AND DEMERITS OF THE MOTOR-CAR 23 



devouring, time-saving motor. Bridle-roads and 

 grassy ride are doubtless delightful, but interest, 

 beauty, and amusement are to be found from the 

 turnpike road, as was well set forth in the middle 

 of the last century, by an author whose words will 

 well bear quotation : — 



"The morning ride, slowly pacing, full of expectation, your horse as 

 pleased as yourself. Sharp and clear in the grey atmosphere the leafless 

 trees and white farmhouses stand out, backed by a curtain of mist 

 hanging on the hills in the horizon. With eager eyes you take all in ; 

 nothing escapes you ; you have cast off care for the day. How pleasant 

 and cheerful everything and every one looks I ... To your mind the 

 well-cultivated land looks beautiful. In the monotony of ten acres of 

 turnips you see a hundred pictures of English farming life." 



Last winter it was often my lot to travel on to 

 covert by motor-car, and no one can deny the comforts 

 of the proceeding. There were few meets that could 

 not be reached by the wonder-working vehicle in half 

 an hour. Therefore there was no hurry about break- 

 fast, toilet, correspondence, or the digestion of the 

 morning papers, and I could see no objection to the 

 arrangement. We met with no accident, ran over no 

 pig nor dog, crawling child nor any other creeping 

 thing ; we startled no animals badly, and, I trust, 

 scandalised none of his Majesty's lieges. But, when 

 all is said and done, I prefer the hack. 



I have been hunting for over forty years, but have 

 never yet been able to master the contents of the 

 daily journal on a hunting morning, to write a 

 satisfactory letter, or to transact a bit of business 

 properly — "When my horse went on before me." 



