288 RECORDS OF THE CHASE 



chase. I offer this suggestion with the greatest con- 

 fidence from my own experience. When Heaton Park 

 races were in fashion, I was always in the habit of 

 reducing myself to ride the light weights, after which I 

 kept myself in condition till the hunting season com- 

 menced, and I experienced the benefit of doing so. It 

 will be generally conceded that when a man is oppressed 

 with fatigue much of the pleasure which he may derive 

 from any amusement is considerably diminished. One 

 who is accustomed to dancing experiences no incon- 

 venience on the following day; while those who are out 

 of practice can scarcely move. And thus it is with 

 horse exercise. Unless a man is constantly in the 

 saddle, or taking other strong exercise, the first day's 

 hunting tires him exceedingly. Perhaps many sports- 

 men may exclaim against restriction on their appetites 

 for the sake of hunting, but those who will not refrain 

 from luxurious indulgences must be content to com- 

 promise their enjoyments in other ways. A simple 

 light dinner with two or three glasses of wine after 

 hunting prepares a man for the following day, when he 

 arises fresh and vigorous ; whereas a rich repast with an 

 abundance of wine or spirits occasions indigestion, head- 

 ache, and nervous debility, in which state no man can 

 enjoy himself, much less is he in a comfortable con- 

 dition to ride over a country. 



The expenses attendant upon keeping hounds do not 

 appear to have varied greatly for many years. An 

 alteration in the price of horse provender naturally 

 makes some difference, but not to any great extent. 

 There are so many little items which a master of 

 hounds has to provide for, which do not fluctuate. At 

 the present period, the number of fox-hunting establish- 

 ments kept up in England and Wales, according to the 

 list at page 272, amounts to ninety-six ; there may be 

 a few more, but they are unimportant ones. To show 

 the increase : in 1830 sixty-eight packs of hounds were 

 compounded for; in 1850 eighty-four, according to the 

 returns of assessed taxes. Some of these are main- 



