THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 103 



that stood so high in Mr. Hargrave's estimation ; the fact 

 was, he found, by experience, that by being what is called 

 "a good man at morning chapel," he obtained the credit of 

 being a regular man in his college, whereas, in truth, he 

 was anything but that. Although perfectly free from all 

 vicious propensities, and one of the most popular men at 

 Oxford, at the time, he was what would now be termed 

 " an out-and-out larker," and as often broke through the 

 rules and trammels of the University as any other young 

 gentleman of his day on its books. 



Carthage is said only to have produced one Hannibal ; 

 and great men, in their way, are scarce in all modern com- 

 munities. At the time I am alluding to, very good horse- 

 men over a country were much more rare than they now 

 are ; and there were not more than a dozen in the Uni- 

 versity of Oxford who were entitled to be called such. 

 The very best among them, however, was Hargrave, who 

 united all the good properties essential to riding well after 

 hounds. He possessed great strength, unaccompanied by 

 great weight, not exceeding twelve stone (fourteen pounds 

 to the stone), with his saddle, which is considered the best 

 of all weights for crossing a strong country, and for this 

 reason : the twelve-stone man, independently of his power 

 to assist his horse, to pull open gates, and knock about 

 obstacles of any sort, is almost sure to be mounted on a 

 horse worthy to be called a hunter, that is, a horse of 

 power ; whereas, your nine or ten-stone sportsman is too 

 often mounted on what is called " a nice little horse," to 

 carry his weight ; in other words, a cat-legged weed, not 

 worthy the name of hunter, and which gets knocked back- 

 wards, or turned heels upward, by a strong grower in a 

 hedge, which the horse of a twelve-stone man would drive 

 before him, or break. Then, to use a vulgar expression, 

 Hargrave had the nerves of a bull-dog, in the field, and 

 would turn from no fence that he considered there was a 

 chance to get over when in chase ; but was free from the 

 folly of taking unnecessary leaps, merely to display his 

 horsemanship. And, perhaps, one proof of his good horse- 

 manship may be gathered from this fact, his horses had 

 both been purchased, at his request, when young and rav:, 

 as the term is, that he might have the task of making 

 them hunters by his own hand ; and capital hunters did 

 he make them, although differing much from each other. 

 Rupert, a large-bodied, sleepy-looking bay gelding, about 



