DORSET AND DEVON 99 



Sore had they grieved that so much time was lost, 

 Nay sometimes wish'd the devil had the frost ; 

 But now their hearts are light, their hopes are high, 

 And expectation sparkles in each eye. 



'Tis fixed at Leivesden (1), on the ensuing morn. 

 Betimes to rouse a fox with hound and horn : 

 Th' ueighb'ring sportsmen summoned to the place 

 Bestride their steed«, each anxious for the chase ; 

 And, ere th' appointed hour, upon the ground 

 In deep array a motley group is found. 

 At ten the Eggesford cavalcade draws near — 

 Horses, and hoiinds, and huntsmen, all appear. 

 And first the Squire himself rides o'er the plain, 

 Guiding old Mvfti (2) with an easy rein : 

 Mufti, with arching neck and glancing eyes. 

 Seems in his master's thoughts to sympathise ; 

 And, proudly looking round, appears to say, 

 " Some here shan't see too much of me to-day ! " 

 The hounds, low crouching, follow close behind. 

 In compass sinall, at Mufti's feet confin'd : 

 No thoughtless pup]>y straggles from the pack, 

 Each dreads the well-known whipcord o'er his back. 

 Next Stowell (3) comes, than whom no other wight 

 In field sports seems to take so much delight ; 

 While Fuss (4) gay-prancing owns his happier fate, 

 Than when condemn'd to bear the huntsman's weight. 

 There, on his chesnut, rides the Parson Clay (5) — 

 From home he comes this morning all the way ; 

 But should the day prove long, and good the sport. 

 To Eggesford House at night will he resort : 

 Full well the stables there does Captain (6) know, 

 And to his (proper) stall without a guide can go. 



Next come two brothers — one of Boiu the Priest (7), 

 A Lawyer t' other (8), — so he says at least — 

 But, spite of what he says, 'tis my belief 

 He likes a fox-chase better than a brief. 



1 Lewesden, a favorite covert in the neighbourhood of Chulmleigh. 



2 Mufti, an invaluable hunter, by Mufti, bred by the Duke of Bedford — one 

 that was never known to flag with the severest running even in this impracti- 

 cable country. 



3 Willoughby Stowell, Esq., of West Anstey — a thorough-bred sportsman. 



4 For the performances of Fuss, vide Racing Calendar. 



5 The Rev. B, Clay, of Worlington, in this county. 



6 Captain, a chesnut hunter, well known in the Chulmleigh Hunt. 

 7, 8 The Rev. Bouchier Marshall and his brother J. M. 



