Fox-hunting Past and Present 



Assheton Smith and Lord Forester, they were 

 the men for me. Lord Jersey, too, my word ! 

 he was very good ; and Sir C. Knightley, he was 

 one of Lord Jersey's stamp. How he would go, 

 to be sure ! He would be with the hounds to see 

 them work. Blame me, but I've seen him at 

 the end of a run all blood and thorns. Mr. 

 Smith never galloped his horses at fences : he 

 always drew them up. He had little, low-priced 

 horses when he first came to the Quorn country, 

 but he rode them so as no man will again, and 

 they would do anything : get into bottoms and 

 jump out of them like nothing. And how hardy 

 he made them ! 



^* Those were different days. You might find at 

 Melton Spinney and run to Billesdon Coplow, 

 and not cross a ploughed field. I have seen 

 Mr. Holyoake (afterwards Sir F. Goodriche) go 

 like distraction for fifteen minutes, but Mr. Smith 

 and Mr. Greene, Mr. Gilmour and Lord Wilton, 

 they were the men to go when others were 

 leaving off." 



Among the foremost of Mr. Assheton Smith's field 



with the Quorn was Colonel Wyndham (Scots 



Greys), who returned to England after Waterloo. 



No fence ever stopped him, and he weighed 



sixteen stone. When he could not get over, he 



got through. Now and again a bullfinch seemed 



impenetrable; the field would cry out, "Where's 



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