218 THE HUNTING FIELD 



between two periods, he presents a few of the 

 characteristics of the times in which he has lived. 

 The straight cut coat has never given way to the 

 swallow tail dress, or round duck hunter, neither 

 have the lightish drab cords been superseded by 

 whites or leathers. Even the horse's tail has escaped 

 the long prevailing switch or swich, and appears in 

 the good old fashioned square cut — Lord bless us ! 

 we are old enough to remember the time when it was 

 the fashion not to allow horses any tail at all, or ears 

 either scarcely. When we used to see nags as close 

 docked as the old waggon horses, leaving them 

 something very like a whitening brush sticking out of 

 their hind quarters. Squire Trevanion has seen all 

 these, and being satisfied of the folly of fashion, has 

 adopted and stuck to the cut of his youth. A 

 clinging to old customs is perhaps one of his 

 characteristics. Though he travels by railways, he 

 stoutly insists on the superiority of the chariot and 

 posters. Squire Trevanion is, however, a right, 

 steady going, well thinking man, and his word and 

 opinion are taken when those of many of the " new 

 lights " will not go down. Honest men will leave 

 matters to his reference, rather than go to Messrs. 

 Sharp and Quirk of the neighbouring town, and he is 

 considered the worst friend the lawyers have, for he 

 makes up no end of quarrels that would otherwise 

 bring grist to their mills. 



Like all men whose names end in " ion," he traces 

 his pedigree back so far that none but a "Burke" 

 could burrow to his original ancestor. Suffice it for us 

 to say, that the family have lived so long at the Priory, 

 that the country people believe they have been there 

 ever since the world began; and as in London we 

 have but one " Duke," so in Mr. Trevanion's neigh- 

 bourhood there is but one " Squire." Not but that 

 there are plenty of others, but he is the Squire par 

 excellence. 



