152 LIFE OF MYTTON. 



bare back, to roll from their seats, and fall headlong to 

 the ground. 



In a long frost, Mytton was oiten at a loss for out 

 of-door sport, although he was far from being par- 

 ticular as to the means by which it could be procured ; 

 so little so, indeed, that I remember his once letting 

 out a fox, and a lot of his own hounds to hunt him, 

 when we was aware that no horseman, not even him- 

 self, had a chance to follow them over two fields, and 

 consequently they were seen no more till the next 

 morning. Being, however, during one very hard frost, 

 quite at a loss for a lark, he sent to Oswestry for 

 twenty pairs of skates, which he distributed among his 

 ■servants, stable lads and others, most of whom, as 

 may be supposed, were quite new to this work. He 

 then had a number of rats turned down on the ice be- 

 fore terriers, one of each at a time, when tumbling was 

 the order of the day. But a circumstance occurred 

 which put a stop to the diversion, if such it could be 

 called ; and I only wonder that the person who was 

 the cause of it escaped with whole bones. The pur- 

 veyor of the rats was the cowman, who was paid by 

 the tails for his rats on all other occasions, and to en- 

 sure payment for these, had actually cut off their tails 

 before turning them down ! Mytton accidently dis- 



