50 THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



season, almost the first thing Dick said to him, was, that 

 he 'feared the country was about to be ruined.' Lord 

 Spencer being then high in the administration of it, 

 naturally associated the idea with the general ruin of 

 Great Britain, whereas Dick was only alluding to 

 Northamptonshire as a hunting country. ' What now, 

 then, Dick 1 ?' said his lordship. 'Why, my lord,' he 



replied, 'they are going to cut a d d canal through 



the best part of our country ; ' a thing of all others, by 

 the way, most wanted by the inhabitants of it, and 

 which would benefit, instead of injuring it, as a hunting 

 country." 



" How so, Somerby ? " said Sir William. 



" Why, in consequence of the present great scarcity of 

 coals, from want of water carriage," continued Mr. 

 Somerby, "you will find, in many parts of Northampton- 

 shire, three high and strong blackthorn hedges, where 

 one only would be required. The object in planting 

 three, is, that one may be fit to cut down for fuel at a 

 certain period, and the others follow in succession. I 

 have often been stopped by these fences, which, as you 

 may imagine, nothing without wings can get over. 



" But the other anecdote," resumed Mr. Somerby ; 

 " I must not forget that, as I see my little friend is on the 

 listen for it. There was a parson in the Pytchley country, 

 sadly given to press upon hounds, a fault never forgiven 

 by huntsmen. It happened that, one day, the parson 

 dropped short in a deep brook, and as he was floundering 

 about in the middle of it, Dick rode clean over him, with 

 these words in his mouth : ' His reverence sivims like a cork ; 

 but never mind him ; this is only Friday, and he won't 

 be wanted till Sunday? At a subsequent time there was 

 another of these inconsiderate riders with his hounds, 

 who, although well known in the sporting world, 

 happened to be a stranger to Dick Knight. Moreover, 

 he was clad in a blue coat, which added nothing to his 

 appearance and character, in Dick's eyes. At length the 

 gentleman got an awful fall, his horse rolling over him, 

 and he lay as if he were dead. ' There,' exclaimed Dick ; 

 ' thank God we have done with you !' In a few minutes, 



however, Mr. G was in his place again, when Knight, 



observing him, coolly said to himself, ' A resurrection be/ore 

 the time, to a certainty. I had hoped never to have seen you 

 again in this world. I wonder what you'll do next f ' " 



