's got regular earths, and Ella's 

 Gorse beyond it. Walton Thorns' to our left ; it's a 

 square cover, all gorse. Now we're on the Foss Road ; 

 they call that Thrussington Wolds. It's a long woody 

 cover, not a gorse. 



I had a good bit of fun from this cover a Day with 

 in Mr. Hodgson's time. I'll tell you how Marigold. 

 it was. Mr. Coke, he was partickler proud of this 

 Marigold, and he wanted her to do something to be 

 talked about. So I gets a message by his groom that 

 I was to ride her at Six Hills next day. " Yotive 

 to wait'' says the groom, " whiles Mr. Coke comes!' 

 I was. quite struck what the deuce he meant ; I thought 

 her so perfect a mare. So I waits, and up comes Mr. 

 Coke. " / want you to ride her!' he says. " Mind 

 you do your best with her ; go into the cover zvith the 



C 



