186 FOX-HOUNDS. 



young fellows on half-made, heavy-weight four or five 

 years old, go first. The results of this prudent and 

 unplucky step were most satisfactory; while two or 

 three, with a skill we admired, without venturing to 

 imitate, went the " in and out " clever, the rest, some 

 down and some blundering well over, smashed at least 

 one rail out of every two, and let the " stranger " through 

 comfortably at a fair flying jump. After three or four of 

 these tremendous fields, each about the size of Mr. 

 Mechi's farm, a shepherd riding after his flock on a 

 pony opened a gate just as the hounds, after throw- 

 ing up their heads for a minute, turned to the right, and 

 began to run back to the Wolds at a slower rate than we 

 started, for the fox was no doubt blown by the pace ; and 

 so up what are called hills there (they would scarcely be 

 felt in Devonshire or Surrey), we followed at a hand 

 gallop right up to the plantations of Brocklesby Park, 

 and for a good hour the hounds worked him round and 

 round the woods, while we kept as near them as we 

 could, racing along green rides as magnificent in their 

 broad spread verdures and overhanging evergreen walls 

 of holly and laurel as any Watteau ever painted. The 

 Lincolnshire gentry and yeomanry, scarlet coated and 

 velvet capped, on their great blood horses sweeping 

 down one of the grand evergreen avenues of Brocklesby 

 Park, say toward the Pelham Pillar, is a capital untried 

 subject, in colour, contrast, and living interest, for an 

 artist who can paint men as well as horses. 



At length when every dodge had been tried, Master 

 Reynard made a bolt in despair. We raced him down 

 a line of fields of very pretty fencing to a small lake, 

 where wild ducks squatted up, and there ran into him, 

 after a fair although not a very fast day's sport : a more 

 honest hunting, yet courageous dashing pack we never 



