264 RECORDS OF THE CHASE 



The appendages to saddles which have been intro- 

 duced of late years are by no means sportsmanlike or 

 ornamental. One of these is a contrivance for a 

 drinking fiask, made in the fashion of a horn-case ; and 

 a horse carrying the insignia may be mistaken for that 

 of the master of the hounds or the huntsman — an affec- 

 tation which some persons may be silly enough to 

 emulate. Canteens for provisions, emporiums for 

 cigars and spare shoes, are occasionally seen suspended 

 from the sides. I could not avoid noticing a saddle 

 which I saw recently with all these fittings at Bath, 

 made by Mr. Hunt, which at first I imagined was 

 destined for some sporting emigrant about to proceed 

 to a country where it would be necessary to carry a 

 supply equal to a week's consumption ; but on inquiry 

 I found that was not the case. Mr. Hunt deserves all 

 praise for the ingenuity of the contrivances, which were 

 extended even to an apparatus for lighting cigars, 

 quaintly inserted under one of the flaps, and which in 

 my ignorance I mistook for some mechanical device. 



Assuredly saddle-makers in the country have im- 

 proved exceedingly within the last ten years in their 

 manner of finishing those important articles ; and a 

 man need not to despair of obtaining one at Bath, 

 Worcester, Cheltenham, Shrewsbury, Leamington, and 

 other towns : but if he desires to have a superior one he 

 must go to a first-rate London house, such as ^Vhippy's, 

 Oldacre's, or Heaven's ; for be it remembered most of 

 the others in the great metropolis are only on an 

 equality with the country makers. 



Forming a part of the sportsman's paraphernalia a 

 whip is not the most insignificant article. Steeple- 

 chasing has the credit of having introduced into the 

 hunting-field an implement similar to the racing-whip, 

 but with a strong hook at the head. The crop without 

 the thong preceded this ; and that, in all probability, 

 was the parent of the steeple-chase invention. Even a 

 short hooked stick was in vogue at one period with 

 young gentlemen who aspired to consequential and 



