THE SPORTING WORLD. 209 



hunters, never saw, perhaps, a hound in their 

 Hves. Besides this it created large fields, thus 

 giving the better something to work upon. So 

 long as steeple chases were comprised of hunters 

 this could not be the case, for if, as I stated, 

 the patronisers of steeple chasing were confined 

 to few persons, the horses in any degree fitting 

 to go in them were few also. 



To attempt any characteristic of the steeple 

 chaser of 1856 would be impossible, for he is 

 represented by the nobleman down to the veriest 

 low blackleg in existence. 



I in no way mean to say by this that I 

 would wish to see steeple chasing put down, it 

 creates a great circulation of money, and so far 

 does good. We have fully seventy recognised 

 places of sport as steeple-chase courses, and nine 

 or ten of these have some two, others three meet- 

 ings in the year, and somewhere about seven-hundred 

 horses devoted to the business. The amount of 



stakes, forfeits, &c., alone comprise a vast sum. 

 o 



