432 



ashgill; or, the life 



CHAPTER XXII 



" Field sports will make a man of you, coz, for they fortify the 

 body, draw away disease, purify the blood, quicken the circulation, 

 freshen the mind and marvellously mature its virtues." 



Nearly all the jockeys of eminence belonging to the 

 past and even to the present generation have been 

 ardent fox-himters. George Fordham, Archer, Cus- 

 tance, who, in his " Recollections," gives an interesting 

 account of his favourite hunter, " Doctor," followed the 

 hounds in the dead season. John Osborne, more an 

 "all-round" man than either of the above celebrities, 

 has been, and is no less than they were, devoted to the 

 pursuit of Reynard. He has had a long and varied 

 experience under many masters of the counties 

 environing Middleham. In 1856 he was a votary of 

 the venatic science at Ashby when superintending 

 Manganese's winter preparation for the One Thousand. 

 A well-known figure on Middleham Moor was John's 

 old hunter, now well declined into the value of years, 

 and which gallantly bore him for many seasons. He 

 was being cantered about by a stable boy on the Moor 

 when we paid one of our visits. 



"You don't think much of his forelegs?" 

 remarked John. " Well, he is not so sound as he 

 was a few seasons ago. He's a poor hack, but 



