RIDING AT STAG-HOUNDS. 2I/ 



sider attempts to " cap them on," or otherwise interfere, 

 they decline to acknowledge him from the first; and 

 should they be left to his guidance, are quite capable 

 of going straight home at once, with every mark of 

 contempt. 



In a run, however, their huntsman is seldom wanting. 

 His lordship has an extraordinary knack of galloping, 

 getting across a field with surprising quickness on every 

 horse he rides, and is not to be turned by the fence 

 when he reaches it, so that his hounds are rarely placed 

 in the awkward position of a pack at fault with no one 

 to look to for assistance. He has acquired, too, con- 

 siderable familiarity with the habits of his game, and 

 has a holy horror of going home without it, so perse- 

 veres, when at a loss, through many a long hour of cold 

 hunting, slotting, scouring the country for information, 

 and other drawbacks to enjoyment of his chase. 

 As he says himself, " The worst of a deer is, you can't 

 leave off when you like. Nobody will believe you if 

 you swear it went to ground ! " 



Part of the country in his immediate neighbourhood 

 seems made for stag-hunting. Large fields, easy slopes, 

 light fences, and light land, with here and there a hazel 

 copse, bordering a stretch for three or four miles of level 

 turf, like Launceston Down, or Blandford race-course, 



