6 THE TURF 



for this, for we certainly give many of 

 them the preference over racing. Hawk- 

 ing has disappeared ; shooting has lost 

 the wild sportsmanlike character of earlier 

 days; and hare-hunting has fallen into 

 disrepute. Fox-hunting, no doubt, stands 

 its ground, but fears are entertained 

 even for the king of sports. Fox-hunting 

 suspends the cares of life, whilst the specu- 

 lations of the race-course too generally 

 increase them. The one steels the con- 

 stitution, whilst the anxious cares of the 

 other have a contrary effect. The love of 

 the chace may be said to be screwed into 

 the soul of man by the noble hand of 

 Nature, whereas the pursuit of the other 

 is too often the offspring of a passion we 

 should wish to disown. The one enlarges 

 those sympathies which unite us in a bond 

 of reciprocal kindness and good offices ; in 

 the pursuit of the other, almost every man 

 we meet is our foe. The one is a pastime 

 the other a game, and a hazardous one, 

 too, and often played at fearful odds. 

 Lastly, the chace does not usually bring 

 any man into bad company ; the modern 

 turf is fast becoming the very manor of 



