1 88 THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



leading men mounted fresh horses, others rode the same 

 which had carried them so forward in the tirst severe 

 burst. This, however, was another proof of the superiority 

 of these horses ; and when next in want of hunters, it 

 shall be from amongst such as are known to do such 

 things that I shall make my selection, and not from those 

 which are well known to be able to jump a few tremendous 

 fences, and travel at the idtra pace for a short quarter of 

 an hour, and then shut up at once, or tumble in every 

 other fence at which their riders may put them." 



Although our hero's Gentleman, with his hollow sides, 

 dejected countenance, extended nostrils, and dirty face 

 for he had been twice down on his head, and only picked 

 up by the superior strength of his rider had not the 

 aristocratic appearance which he had exhibited before the 

 hounds found, when he certainly looked quite fit to carry 

 a gentleman and such he had on his back when he 

 carried Frank Raby still he had enough left in him to 

 trot along with the hounds to Scraptoft, and see a second 

 find. This gave him an opportunity of throwing his eyes 

 over the hounds, which, it might be almost needless to 

 say, he admired beyond any that he had hitherto seen, not 

 only for their form, but their very business-like appear- 

 ance ; and, as may be supposed, the fact of their having 

 been bred by Mr. Meynell added not a little to their value 

 in the eyes of so young a sportsman. Then the three men, 

 having been Mr. Meynell's men, were equally pearls in 

 his eyes. He could not, indeed, but admire the appear- 

 ance of all three, for anything more characteristic could 

 scarcely be exhibited in the human form. As for John 

 Raven, he might have been shown as a pattern-card of his 

 order. His keen and piercing eye, beaming from out a 

 swarthy, but healthy skin, and strictly according in colour 

 with his black and curly hair raven locks we might call 

 them just visible under his cap ; all this, added to his 

 well-proporti6ned form, cast in the very mould for strong 

 work, and of the right height for a horseman and as such 

 he was first-rate at once pronounced him entitled to the 

 character we have given of him. Neither were his two 

 Avhippers-in foils to him. Joe Harrison (Jones, the cork- 

 legged whipper-in, had then just retired, to the discom- 

 fiture of our hero, who wished to have seen the rara 

 avis) was an excellent sample of his craft, as was also Tom 

 Winkfield, with his one eye, and a countenance reminding 



