244 THE POST AND THE PADDOCK. 



horses, rather under than over fifteen-three. The 

 great majority of hunting men, if they can possibly 

 afford it, like to ride with at least a stone in hand ; 

 and thus little horses, however clever, and up to ten 

 or eleven stone, do not find ready purchasers as of 

 yore, even among " the light division." The veteran 

 Sir Tatton Sykes has never fallen in with this notion 

 about height, and his friends always expect his plea- 

 sant " Too big, Sir ! too big !" when he looks over 

 anything much above fifteen-two. Charles XII., in 

 his very hey-day, did not please him at all, but still 

 he stuck faithfully by Sleight- of- Hand, who was much 

 above his standard. To show how tastes differ, Mr. 

 Davis, the Queen's huntsman, who is a lighter man 

 and rather taller than Sir Tatton, once assured us 

 that he had been carried equally well to his hounds 

 by horses of all heights, from fourteen- three to sixteen - 

 two ; but that from fifteen-three to sixteen-two was 

 his fancy size. Even on the subject of tails, the 

 hunting men used to take issue. In Mr. Osbaldes- 

 ton's day it was all the fashion at Melton to keep 

 long tails on the hunters, a practice which he held 

 in very great contempt. " Gallop on, long-tails, 

 you'll soon come back," used to be his regular saying, 

 if they got away before him ; and " Where are the 

 Jine long-tails now?" was his sarcastic inquiry at the 

 close of many a run. 



Among great horse-dealers, Messrs. Elmore, R. 

 Dyson, and Tilbury (who has had as many as 200 

 hunters for hire) once held sway, but Mr. Collins, 

 of Mount-street, Lambeth, has recently become by 

 far the largest purchaser of hunters at Horncastle. 

 The Lincolnshire farmers generally get into the habit 

 of doing business with one dealer, and Mr. Collins 

 will buy about seventy from them during the Horn- 

 castle month, the best of which range from 160 to 

 .'200, and occasionally higher. Many of these do 

 not get to the fair to be sold, as formerly, but are 



