196 HUNTING. 



CHAPTER VII 



THE RIDER. 



There is a story told of a certain highwayman, very famous 

 and skilful in his profession, who, after a long and successful 

 career, was at last brought to book. 



The charge is prepar'd ; the lawyers are met ; 

 The judges all rang'd — a terrible show ! 



and, after all due preliminaries, the gallows are reached. 



Before the hangman advanced to play his part on the body, 



the chaplain was busy, according to custom, with the soul 



' Do you repent of your past life ?' he asked. * I do,' was the 



answer, *I repent unfeignedly. And yet — a gallop across 



country by moonlight ! — oh, you dog, it was delicious ! ' 



Delicious, indeed, is a gallop across country under certain 



conditions, among which — now that the ' Knights of the Road,' 



together with many another more reputable fellowship, have 



become 



Portions and parcels of the dreadful Past — 



few of us would probably care to place moonlight. To be sure, 

 such is the good nature and keenness of their master, the 

 Duke of Rutland's hounds have been known to kill their fox 

 ' on a shiny night,' as the old song says, and once, indeed, if not 

 more than once, even to find one ; so that it has become a 

 proverb throughout his country that you are always sure of a 

 run with the Belvoir, if you will only stop out long enough. A 

 famous steeplechase, moreover, was once ridden under the 



