from the woods, but so it was; the instant my companions approached me,
he made a bolt, his heels went into the air, and it was in vain to
resist his fancy. We returned the next day, and while fording a creek,
which we had crossed in a canoe the day before, one of our party forgot
my horse's peculiarity and came up to me; he darted fairly out to sea,
and not till he found himself off his legs was he frightened;
fortunately alarm made him tractable, and I easily turned his head and
landed in safety. Wishing however, to punish him, I galloped him home,
four miles through loose sand, which was over his fetlocks; far,
however, from being subdued, when I had dismounted and went to pat his
check, he tried to bite me.

The beauty and excellence of English horses, taken as a whole, have been
acknowledged to surpass those of the rest of the world; their speed,
their enormous leaps, their long journeys, their strength, have been
frequent themes of admiration; and I regret that I cannot fill more
pages, with the histories that are recorded of them; but there are many
excellent books on that subject alone, which may be read with great
advantage; and I pass on to a very clever hunter, called Nannie, who
belonged to my father, and who performed a feat, thought, in my
childhood, to be unique, but which I have of late seen mentioned in the
papers, as accomplished by other horses. In those days, gentlemen seldom
retired from the dinner table, without being at least elated; and, on an
occasion of this sort, my father, by way of summing up his favourite's
wonderful abilities, said, "he was sure she would, at his bidding, jump
over the supper table," which was then set out for about twenty persons.
Being an only daughter, I was often allowed to exceed the hours at which
children are usually sent to bed; and I was therefore present during the
whole scene. Doubts were expressed, bets were laid, the parties became
excited; and Nannie was ordered from her stable, bridled and saddled, as
if for her master's riding. She was led into the room; the gentlemen
were all assembled, the table was glittering with lights, glass, and
silver; the room was also brilliant; and at first, Nannie was a little
surprised. The chairs were set on each side of the room; but, as the
seats were pushed under, they only added to the height; my father
mounted, and said, "Over, Nannie": the docile creature poised herself on
her hind legs, stretched out her neck, as if to