84 REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN 



I gave for them. If a master of hounds is a good judge of 

 horse-flesh, he gets one pull in his favour by the purchase of 

 clever young horses out of condition, in summer, for his men ; it 

 is, I think, the only pull he gets. Oatmeal I got very good from 

 Oakley Mill, but, of course, not old. Lord Tavistock had a 

 stock of old meal in hand ; but with a view, I suppose, at that 

 time, to keep up the price of agricultural produce, he set his 

 face against anything like free trade with me, and demanded 

 such a sum per ton, that it was out of any reasonable means to 

 get it. Good meal, however, I got, coarsely ground, and well 

 dried, and by having a lot of it, and treading it well into bins 

 and barrels, the hounds had sound food to work on. 



The first whipper-in that entered my service was Tom 

 Skinner, from Mr. Hay a first-rate horseman, and rider, and 

 sportsman, and whipper-in ; I never saw a better, or a better 

 tempered man ; but oh, hang that word ! it is a small one, 

 but what a multitude of ills it sometimes holds ! " but " he 

 had drunk hard, and ere he could ride, or, I believe, shave 

 himself, he was obliged to swallow a dram. The dram, at first, 

 made him no more than all right; but soon the quantity to 

 make him steady for the day unsteadied him for the moment, 

 and I detected him in his saddle, elated by his gin. As second 

 whipper-in, I took a man from the Salisbury hounds, who they 

 told me knew his business ; but I suspect the knowledge they 

 said he had, pertained only to riding after the late Lady Salis- 

 bury, for he knew nothing about hounds and was useless to me. 



At exercise I looked well at the situation of the woods and 

 open-country covers, and noticed by their usings where there 

 was any amount of game, and also what quantity of partridges 

 I had at Stevington : I mention the latter observation, as I 

 shall have to allude to it again. Inch by inch grew the wheat, 

 and I almost shouted when I saw the ears of corn, as it was an 

 indication that the first of July approached, about which day 

 the hunting, from time immemorial, in those heavy woodlands, 

 had commenced. At last, the first day of cub-hunting was 

 fixed; the morning came, and by half -past three, though it 



