440 The Hunting Countries of England. 



they owe tlieir bnild in many cases to tlie '^ expert " 

 with lime and trowel, rather than to the simple 

 labourer who merely piles stone upon stone with a 

 guileless indifference to how soon he may be called 

 upon to be paid to do the same work over again. Their 

 tops are coped with angular pieces of rock, more often 

 cemented together with plaster, and whose sharp 

 edges will cut a horse^s legs as readily and deeply as 

 an operator's knife. Frequently a wooden railing 

 lends further assistance to the stone coping, and laughs 

 at the approach of anything with less power of flight 

 than a bird — or a foxhound. Consequently, riding to 

 hounds on the Tynedale grass is little more than a 

 fagon de parler ; and in actual fact is limited to 

 watching them, with awe and respect, in the more or 

 less remote distance. While they are glancing over 

 the greensward and flinging the wall behind them, 

 you and others (luckily not many) are taking your 

 turn in single file at the bridle gates, and regarding 

 their doings the more intently that you can have none 

 of the fun of riding over them. In this way men have 

 an open page laid quietly out before their eyes, and 

 from it they may, no doubt, learn better than from 

 page after page hurriedly skimmed; They cannot 

 devote talent and energy to '' brilliant horsemanship ^' 

 here ; so there is nothing for it but to watch and study 

 hounds. This they fully recognise — and claim to 

 carry out. In a word, the cream of the Tynedale is a 

 hound as opposed to a riding country. If you know 

 your way about, or are content to follow some one 

 who does, you may see a great deal of what hounds 

 are doing. Go beyond that, attempt to ride to them. 



