The Life of a Great Sportsman 



hunting by me in December and January, before winning the 

 Grand National. Rhysworth, again, who had run second the 

 previous year in the same event, had been well hunted previously 

 by one of the Blankney whippers-in. Another example was 

 Snowstorm, also bred at Limber by Mr. William Marris, and 

 whom I rode as a four-year-old with hounds, and made a 

 perfect fencer of before he ever saw a racecourse. After win- 

 ning many steeplechases, including the Sefton at Liverpool, he 

 was bought by Mr. Henry Chaplin, described by Custance in 

 his " Book of Recollections" as " the best heavyweight over a 

 country I ever saw," who frequently rode him hunting with the 

 Blankney, of which pack he was then the Master. Last, but 

 not least on the list, comes Titterstone, on whose back I won 

 several open handicap steeplechases for Captain Machell, and 

 who will always hold a treasured place in my memory as the 

 most perfect hunter I ever rode. 



Earth-stopping. 



On how many occasions has what in all probability would 

 otherwise have been a good day's sport been spoiled by the 

 earths not having been properly stopped ! Years ago it used 

 to be the rule to stop the earths at night between the hours of 

 nine and ten. (There is an illustration of this in that most 

 admirable of hunting books, "The Noble Science," by Mr. 

 Delme Radcliffe.) Nowadays they are " put to " in the morn- 

 ing, after daylight, and the foxes are not infrequently stopped 

 underground in consequence. In many cases drains and earths 

 are not stopped at all, with the result that when everybody is 

 in full enjoyment of a run and hounds have settled to their fox, 

 the latter goes to ground, not only to the great disappointment 

 (freely expressed as a rule) of the whole field of sportsmen, but 



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