THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 101 



of an ancient and honourable line, and it was gratifying to Leamingtox. 

 behold the plain, unostentatious disposition of the present 



The huntsmen and whippers-in appeared in front of the 

 hall with the full pack of hounds, and we went forth to 

 mount. The attitude of the horses showed their various 

 tempers ; some standing with quiet indifference, others 

 arching their necks and bending their sinewy forms, 

 and others again rearing in the air as the foot was 

 placed on the stirrup. The skilful horsemen mounted 

 without embarrassment, and the huntsmen and whippers-in 

 surrounded by the full pack of dappled hounds, trotted 

 over the green park for the wood on its borders, the full 

 field of horsemen following in gallant array. 



Some gentlemen entered the wood with the huntsmen 

 and hounds at the extreme end, to draw its full length, 

 while others grouped around the skirts of it, taking care 

 not to get in advance of the hounds. For a time all was 

 silent save the chattering of jays and magpies, as the 

 feathered tribe were startled from the lower world, and 

 sought refuge in the tree tops, or the crash of boughs as 

 the horsemen penetrated the wood, where you caught a 

 glimpse of the scarlet coats, and heard the musical voices 

 of the huntsmen encouraging the hounds. 



The horses by the covert side showed their usual ardour 

 and instinct, standing with heads aloft, and turned from 

 side to side, catching every sound, while their riders 

 lounged in the saddle with an air of cool nonchalance and 

 abandoned rein, but not with inattentive ear, such quiet 

 deportment signalising the most experienced sportsman 

 and sagacious hunter. 



Younger and more fretful horses required all the art and 

 careful management of their riders to subdue their fire, 

 which chafed, irritated, and would have carried them 

 beyond bounds. 



Hark ! to the tongue of a hound ! the voice of a second ! 

 the long blast of the horn as the huntsman collects the 

 pack upon the scent. " Yoi-oik ! all right!" from a 

 hundred throats ! The wood echoes with the cry of the 

 horsemen, the crash of boughs, and the jubilee of the 

 hounds. 



Hark ! the view halloo ! gone away ! " rings from the 

 end of the wood as the huntsman emerges from it and 

 leaning his head aside, with finger in his ear, rings out the 

 " Yoi-oik ! tally-ho ! tally-ho ! " and the full mouthed 

 pack burst into the open country. 



I felt my chest swell and my blood mount as I dashed 

 amid a throng of others by the skirt of the wood. Lagging 

 hounds burst from the thicket as we swept by its term, and 

 the branches crashed before horsemen gallantly flying the 

 hedge and ditch to join the struggle for the lead. 



