LORD EVERGREEN 225 



Certain we are, that there is no invention so fine 

 for suppressing the truth as a Government commission 

 and a fuss. 



The hunting field has been said to be the great 

 leveller of rank, but that is not the case. The 

 hunting field, indeed, is a place where deference 

 is voluntarily paid to station, because it is in the 

 hunting field that station never demands it. Lord 

 Evergreen comes in quietly on his hack, unattended 

 by servants or state, and as long as the business of 

 the day is confined to plain straightforward sailing, 

 every one gives way to his Lordship ; but when the 

 fox is found, and goes right away, then the order of 

 things is reversed, and those who ride behind are 

 extremely welcome to ride in front. 



It is this sort of yielding and taking of precedence 

 that has raised the idea of foxhunting being a levelling 

 amusement, but no one acquainted with it can enter- 

 tain such an idea — at least if he does he's a fool. 



What can be a finer sight than to see the Duke 

 of Wellington enter the hunting field ! Not one of 

 those gorgeous spectacles, it is true, such as a 

 coronation, a review, the Lord Mayor's show, or a 

 procession to the Houses of Parliament — not one of 

 those pompous continental exhibitions called a chasse, 

 where armed menials keep back the crowd, and brass 

 bands proclaim alike the find and finish ; but what 

 can be a finer sight — a sight more genial to the mind 

 of a Briton — than the mighty Wellington entering 

 the hunting field with a single attendant, making no 

 more fuss than a country Squire ? Yet many have 

 seen the sight, and many, we trust, may yet see it. 

 The Duke takes the country sport like a country 

 gentleman — no man less the great man than this 

 greatest of all great men — affable to all, his presence 

 adds joy and lustre to the scene. 



The Duke is a true sportsman, and has long been 

 a supporter of the Vine and Sir John Cope's hounds. 

 15 



