26 REMINISCENCES, ETC. 



prowess. His falls were countless ; and no wonder^ for lie 

 rode at places which he knew no horse could leap over ; 

 but his object was to get, one way or another, into the field 

 with his hounds. As a horseman, however, he has ever 

 been superexcellent. He sits in his saddle as if he were 

 part of his horse, and his seat displays vast power over his 

 frame. In addition to his power his hand is equal to 

 Chifney's, and the advantage he experiences from it may be 

 gleaned from the following expression. Being seen one day 

 hunting his hounds on Kadical, always a difficult, but at 

 that time a more than commonly difficult, horse to ride, he 

 was asked by a friend why he did not put a martingale on 

 him, to give him more power over his mouth. His answer was 

 cool and laconic : ' Thank ye, but my left hand shall be my 

 martingale.' Mr. Smith was the first gentleman who ful- 

 filled the character of huntsman to his hounds in this far- 

 famed country. In this occupation his desperate style of 

 riding was of very material service to him, as he never had 

 his eye off his hounds, unless when left behind by a fall, 

 though he was quickly in his place again after that. The 

 best of horses, Jack-o'-Lantern, Tom Thumb, Big Grey, and 

 Gift, good as they were, would, however, sometimes stand still 

 with him in a burst, and then he would be obliged to wait for 

 a whipper-in to come up to take possession of his horse to 

 proceed with ; but this, of course, was not an every-day 

 occurrence. As a huntsman, then, he may be said to be 

 eminent in chase ; decidedly so, because nothing stopped 

 him in his casts ; and we know how many foxes are lost 

 by an ugly fence being in the way at this critical time. 

 Leicestershire is a country of all others in which wide 

 and bold casts are successful."* — [Hunting Reminiscences, 

 p. 42.) 



Mr. Smith had the assistance, either as kennel huntsmen 



* An animated description, from the pen of Mr. Bruce Campbell, of 

 one of Mr, Smith's matchless hunting feata with the Quorn hounds in 

 1816 will be found in the Appendix, No. V. 



