264 MEMOIR OF 



like a hurricane, giving a wild character to the 

 sport, and establishing its popularity throughout 

 the western counties. Consequently, from all 

 quarters between the Ouantock Hills and the 

 Bodmin Moors, between the South Hams and 

 Hartland Point, every man who possessed a 

 horse and loved hunting found himself, sooner 

 or later, partaking as a guest, if not as a 

 member, of the attractive and varied menu 

 provided by that club. 



Of course, a considerable amount of rivalry 

 was exhibited, ever and anon, among sundry of 

 the partisans attached to the three hunts, not 

 only as to the merits of the respective packs 

 and the style in which their work was done, but 

 with reference to the staying powers of the 

 horses and feats of audacious horsemanship 

 performed by their riders. One gentleman, for 

 instance, a member of Russell's hunt, was so 

 determined not to be beaten or outdone by any 

 competitor, native or stranger, that he rode in 

 the most reckless manner, charging without a 

 scruple of fear the most impracticable fences, 

 and shouting to his horse as he did so, ^^L'liii 

 on r ant re ; " meaning that his own neck, or 

 that of his steed, must be risked at such a time. 

 It was his watchword, like that of a Knight 

 Templar entering the lists ; and so fiercely did 

 he use the portentous motto, when the fence 

 was an ugly one that, long after his own name 



