RIDING RECOLLECTIONS. 



and Wilts, that ride light. To them the above remarks 

 in no way apply. Inclosed with stone walls, if there 

 is anything like a scent, hounds carry such a head, and 

 run so hard over these districts, that you must simply 

 go as fast as your horse's pace, and as straight as his 

 courage admits, but if you have the Duke of Beaufort's 

 dog-pack in front of you, do not be surprised to find, with 

 their extraordinary dash and enormous stride, that even 

 on the pick of your stable, ere you can jump into one 

 field they are half-way across the next. 



In hunting, as in everything else, compensation seems 

 the rule of daily life, and the very brilliancy of the pace 

 affords its own cure. Either hounds run into their fox, 

 or, should he find room to turn, flash over the scent, and 

 bring themselves to a check. You will not then regret 

 having made play while you could, and although no 

 good sportsman, and, indeed, no kind-hearted man, 

 would overtax the powers of the most generous animal 

 in creation, still we must remember that we came out for 

 the purpose of seeing the fun, and unless we can keep 

 near the hounds while they run we shall lose many 

 beautiful instances of their sagacity when brought to 

 their noses, and obliged to hunt. 



There is no greater treat to a lover of the chase 

 than to watch a pack of high-bred fox-hounds that 



