BREEDING OF HUNTERS. 317 



trian exercises if five can " get on deck" at one time, 

 As to hunters, the great majority are not in the 

 market till they are sufficiently grazed and have 

 their ' ' mouths up ;" but purchasers little think how 

 many of their " five year olds" are only four, and 

 some little more than three. It is, we regret to say, 

 a notorious fact that this rascally system of "forward- 

 ing the mouth," which was first commenced in the 

 North, has struck root very widely of late. 



But a truce to such homilies on the " Night-side of 

 Nature/' We must go back once more into North- 

 amptonshire, and say a word on Earl Fit z William's 

 hunting stable-blood, which is principally derived 

 from his Amadis, a powerful staring big-boned horse, 

 but neither very deep nor big in the body. His stock 

 were all very noble-looking and fine-bottomed ; and 

 Patriot, a light-bodied sixteen-hand, whole black with 

 the exception of the near hind-foot, was the flower of 

 the basket. Tom Sebright, who will complete his 

 thirty-fifth season at Milton next March, had only two 

 falls off him during their eleven seasons ; and Patriot 

 roamed about the park at Milton as a superannuated 

 pensioner till he was rising twenty-four. He was 

 wont often to steal close up to the dining-room win- 

 dow, and thrust in his flesh-coloured nose for a 

 greeting ; and one morning, some four or five years 

 since, he lay down and died in sight of it. He was 

 originally bought from a tenant, and was a much 

 pleasanter horse to ride than the warm and fidgetty 

 Martingale by The Saddler, on whom Tom appears 

 in his son^s well-known picture of the Milton pack. 

 The chesnut Reformer was another very good son of 

 Amadis, and among the EarFs other favourites may 

 be reckoned Little John, by St. Paul, who unfortu- 

 nately broke his leg ; Don Quixote ; Zara, the gran- 

 dam of Don Quixote; Asplendion, by Cervantes; 

 Tanner, by Cervantes, and bred by Mr. Russell, a 

 Yorkshire tenant (who also bred and sold Patriot to 



