MR. HAY.— 1825. 173 



on his black mare ; Mr. C. Davenport, on his grey mare ; 

 Mr. W. Smith, of Stratford, on his little Fyldener mare, 

 and on this occasion I never saw a little one go better to 

 the last. 



FROM NIMROD, BY VENATOR. 



MEET COMPTON VERNEY, IOtH OF DECEMBER, 1825. 



' 'Twas an old fox, 1 said, and he knew ev'ry trick 

 That ever was practis'd, I tliink, by old nick.' 



The morning may smile, the proud hunter look gay, 

 Yet who can foretel the events of a day ? 

 Compton Verney the Master had fix'd as the meet. 

 Of noble De Broke the fam'd mansion and seat. 1 

 This fixture, whatever be said of the rest, 

 Has long been acknowledg'd as one of the best. 



Found a fox — Hark away ! and the blithe Tallyho ! 

 Inspire the gay Field, from the swift to the slow ; 

 O'er hedge, gate, and stile, they bound helter-skelter, 

 At a rate one would swear they were match'd for The Welter. 

 Our game brush'd along at a bold rapid pace. 

 With only one check during half an hour's space ; 2 

 By turning and curling, his course all the while 

 Resembl'd the run of a hare on her foil. 



1 The paternal residence of Lord Willoughby de Broke. 



2 Take tlie words of Nimrod ; tliat interesting writer says — Two 

 peculiarities attended this burst. The pace tlie hounds went at was 

 tremendous ; but from the short and curling manner in which the fox 

 ran — almost equal to tliat of a liare on her foil — it was most difficult to 

 keep up with them. 



