NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 267 



at an awfal pace, and each fox headed back into foiled ground— no one 

 getting well away with them but Walker and Mr. Earle, who had three 

 falls in less than three miles. But he cares little for falls, and will be 

 with them, if possible. Bad however as the hunting of this day was, it 

 had some redeeming qualities as the greater number of those devoted to 

 fox-hunting have. We were not without our sport. " Gone away !" 

 holloas one sportsman. "Yonder they go!" exclaims another. 

 "True enough," said I, on seeing two horsemen a long way forward, 

 going the very ultra pace, and along side a large woodland cover. " How 

 I envy those two fellows," said I to myself; as I clapped spurs to my 

 lord's clever little nag ; " they are riding parallel with the pack, who are 

 * a physicking on him,' as the old Shropshire farmer told Sir Bellingham 

 Graham, in the cover !" But lo and behold — who should these, by me 

 so much envied, mortals be, but Mr. Whyte Melville's son, an Eton 

 schoolboy, whose horse was running away with him, pursued as Johnny 

 Gilpin was hy the post boy, by a gentleman who thought the boy was 

 riding after hounds, which it appeared had gone exactly in a contrary 

 direction!! It is by such doings as this— riding forward to points 

 without knowing why — that so many foxes are headed in woodland 

 countries, and much sport spoiled. 



Then again, at Bishop's gorse, something occurred to amuse me. I 

 saw " old James" — as Lord Rothes's groom is called, and an excellent 

 one he is, for I knew him well in Warwickshire — riding a clipped horse 

 of his master's, through gorse higher than his belly, and expressing sur- 

 prise that he did not at all relish it, and at his jumping every now and 

 then to avoid it. " What's come to you this morning ? you old fool," 

 said he ; " you don't seem to like it." " I should think not, James," was 

 my remark, being close to him at the time ; " neither would you like to 



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