The Merry Past 



edged with a finish of tan colour, a feathered tail 

 arched over the back when the animal was in motion, 

 and above all, in such assumed consequence in the 

 gait and carriage of the senior part of them, at least, 

 as failed not to attract observation and interest. 

 Their general size may be conjectured from a pre- 

 vailing report as to the whole pack having often 

 received a full meal from a common wash-hand 

 basin once filled. One, however, as an inch or so 

 taller than the rest, and which would have been 

 drafted but for his inestimable qualities, was loaded 

 with a shot collar of two or three ounces weight, to 

 prevent his being too forward when in chase. This 

 lilliputian pack killed upwards of four hundred couple 

 of rabbits in one year. So great was its reputation 

 that one hundred pounds was once offered for it, 

 which was refused. The feats performed by these 

 tiny chiders, for several successive seasons, drew 

 forth resounding plaudits from sporting spectators, 

 together with many a justly merited eulogium on 

 their proprietor, by whose sole skill, judgment, and 

 perseverance, they were brought to a state of un- 

 rivalled perfection. 



Between 1770 and 1820 a complete revolution 

 took place in everything connected with fox-hunting. 



The style of the hound, the horse, and the man 

 who rode him, all underwent a change in the course 

 of time, and fox-hunting, like everything else, altered 

 its character. The speed of hunters greatly increased, 

 for as hounds went faster in 1820 than in 1770, the 

 horse had to go faster too. 



39 



