13S Silk and Scarlet, 



Trials at Maiton. , Langton Wold, where, according to the 

 Yorkshire belief, Snowball may still be 

 seen " serving himself" with a phantom hare, met our 

 eye for the first time the next week. It was under 

 an almost Italian sky, that we scaled its table land at 

 last, and trod the little race course, round which 

 "■ Black Bill" measured so many Derby and Leger 

 winners. Maiton, rich with its red tile roofs, snugly 

 nestled in the hollow at our right ; and behind us, 



" The waves of shadow went over the wheat," 



as it lingered still uncut on the hills, which marked 

 where the broken foreground of dell and coppice faded 

 into the bolder scenery of the wolds. On the left, 

 across the valley, is Langton Hill, on which more thaa 

 one prophet, who was not deceived by the feint of 

 walking the lot after exercise to the gate into the lane,, 

 has proudly swept the horizon on a trial mornings 

 with a six-pound-ten opera glass. Above " the turn 

 for home" peeped the thick green woods of Castle 

 Howard, amid which Velocipede and his three com- 

 panions wound their stealthy way at nightfall to 

 Hambleton, for the trial which was the great chestnut's 

 crack of doom. There is not a drop of lazy blood on 

 the Wold this morning. " Tox" with Pearl up, Volta 

 and nine others from Whitewall are all at work, while 

 John Scott walks by the side of I'Anson's pony, clasp- 

 ing his stick behind his back, and looks as if he would 

 like to be " up and at" the strange outlying pickets, 

 as they lean in a straggling line against the aged 

 thorns which flank the gallop. He thinks he sees in 

 each of them a second Mat Barehead, who was such a 

 fearful scourge to him in his time ; Harry Oxford 

 and the two Greys have also known " what o'clock it 

 is," as well as he could tell them, and so has the 

 mighty Tom of Lancashire, who got the commission 

 and stuck to it. 



And now the word is given for them to cross over 



