DANIEL’§ RURAL SPORTS» 
Mr. Meynell and Mr. Barry, and this account 
of the training and feeding the two victorious 
hounds, is from the person who had the ma- 
nagement ofthem. Will Crane was applied to, 
after the match was made (which was for 500 
ineas), to train Mr. Barry’s hounds,of which 
aces, was four, and Wanton three years old. 
Crane objected to their being hounds that had 
been entered some seasons, and wished for 
young hounds, who would with more cer- 
tainty be taught to run a drag; howeyer the 
hounds were sent to Rivenhall in Essex, and 
as Crane suggested,at the first trials, to induce 
them to run ithe drag, they took no notice ; 
at length by dragging a fox along the ground, 
and then crossing the hounds upon the scent, 
and taking care to let them kill him, they be- 
came more handy to a drag, and had their ex- 
ercise regularly three times a week upon Tip- 
tree Heath ; the ground chosen was turf, and 
the distance over which the drag was taken 
was from eight to ten miles. ‘The taining 
commenced the first of August, and conti- 
nued until the 28th of September, (the 30th 
the match was ran); their food was oatmeal 
and milk, and sheeps’ trotters. Upon the 
80th of September the drag was drawn (on ac- 
count of running up the wind, which hap- 
pened to be brisk,) from the rubbing-house 
at New Market ‘Town end, to the rybbing 
house at the starting post of the BeaconCourse, 
the four hounds were then laid on the scent ; 
Mr. Barry's Bluecap came in first, Waaton 
(very close to Bluecap) second; Mr. Mey- 
nell’s' Richmond was beat by upwards of a 
hundred yards, and the bitch never run in at 
all ; the ground was crossed in a few seconds 
more than eight minutes ; three score horses 
started with the hounds; Cooper, Mr. Bar- 
ry’s huntsman, was the first up, but the 
mare that carried him was rode quite blind 
at the conclusion. ‘There were only twelve 
horses up out of the sixty, and Wil Crane, 
who was mounted upon a king’s plate horse, 
called Rib, was in the twelfth. The odds be- 
forerunning were seven to four in favour of 
Mr. Meynell, whose hounds it was said were 
fed during the time of training entirely with 
legs of mutton. 
«The speed of Merkin, a fox-hound bitch 
bred by Colonel ‘Thornton, was still superior; 
she was challenged to run any hound of her 
year five miles over Newmarket, giving 2¢ 
yards, for 10,000 guineas, or to give Madcap 
400 yards, and run the same distance for 
5000. Merkin had run a trial of four miles, 
and the'time he performed it in was seven 
- minutes and half a second. ‘This bitch, of 
om a portrait is here given, was sold. in 
1795 tor four hogsheads of claret, and the 
seller to have two couple of her whelps. 
** Madcap at two years old challenged all 
England for 500 guincas. Lounger, brother 
to Madcap, did the same at four years old, 
the challenge was accejyted, aud a bet made 
for 200: guineas, to run Mr. Meynell’s Pil- 
uger; the parties were also allowed by Col. 
Phornton to start any other hound of Mr. 
M's. , and Loungcr was to beat both; but 
$47 
upon Lounger's being seen at ‘Tattersall’s by 
many of the first sportsmen, his bone and 
form were so capital, that it was thought pro- 
per to pay forfeit, which was done by giving 
Colonel T. a pair of gold couples. 
<«‘ Lounger was afterwards sent as a present 
to the Duke of Northumberland, by Colonel 
T. for a stallion hound, his grace’s keenness 
perhaps exceeding that of any other fox-hun- 
ter in the kingdom, and which shewed itself 
in one instance by his having the fox’s head 
deviled, afier a very severe chase, and eating 
the greater part of 1t,”* 
Pe oe ee ee er 
«‘Enthusiasm in religion, love or polities, 
has seldom excceded that which Mr. Carter 
shewed for fox-hunting; this gentleman 
possessed a respectable estate near Witney, ia 
Oxfordshire, and could boast the best hounds 
and horses in that part of the country. Ta 
his dress, manners and accommodation, the 
huntsman and whipper-in were evident mo- 
dels of his imitation. Amidst the intercourse 
of friendship, and in the endearments of do= 
mestic life, the language of the chace was 
never forgotten, even his nearest relations 
were esteemed only in proportion to his 
darling amusement; those who were anxious 
for his affections, had no hopcs of seecess,but 
by riding themselves into them over five 
barred gates; in short, throughout the sur- 
rounding country, fox-hunting Carter was the 
epithet by which he was universally knowa 
and distinguished: when he was one day en- 
deavouring to leap a gate of unusual height, 
the leg of his favourite hunter caught between 
the upper bars, threw him on the other side, 
and tumbling with all his weight upon him, 
fractured one of his legs in such a manner, as 
io leave the sufferer only the dreadful alter- 
native ofamputation or death. Mr. ©. was 
not long deliberating upon the choice; re- 
collecting that he never should be able to 
keep the saddle ata fox chace with a wooden 
leg, he swore that he came into the world 
with two legs, and with two he would go out 
of it. Inthis determination he persevered, 
and after languishing some time, 1f to a man 
of his résolution and violent temper, the term 
languishing can ever be applied, he departed 
this lifeas he would have ended a fox-hunt, 
with the exulting shout of the death halloo, 
having previously bequeathed his estate (ex- 
cept an annuily of two hundred pounds to his 
wife,) to his favourite nephew, for no other 
reason than because whilst a boy he used to 
follow him through all the dangers and de- 
lights of the chace ; and excluding all his 
oiher numerous relations, who were more 
careful of their limbs, and did not chovse at 
. the risk of their necks to obtain achance of 
enjoying his property.” 
* * * * * 
« The insertion of the following replies from 
two huntsimen may be excused, as they tend 
to shew the absolute possession. which the 
business of the chase had over every other 
action oridea. The first was, the Duke of 
