I70 CENTURY OF ENGLISH FOX-HUNTING 



Is it conceivable that a man like Dick Christian 

 could exist under the conditions of modern fox- 

 hunting? I know several gentlemen who hunt three 

 or four days a week on an income of ;^200, but 

 would be angry if they were classed as professional 

 riders. They are on terms of social equality with 

 their employers, and are as much at home in the 

 boudoir as they are in the saddle-room. They are 

 men who work as hard as any groom works, in order 

 that they may enjoy their sport, But they do not 

 profess to earn a living out of sport. It was Dick 

 Christian's profession to earn his livelihood out of 

 the hunting field. He rode in many steeplechases, 

 but he was never a cross-country jockey, as we 

 understand the phrase. He bought and sold many 

 horses, but he never was a professional dealer. He 

 was paid for giving opinions upon the merits or de- 

 merits of many horses, but he was never a veterinary 

 surgeon. He was " hail fellow well met " with 

 everybody, from George IV. to an earthstopper, and 

 could hardly write his own name. His life presents a 

 striking example of the change which has taken place 

 in our social and sporting customs since the begin- 

 ning of the century. We have now our professional 

 cross-country riders, our veterinary surgeons, and our 

 dealers, on whose integrity we can rely, and the 

 exigencies of the times do not require a combination 

 of the three professions. There are gentlemen riders 

 who will school our horses, in the same way as there 

 are men who will shoot our birds, for the sake of 



