Punch (53.1867)

46

PUNCH. OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

[August 3, 1867.

AV/- / s s. /

0 0 A, (D K I l L t .

ANOTHER REMARKABLE STUDY FROM NATURE.

A LEAP IN THE DARK.

A fine horse, a fine rider,—and first of the steed—
Caucasian Arab, they say, by his breed—

Limbs lithe, light, and lissome • with sinew to spare.

And though past mark of rnoutn, not a single white hair :
Yet his coat seems to change, as ’tis viewed in the light.
Now, a dull Oxford mixture, now dark, and now bright.
Till what its true colour, ’twas puzzle to say,

Till they found a new name for it—Vivian Grey—

His temper, you’d say, that a quieter horse
Never played in a paddock, or walked o’er a course.

But for all he’s so quiet, a look in his eye.

Warns ’gainst trusting one’s ribs his fine fetlocks too nigh.
And if ever a horse had a will of his own,

One is fixed in that flesh, and was bred in that bone :

Ere you cross this dark horse, let him look ne’er so nice,
See you’ve muscles like whip-cord, a band like a vice,

Or the horse you’ll soon find with the bit in his teeth.

And the rider, where riders should not be, beneath.

And he who backs this horse, for field, course, or park,

Ten to one, finds, he’s taken—a Leap in the Dark.

And what of his rider, the lady in blue ?

There are fears and forebodings, Britannia, for you !
Though in front of the field ’twas your glory to show,

Time was when your steed by your will had to go :

When though riding your fastest, you still, as you led.
Kept a hand on your horse, and a watch well ahead ;

Never rushed at your fences, your mark overshot.

Nor galloped o’er ground where ’twas wiser to trot:
When, if strange to a country, you stuck to a guide
Who knew it,-—nor scorned by direction to ride :

When if a big jump, or a blind, crossed your course,

You noted the ground ere you lifted your horse;

If the lie of the land hinted danger beyond—

Old quarry, or chalk-pit, sunk road-way, or pond—

When your horse would have taken the fence in his stride.
You pulled him together, and turned him aside,

And the chance of a fall and a fracture to baulk.

To the terra incognita went at a walk—

Too brave to heed sneerers’ or scoffers’ remark,

And too wise to hazard a Leap in the Dark.

Those fashions you’ve changed, and those rules you’ve thrown by ;
With no hand on your reins, across country you fly ;

Curb and snaffle hang loose, and your horse has his head,

And as once you steered him, now he steers you, instead ;

Takes a line of his own, you reck nought where or how ;

Let him trot over pasture, and gallop o’er plough ?

Let him shy the old ways, well-known gaps, ancient rides.

Leave your skirt on the thorns, smash your knees, bruise your sides,
In his rush betwixt gateposts too straight to pass through,

At stone walls he can’t leap, gates you cannot undo ;

'fill at last, when your head you have lost in the run,

When your eyesight is failing, your strength fairly done,

When your line shaped at random, the guide-posts unread,

You know not an inch of the country ahead.

He goes by Bright and Gladstone, Hughes, Fawcett, and
Mill,

At a thundering gallop, tearing with you down-hill,

In his stride takes the fence that, big, bushy, and black,

Throws up its thick sprays, and sharp thorns in your track.

And over it skims, like a lad in a lark,

And—who knows what will come of this Leap in the Dark ?

THE CARCASE AND THE VULTURES.

The Tichborne Baronetcy and Estates are in Chancery. The Post
announces that “ bills have been now filed in the causes of Tichborne
v. Tichborne and Tichborne v. Mostyn,” remarks that “ in this
cause celebre we shall have another sensational trial,” and adds that:—

“ A formidable array of Counsel are engaged on both sides. The Attorney and
Solicitor-General are retained by the plaintiff s solicitor, Mr. Holmes ; and in all
probability Sir Roundell Palmer, with other eminent counsel, will appear for th«
defendants’.”

Oh, the poor Tichborne estates !