ndly taken from the top of Yelvertoft Church
for this book by the Rector of that nice parish, gives a good idea of
the country over which we hunt in Northamptonshire. In that county, the
grass fields are smaller and the country more wooded than in
Leicestershire, which has the inestimable advantage of possessing so
many bridle paths, that people who hunt in it have very little road
tramping to do. Even that trying infliction is mitigated to some extent
in most parts of the Shires, by the presence of grass on the sides of
country roads, as in Fig. 122.

[Illustration: Fig. 115.--Galway bank.]

[Illustration: Fig. 116.--Side view of bank shown in Fig. 115.]

[Illustration: Fig. 117.--Galway bank.]

[Illustration: Fig. 118.--"Cope and dash" wall.]

[Illustration: Fig. 119.--Loose stone wall.]

[Illustration: Fig. 120.--Low bank with ditch on both sides.]

[Illustration: _Photo. by_ REV. R. J. GORNALL.
Fig. 121.--View of country between Yelvertoft and Crick.]

[Illustration: Fig. 122.--Grass on each side of the road.]

When hunting in England, gates are hardly ever jumped, for two very good
reasons. First, because it would take a Manifesto or a Cloister to
negotiate a series of them safely during a long run; and second, because
the habit of leaping gates would be almost certain to unfit a horse for
the task of steadily going through the various phases of opening and
shutting these means of ingress and egress. Besides, gates are often in
such positions, as regards taking off and landing, that it would be
impossible to fly them safely, even if the way were clear of hunting
companions, which is seldom the case in large fields. Every horsewoman
should remember that nothing is more apt to spoil a horse than allowing
a brace of alternative ideas to occupy his mind at the same time. Hence,
when a hunter sees a gate during a run, his thoughts should be solely
occupied in doing his best to aid his rider to open, get through and
shut it, or hold it open, if necessary.

Gates, as a rule, may be divided into five-barred gates (Fig. 123) and
bridle gates (Fig. 124). Variety in gates is chiefly limited to their
form of fastening, which is generally on the left-hand side of the rider
when the gate opens towards her (Figs. 125, 126 and 127); and on her
right-hand side, when it opens away from her (Fig. 129). In Fig. 125, we
see the old-fashioned wooden latch. In Fig. 126, the spring latch has to
be pulled towards the hinges of t