152 KEMIXISCE^X'ES, ETC. 



if they were coming. Exactly in the middle of the field, 

 and in the line immediately before his horse, was a pool of 

 water, into which the animal leaped, thinking it useless to 

 refuse, and of course being unaware that he was not intended 

 to take it. This horse would doubtless have jumped into 

 the Thames or the Severn in a similar manner, had they 

 been before him. His wonderful influence over his hunters 

 was strongly exemplified at another time, but in rather a 

 different manner. He had mounted, on his celebrated 

 horse Cicero, a friend, who complained of having nothing 

 to ride : 



" A sportsman so keen, that he rides miles to covert, 

 To look at a fence, he dares not ride over." 



The hounds were running breast-high across the big pasture- 

 lands of Leicestershire, and Cicero was carrying his rider 

 like a bird, when a strong flight of rails had almost too 

 ugly an aspect of height, strength, and newness, for the 

 liking of our friend on his " mount." The keen eye of 

 Assheton Smith, as he rode beside him, at once discerned 

 that he had no relish for the timber, and seeing that he was 

 likely to make the horse refuse, he cried out, " Come up, 

 Cicero!" His well known voice had at once the desired 

 efiect, but Cicero's rider, by whom the performance was not 

 intended, left his "seat" vacant, fortunately without any 

 other result than a roll upon the grass. 



" I have said," remarks Nimrod, " that Mr. Smith's make 

 and shape, together with a fine bridle-hand, have assisted 

 him in rising to perfection as a horseman ; and I will pro- 

 duce one or two proofs of the use he made of these by no 

 means subaltern endowments. I have seen him riding 

 horses which scarcely required a bridle, such as his large 

 Grey Horse, Jack-o'Lantern, Gift, Tom Thumb, Gadsby, 

 and others equally temperate and agreeable ; and I have 

 seen and heard of him riding some that no other men could 



