THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 261 



Topthorn, whose condition was much admired. But now 

 to business : 



" We found in the first cover we drew, and the fox 

 went boldly away at once ; and, by the quickness of Sain 

 Lawley and his whips, the hounds came out in a body. 

 ' But they were pressed upon, and ridden over,' methinks 

 I hear you say. Not a bit of it. They had sportsmen 

 to deal with, who gave them fair play. But the esprit de 

 corps, you will assure me, or, in other words, jealous}-, 

 must have operated to their disadvantage. This I also 

 disclaim on the part of the whole field ; at least, I saw 

 nothing like it ; but every man's object was merely to 

 live with the hounds, which was as much indeed as they 

 could do, for the pace was desperately quick. And the 

 hounds got an advantage in the first five minutes, and a 

 great one it was. A brook the very brook, I believe, in 

 which the mangled remains of Richard were thrown, and 

 which, even to this day, the country people believe to be 

 tinged with blood and a small ozier-bed very soon pre- 

 sented themselves, and somewhat checked our career, as 

 the horses did not like them perhaps they smelled the 

 blood, though I should rather say, the bog. However, 

 all in the same line with myself got well over, Peyton, 

 on Watchmaker, being the first. The pace now became 

 awful, as we had ground to make up, and those near the 

 hounds could, without any difficulty, be distinguished. 

 There were about an equal number of orange and red, 

 neither appearing to me to prevail. I am speaking of 

 the first twelve minutes. It was now that a trifling 

 superiority was exhibited amongst those who, with 

 myself, were on the left of the hounds. A large timber 

 fence presented itself, high and stiff, and on the other 

 side was a green lane, the sides of which were covered 

 with gorse, so as to render it impossible to see what kind 

 of ground the said gorse concealed. It was, however, 

 evident that it was of a very uneven description, together 

 with the certainty that, from what could be seen in the 

 middle of it, the entire lane was cut up by deep waggon 

 ruts, and, moreover, the drop into it was considerable. 

 Eleven of us, then in front, came up to this fence, but 

 not one of us liked it. The twelfth was Lord Foley, on 

 a thorough-bred horse, which had been one of the best 

 plate horses of his day, and, without pulling him out of 

 his stroke, at it he went ; and although he floundered 



