, and then all at once has given up hunting altogether
because his nerve has gone. He has, perhaps, tried to 'go' for a season,
enduring unknown tortures in the attempt, and then he has given up
altogether. He has never joined the skirting brigade, not, perhaps, as
some would suggest, because he was too proud to do so after having once
been a first-flight man, but because he did not care sufficiently for
hunting." This writer knew a man who gave up riding to hounds because he
had lost his nerve, and yet he continued to ride in steeplechases, which
may be explained by the fact that the rider on a "flagged course" knows
what is in front of him, and has little or nothing to fear from bad
ground. Mr. Otho Paget considers that "a failing nerve may be always
traced to the stomach," and recommends moderation in eating, drinking,
and smoking. Frank Beers, the famous huntsman of the Grafton, had his
hunting career closed by a severe illness, which apparently deprived him
of all his former dash. Mr. Elliot says: "At the commencement of the
season (1890-91) an attempt was made by the poor man to resume his
duties, but one hour's trial proved to Mr. Robarts and those present
that all hope had vanished, and the above-named gentleman, being in
charge during Lord Penrhyn's absence, sent the hounds home." Huntsmen,
like other riding men, generally lose some of their nerve after forty.
Mr. Otho Paget tells us that the late Tom Firr was the only huntsman he
ever knew who retained his riding nerve to the end. He was riding
brilliantly at fifty-eight, in his last season with the Quorn, when he
met with an accident which compelled him to resign his post. With Lord
Lonsdale as Master, and Tom Firr as huntsman, the Quorn possessed two of
the most perfect horsemen who ever crossed Leicestershire.

I think the best treatment for a lady suffering from loss of nerve is,
first of all, to attend to her health, which will probably be out of
order; then get a steady horse or pony and ride him quietly for a time,
and the chances are that the good nerve will all come back again. It
grieves people who have been unable, from various causes, to keep up
their riding practice, to think that they have lost their nerve, and
they brood over it until they often imagine they are past hope of
recovery, but that is a great mistake. This feeling can be struggled
against, and, in most cases, conquered, by quiet measures. Nothing but
the most "confidential" animal wil