244 ON THE GRAMPIAN HILLS. 



tally ho ! " proclaim that he is away. Then, galloping 

 up comes the huntsman, who, with several twangs 

 from his well-blown horn, brings up the eager hounds ; 

 the pack is laid on the line of the fox, and we go away 

 at a merry pace. There is no shirking or craning at 

 the fences, for, difficult as is this country, the riders 

 with the Essex hounds are workmen, who come out to 

 ride hard and go straight as a rule. Wide districts yet 

 remain in Essex which have happily escaped the notice 

 of the railway engineer and the speculative builder, 

 both enemies of the worst order as respects fox-hunting. 

 Although riding within thirty miles of the metropolis 

 you will find as wild and sporting a country to go 

 across as might be expected in the more distant parts 

 of England. Quaint old farmhouses, approachable 

 only by green lanes, large woodlands, wild pastures, 

 venerable churches, brawling brooks without bridges, 

 big fences, and wide ditches are the characteristics of 

 this county. Those who have not a good eye, a light 

 hand, strong nerves, and the knowledge how to pilot a 

 clever horse over a difficult country should eschew 

 Essex, and content themselves by riding over the 

 downs in Sussex or the open country of Hampshire ; 

 for in this eastern district there is no help from 

 macadam, no trusting to cutting in, no chance oi 

 making up on highways and byways the time lost by 

 pottering or shirking a rasper. Unless you harden 

 your heart and take the fences as they come, big or 

 little as they may be, you will be nowhere at the end 

 of a sharp burst. But whilst I am digressing the fox 

 is running hard ; and if the huntsman was present I 

 should be soundly rated for babbling, a most repre- 

 hensible practice in his eyes, and " Forrard on, forrard 



