28 THE WARWICKSHIRE HUNT. _m7 



And, tlio' HoLYOAKE* gave him miK-li legal assistance, 



Was kept by tlie houuds at a very great distance. 



'Tis strange, you will say, that Jack Ketch should be dropp'd, 



Who the 2)ipes of so many, of course, must have stopped ; 



But, alas ! it is true, even he wanted breath, 



And, for once in his life, was not in at the death ! 



On a broken-knee'd chesnut, with very good shape, 

 Tho' in muffle array'd, and without the black cape, 

 PEMBERTONf kept well in the front all the while, 

 And was carried throughout in a Brummagem style ; 

 But not so was his groom, on a hard-pulling bay. 

 Which for some time kept tearing and running away, 

 But at Swarford stood still, and was done for the day. 



With his hat in his hand, looking out for a gate, 

 Neither looking nor riding by any means straight. 

 Mister Stubbs, a ci'ack rider, no doubt, in his time, 

 But who hunting on Sunday once deem'd it no crime, :j: 

 Making desp'rate play thro' some fine muddy lanes, 

 And by nicking and skirting, got in for his pains ; 

 High waving the brush, and with jjleasure half mad, 

 Roarmg out : " Yoicks, have at 'em ! We've kill'd him, 

 my lad ! " 



In a state of delight, far exceeding all bounds, 



See the veteran Squire § in the midst of his hounds. 



How he liv'd to the end of this terrible day 



The Muse nor desires, nor ought she to say. 



That he saw all, 'tis clear, and what more could Old Meynell ? 



And beheld the effects of his care in the kennel ; 



* Mr. Hcilyoake, of Tattenball, Staffordshire. This gentleman generally joined the 

 Warwickshire during the hunting season, and was a true sportsman. 



t Mr. T. rembeiton, of Birmingham, who had some very famous horses, and joined 

 the hunt for several years. 



X "To explain this mystery," says Mr. Goulburn, "it is necessary to inform my 

 readers of an anecdote recorded of this gentleman, who for a long time kept a pack of 

 foxhounds which were the terror of all foxes, and the delight of all sportsmen in 

 the neighbourhood. Xay, so anxious was he for the sport, and so fearful of a blank 

 day, that he kept several bag foxes to afford amusement. In feeding these on a Sunday 

 morning, one of them made his escapa, though not unobserved by this keen sportsman, 

 who exclaimed : ' What I you thought you had me, eh ? But I'll be a match for you, 

 and so saying he immediately let lojse the keen pack, which killed poor reyuard, after a 

 run of about twenty miles, in a village where the inhabitants were just returning from 

 Divine service." 



§ Mr. Corbet, master of the hounds. 



