Breeding of Himters. 283 



take at a fence, for which the rider only was respon- 

 sible.' 



" At a brook his axiom was, if only two yards wide, 

 you could not go too fast, for it was always soft 

 lighting : by riding full gallop at a brook the horse's 

 heart was prevented from failing him at the sight of 

 water, and thus he got safe over by his own impetus 

 and spring ; when ten to one, by the rider going 

 slowly at it, the horse would thence infer danger, and 

 refuse altogether. 



" His weight (from 40) induced his establishing the 

 above close mode of riding over or through fences. 

 The skins of his horses* legs were pricked ; but the 

 concussion of their limbs was saved. It was a trou- 

 blesome business for the groom carefully to examine 

 the horse's legs after a hard day's work. Truly might 

 be quoted of him the well-known line from * Life let 

 us cherish,' 



* He seeks for thorns, and finds his share.' " 



We cannot close our quotation without giving the 

 following refreshing scene from the same memoir : — 



" A few seasons ago, almost the last that Mr. 

 Musters hunted South Notts, the Quorn hounds, with 

 Tom Day, found their fox at Bunny, ana brought 

 him by Bradmore, Ruddington, and Plumptre to 

 ToUerton. On the same day the squire had found 

 his fox at Edwalton, and was running him by Gam- 

 stone towards Cotgrave, when either his hounds got 

 on the run of the other fox, or vice versa. Both packs, 

 however, immediately joined and ran all well to- 

 gether, with their sterns down, up wind, by Clipstone 

 and Normanton Wolds, pulling the fox down in less 

 than ten minutes from the junction, in an ash holt 

 near to the Melton turnpike road. It was a scene 

 which none who witnessed ever can forget : the old 

 squire and Tom Day each claiming it to be his run 

 fox, riding side by side over every fence with all the 



