8 THE OLD BERKS HUNT 



lost above half his dogs. This the knight 

 looks upon as one of the greatest exploits of 

 his life. The perverse widow, whom I have 

 given some account of, was the cause of the 

 death of several foxes ; for Sir Roger has told 

 me that in the course of his amours he patched 

 up the western door of his stable. Whenever 

 the widow was cruel the fox was sure to pay 

 for it. In proportion as his passion for the 

 widow abated and old age came on, he left 

 his foxhunting ; but a hare is not yet safe that 

 sits within ten miles of his house. There is 

 no kind of exertion which I would so recom- 

 mend to my readers of both sexes as this of 

 riding, as there is none which so much 

 conduces to health, and is in every way 

 accomodated to the body, according to the 

 idea which I have of it. Doctor Sydenham 

 is very lavish in its praises, and if the Eng- 

 lish reader will see the mechanical effects 

 described at length he may find them in a 

 book published not many years since under 

 the title of the ' Medicina Gymnastica'." 



In 1 71 5, however, Addison published in the 

 Freeholder a far less sympathetic account of 

 the Foxhunter, in the form of an amusing skit 

 upon "That rank of men who are commonly 

 distinguished by the title of Fox-hunters. As 

 several of these have had no part of their 



