The Chase of the Wild Red Deer in Devonshire 195 



such recollections as these, I was on the best of terms with 

 myself for the whole week between receiving ^Ir. Skinner's 

 letter and my landing at Bishop's Lydard. 



The meet was at "Triscombe Stone," near the summit of 

 one of the loftiest peaks of the Quantock range, and about 

 seven miles from INIr. Skinner's house. We were joined on 

 the way by gentlemen and ladies until, by the time we 

 reached the foot-hills, we formed quite a cavalcade. It was 

 very pleasing to see among them some old — I should say 

 elderly — gentlemen; for one can hardly call a man of sixtj^ or 

 even seventy years of age, old, when one sees him mounted 

 and bound for a hard day's ride over some of the roughest 

 hunting country in England. These men are not old, and as 

 long as they can sit on a horse and ride to hounds, they will 

 outride death, and be, as we saw them, young at seventy^ 

 There were ladies also whose hair was beautifully sprinkled 

 with grey, whose foreheads were scarred and furrowed by 

 time, but they had become young again, as you could see by" 

 their faces, on which a smile was so near the surface that it 

 appeared, if you addressed them with the most ordinary 

 remark. There is certainly nothing in the world like hunting: 

 to turn backwards the hands on the dial of time ! Nothing like 

 a hard day's gallop to hounds to cheat the family phj^sician 

 out of his living and to put off the undertaker's approaching 

 account. There were farmers on rough and unkempt horses 

 which had rested from the furrow yesterday that the master 

 might "go a-hunting to-day." Beside them rode lords and 

 ladies, squires and gentlemen, their mounts, hke themselves,, 

 well groomed, showing their "quality" in good blood and good 

 breeding. There were also a good number of farmers' sons 

 mounted on "green ones" that morning "caught up" from the 

 fields. Their rusty saddle-irons and cobbled bridles made them 

 a great contrast to some London swell on his five hundred 

 guinea hunter, with a hveried groom in attendance, both dressed. 



