THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 51 



denizens of the stream and forest — the legitimate 

 " beasts of venerie " in all ages. In any pack 

 of Russell's, hunted by him during the last fifty 

 years, the fate of a hound touching on such 

 riot would have been quickly sealed ; on return- 

 ing to his kennel I can almost hear him sav 

 to old Will Rawle, his faithful and devoted 

 henchman for forty years, ** Will, that hound 

 eats no more of my meal, mind that ; " and 

 the culprit would thenceforth disappear from 

 the scene. 



In less than ten years, however, after Russell 

 had taken his degree, steeple-chasing, with its 

 concomitant vice of heavy betting, became the 

 popular amusement of the University ; and about 

 the same period the drag, established at Christ 

 Church, provided an afternoon ''grind" across 

 country for the men, who either were unable 

 to cut college lectures, or cared not a rush 

 whether it was a fox or a red herring they 

 rode after, so long as they had their "grind." 



The line of country chosen for the drag was 

 generally a stiff one, and the pace frequently a 

 cracker from first to last, consequently the 

 staying powers of every hack-hunter in Oxford 

 were gauged to a pound ; and bitter enough 

 were the complaints of the stable-keepers at the 

 beaten and maimed condition in which their 

 horses were often brought home after a day 

 with the drag. 



