168 "MORGAN RATTLES." 



making a cast forward, they would hit it off again. 

 If, on the contrary, the leading hounds were wildish 

 ones, and such as (when assisted by wild riders) 

 he could not quite trust, he would then have to 

 judge for himself, and then head comes in request. 

 XOAV I will venture to say, that, ask three fourths 

 of the Field as to which or what hounds had brought 

 on the scent to a given spot, they had no more looked 

 at the hounds than they had at the Heavens. How 

 should they ? They had been attending to their 

 horses, looking how Lord Such-a-one and the Messrs. 

 So-and-so went: this had given them plenty of work 

 for head, hands, and heels with some perhaps the 

 two latter having been most employed. As to the 

 hounds, whether they had been running riot, heel, or 

 hare, they knew not, and cared not so long as they 

 kept going. Are such fox-hunters ? No ; but I will 

 mention an anecdote of one who was. 



I was out with the Old Berkeley ; the hounds had 

 been going a killing pace, the Huntsman beat. Mr. 



M , as bold a rider as ever faced a fence, was as 



usual up with them. We came to a check : " For 



God's sake, hold hard ! " cries M : " give them 



room." Several hounds spoke: not a word of en- 

 couragement from M . At last a couple on the 



other side of the hedge opened. " Yoicks, Eival and 



Rory ! " cries M ; " that's it." Over he went with 



a screech that made the country ring again, capping 

 them on, and riding like mad. In a few fields we 



ran in to our fox Who-whoop! This was 



something like the thing, and no mistake ! 



And now as to pace, so far as it relates to horses. 

 "It is the pace that kills," said Meynell, and he was 

 right. I know what fast, very fast horses are, my 

 weight enabling me to ride thoroughbred ones : but 



