182 THE HUNTING FIELD 



of decay about the nag. Barleycorn and his friend, 

 Michael Brownstout, of Sapcote, keep a pack of 

 harriers between them, but when the foxhounds are 

 near they give the preference to them. Barleycorn 

 has farmed in good times, bad times, and middling 

 times, but in whatever times he has farmed his heart 

 has always been in the right place, and he has never 

 given way to despondency or fear. Fear forsooth ! 

 look at his frame ; there's a fist that would fell an ox. 



He d ns Peel, but only because he considers Peel 



" did him." He's not a bit afraid of what he calls the 

 Mouncheers. 



Barleycorn, to our fancy, is one of the happiest of 

 men. He is rich rich in the fewness of his wants 

 and has nearly all the requirements of life within 

 himself. A good, large, roomy, well-built, old 

 fashioned farm-house, with attic windows peering out 

 of the stone roof, a comfortable parlour on either side 

 of the entrance, and the kitchen sufficiently near to 

 make the knocking on the table with his knife answer 

 the purpose of a bell, to indicate when he is ready for 

 the second or third steak and the pudding. He has 

 a nice, clean, healthy-looking girl to wait upon him, 

 and a managing body of a wife to look after the girl 

 and the interests of the dairy and larder as well. 

 Barleycorn hunts his twice a week, and has always 

 hunted his twice a week, and means to continue to 

 hunt his twice a week, and yet he has only the big 

 nag under him, and an old brood mare, that takes her 

 turn about the farm the day after a hard run or a long 

 day. His friend, Brownstout, is a sort of double^ both 

 in size and dress, and, when their backs are turned, it 

 is hard to say which is which. Having great con- 

 fidence in each other's judgment, they generally buy 

 in " duplicate," thus, if Barleycorn treats himself to a 

 new beaver, he buys another for Brownstout ; and, 

 some people say, that after a " wet night " or two, the 

 hats become common, and they just take either. Both 



