A SMOKING-ROOM PALAVER 335 



his kennel had they been able completely to run 

 away from the rest of the pack. It is fair, therefore, 

 to infer that Mr. Meynell must have had several 

 hounds not much inferior to his selected in point 

 of speed ; yet his champion was beaten quite 120 yards 

 by Bluecap and Wanton, who ran very close together 

 all through, so that we may apply the same argument 

 to the Cheshire hounds. 



I do not know what part of Yorkshire was hunted 

 by the eccentric Colonel Thornton when he owned his 

 famous bitch Merkin, who ran a four-mile trial in 

 seven minutes and half a second. Madcap, two years 

 old, challenged all England over the same distance 

 for £500, and her brother, Lounger, did the same at 

 four years old. This challenge was accepted, and a 

 bet of 200 guineas, to run Mr. Meynell's Pillager ; but 

 when Lounger was seen at Tattersall's by " many of 

 the first sportsmen, his bone and form were so capital 

 that the parties thought it proper to pay forfeit." 



It has been said, of course, that in those days they 

 did not understand " clocking," and that the timing 

 was probably inaccurate ; but the Bluecap match 

 was for 500 guineas, and it is certain that at New- 

 market there would be many sportsmen endeavouring 

 at least to time the match correctly. 



Merkin was sold in 1795 for four hogsheads of 

 claret; the seller to have two couples of her whelps. 

 The fashion, or craze, for hound-trials lasted for some 

 time, but died out at the beginning of the last century. 

 Still, it proved that our grandfathers were not un- 

 mindful of the speed of hounds. It may be objected 

 that these hound-trials in no way represent the speed 



