Throughout England, and especially in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, there are two descriptions of brooks1. In one the water is about a foot or two below the level of the green fields through which it peacefully meanders3. In the other, though deep enough to drown a man, it flows and occasionally rushes ten or twelve feet below the surface, between two loamy banks as perpendicular4 as the wall of a house. If a red, brown, or black coat, attended by a pair of leather, kersey, or corduroy breeches, ending in boots, plunge5 together into the first, they simply go in dry and come out wet. But, if a horse fails to clear the chasm6, he is liable not only to fall backwards7 upon these articles of apparel, but afterwards, quite unintentionally, to strike their owner during the awkward struggles of both animals to swim.
Now, although to some of our readers it may possibly appear that the act of riding over "a bit of water" of the latter description has no legal claim to be included in the schedule headed "the pleasures and amusements of man," yet it may most truly be said that in a good run, or even in a bad one, there exists nothing that gives an ordinary rider more intense pleasure than the sight, say a quarter of a mile before him, of those well-known willows8 that indicate to him the line of beauty of the brook2 he is shortly to have the enjoyment9 55of encountering—provided always that he knows his horse to be, what is justly called, "good at water." On the other hand, it would be quite impossible to describe into how very small a compass the same man's heart would gradually collapse10, as it approached the very same brook, on what is just as truly termed "a brute11 at water." In any other description of fence the rider, if he has not ruined his horse's courage by vacillation12 of hand or heart, may confidently rely that he will accomplish it for him if he can, and if it cannot be accomplished13, that he will try to jump through or over it, or, generally speaking, a good deal more than humanity dares to ride at.
If the bull-finch be too strong, the hunter may stick in it, or forcing through it into the ditch on the other side, may leave his owner hanging like a bird's-nest in its branches. An ox-fence—composed of two ditches, a bank, a pair of hedges, and a stiff, low, oak rail—may altogether prove too broad to be cleared. Timber also may be too high to be topped; yet, in all these cases, if the rider be but willing, the noble horse is always ready, ay, eager, to do his very best, and many a broken back and prostrate14 carcase, divested15 of its saddle and bridle16, has been the melancholy17 result; and yet, with all this superabundance of high courage, almost every horse instinctively19 dislikes to jump water, an element which (until by a good rider it has been unbewitched) he appears to conceive to56 be forbidden to him to cross. For this reason, before a sportsman can ride with confidence at a brook, he requires not only a stout20 horse, but to know what sort of a heart lived beneath the waistcoat of the man by whom the animal was last hunted, for however badly bred he may be, he may have been made bold at water; while, on the other hand, however high-bred and handsome he may appear, however splendidly and cleverly he may throughout the run have been crossing single and double fences of every variety, yet, by an irresolute21 pair of hands, he may have been spoiled at water. Accordingly, when a gallant22 fox, followed after a short interval23 by a pack of hounds and a large scattered24 body of men and horses, passing like the shadows of summer clouds over the beautiful green sward of Northamptonshire, glide25 rapidly towards a brook, there occasionally appears among several of them a sudden transmigration of hearts and bodies, which to a foreigner, who did not understand the reason, would appear to be utterly26 inexplicable27.
Although ten or twelve horses, gallantly28 taking it in their stride, have proved the jump to be an easy one, two or three of the foremost riders are seen to pull up, apparently29 afraid. In like manner, as horses and horsemen who had been riding boldly approach, it becomes evident to the meanest capacity, that the peg30 that holds in their steam is getting—sometimes in the biped, sometimes in the quadruped, and sometimes in both—looser and looser57 as they advance. The gallop31 is observed gradually to faint into a canter, which, as they approach the water, gets slower and slower, until souse! souse! souse! they one after the other blunder into it.
While a horse here is swimming, and there is struggling, and while a human head with handsome aristocratic features and black lank32 hair looking like that of Don Quixote when drenched33 with curds34 and whey, is seen rising in agony from below, two little thick-set, short-thighed men in scarlet35, who throughout the run had been shirking many a small fence, cross the brook with terrific courage. That thoroughbred-mare, which has been clearing everything, swerves37, while the ugly brute in her wake bucks38 over what she had refused as if he enjoyed the fun, which he really does. See! at what a tremendous pace this splendid-looking bay horse is galloping39 towards his doom40. Both spurs are in his sides; the slight waving movement of the arms and shoulders of his fearless rider, and the firm grip of his hands, as he draws upon first one side of the bit and then the other, appear altogether to insure success. As soon, however, as the well-known rogue41 gets sight of the glare of the water, though his head is in such a vice42 that it is out of his power to swerve36, and though his pace is such that it is utterly impossible for him to stop, yet, as if all his four legs were suddenly paralysed by fear, the high-bred sinner, all of a sudden, refuses to lift them, and accordingly, for thirty or forty58 feet, leaving behind a track like that of a railway, they slide along the wet, rich, loamy turf, until horse, and gallant, glorious Charlie[D] dive together, head-foremost, into the brook! In a few minutes, men in coats of all colours, trotting43 up one after another, walk their horses cautiously to the edge of the chasm, crane over as if to gaze at the frightened frogs that inhabit it, and after thus losing more or less of time they can never live to recover, canter or gallop in different directions in quest either of a bridge or a ford44.
Now, while this serio-comic picture is before the eyes of our readers, that very small portion of them who have never been actors in such a scene will no doubt be not a little astonished to learn that of all fences on the surface of the globe there is no one that is so easy for a horse to jump as water.
If the footmarks of a good horse that has galloped45 over turf be measured, it will be found that in every stride his four feet have covered a space of twenty-two feet. If, in cool blood, he be very gently cantered at a common sheep-hurdle, without any ditch on one side of it or the other, it will be found that he has cleared, or rather has not been able to help clearing, from ten to twelve feet. In Egypt, an antelope46 chased by hounds on coming suddenly to a little crack or crevice47 in the ground caused 59by the heat of the sun, has been observed at a bound to clear thirty feet, and yet, on approaching a high wall, the same animal slackens his pace, stops for a second, and then pops over it. Almost any horse, particularly a young one, if cantered at a small prickly furze-hedge, would probably with a little skip rather than a jump clear at least fourteen feet, which in water would form a "brook" that would stop more than half of the large field of riders who in Northamptonshire and Leicestershire follow the Pytchley, Quorn, and Cottesmore hounds. Indeed, it not unfrequently happens that a ditch of glittering water, not seven feet broad, over which every hound has hopped49 hardly looking at it, will not only stop a number of horses and riders, but in a few minutes will, to the utter disgust and astonishment50 of the latter, contain several of them.
To prevent, however, this unnecessary and apparently discreditable botheration, all that is necessary is for the rider to overcome and overrule the instinctive18 aversion which his horse, and possibly he himself, have to jump water.
If, during a run with hounds, a young horse, that has never seen a brook, going a good pace, without receiving from the hands of his rider any tremulous check, arrives at, say a low hedge, on the other side of which he suddenly sees a wide expanse of water, he is quite sure to clear it; and having thus broken the spell, if he be after60wards only fairly ridden, he will probably require no other instruction. If, however, as but too often is the case, on arriving at water that can be jumped favourably51 at a particular place, a young horse is obliged to wait for his turn, and during that awful pause sees some hunters refuse, and others splash in and flounder, he naturally combines together theory and practice, and accordingly, when called upon, refuses to do what he has always instinctively considered to be wrong; and as, generally speaking, it is impossible at that moment to force him, the run is lost.
Under this state of the case, the master of the culprit on some fine non-hunting day, armed with spurs and a cut-whip, should conduct him to any ugly-looking little ditch, not above half a dozen feet broad (for it is the quality and not the quantity of the shining element that creates his fear), and then, carefully abstaining52 to excite his courage, ride him at it very slowly and timidly, on purpose to ensure his refusing it, which, of course, he is quite certain to do. After once again leading him into this trap, a duel53, perfectly54 harmless to the biped, must be fought. It may last ten minutes, a quarter, half an hour, or possibly two hours; but, sooner or later, the little misunderstanding is certain to end in the rebel all of a sudden doing willingly, and then repeating five or six times, what, after all, was nothing at all for him61 to do; and from that moment, if he be only fairly "handled," he will remember, whenever he sees water, the lesson which taught him that it was made on purpose to be crossed.
To maintain and encourage this doctrine55, on coming in sight of a brook, his courage, by very gentle touches of the spur, should be excited, while, by pulling harder and harder at the bridle, his speed inversely56 should be slightly diminished, until he arrives within about eighty yards, when, gradually relaxing the reins57, and yet grasping them so firmly that it is impossible for him to swerve, his pace should always be made to freshen as he proceeds, until on arriving at the brink58 it has attained59 its maximum. In short, in riding at a brook, a horse should be taught to feel that no choice will be given to him to go in or over, but that over he must go, for want of time to jump in.
By this simple management a horse will very soon learn not only to rush at water, but to enjoy the very sight of it; and as his rider can then trust implicitly60 to his honour, we end as we almost began, by stating that, although there exists no obstruction61 in a run that creates so many sorrows as water, there is no fence that is so easy for a horse to jump, if he will but try; in fact on coming to it at the top of his speed, if he will only hop48 upwards62 a few feet, his momentum63 cannot fail to62 carry him across; whereas, if in approaching it he slackens his speed, nine times out of ten he may safely be booked to be "in."
[D]The Honourable64 C. C.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
brooks
|
|
| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
brook
|
|
| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
meanders
|
|
| 曲径( meander的名词复数 )； 迂回曲折的旅程 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
perpendicular
|
|
| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
chasm
|
|
| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
backwards
|
|
| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
willows
|
|
| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
enjoyment
|
|
| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
collapse
|
|
| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
brute
|
|
| n.野兽，兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
vacillation
|
|
| n.动摇；忧柔寡断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
prostrate
|
|
| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
divested
|
|
| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
bridle
|
|
| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
instinctive
|
|
| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
irresolute
|
|
| adj.无决断的，优柔寡断的，踌躇不定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
gallant
|
|
| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
interval
|
|
| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
glide
|
|
| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
gallantly
|
|
| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
peg
|
|
| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
gallop
|
|
| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
lank
|
|
| adj.瘦削的；稀疏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
drenched
|
|
| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
curds
|
|
| n.凝乳( curd的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
swerve
|
|
| v.突然转向，背离；n．转向，弯曲，背离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
swerves
|
|
| n.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的名词复数 )v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
bucks
|
|
| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
galloping
|
|
| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
doom
|
|
| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
rogue
|
|
| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
vice
|
|
| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
trotting
|
|
| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
Ford
|
|
| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
galloped
|
|
| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
antelope
|
|
| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
crevice
|
|
| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
hop
|
|
| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
hopped
|
|
| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
favourably
|
|
| adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
abstaining
|
|
| 戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的现在分词 )； 弃权（不投票） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
duel
|
|
| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
doctrine
|
|
| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
inversely
|
|
| adj.相反的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
reins
|
|
| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
brink
|
|
| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
attained
|
|
| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
implicitly
|
|
| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
obstruction
|
|
| n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
momentum
|
|
| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
honourable
|
|
| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |