Eon, Mark Rolle's. 359 



Devonsliire a difficult arena for the foxhunter. The 

 ■open ground (save and excepting, of course, the 

 many heathery commons and the great open waste of 

 Exmoor) is generally so closely fenced with enormous 

 banks — straight cut, often stone-revetted, and usually 

 thickly planted on top — that it is impossible for any 

 horse to carry a man over them. Thus, '^riding to 

 hounds '' is ninety-nine times out of a hundred con- 

 fined to galloping from point to point along lanes or 

 well-known bridlepaths — keeping as much as possible 

 on the higher ground, and trusting mainly to a 

 knowledge of country (with such aid as eyes and 

 ears can gather from a distance) eventually to bring 

 you once again on closer terms with the pack. What 

 a chance such conditions must give to hounds hunting 

 a fox on their own resources — especially on such 

 grand scenting soil as Devonshire admittedly possesses 

 — it is needless to point out. And in truth no county 

 in England can show more genuine foxhunting, or can 

 point to the work of its hounds more proudly than 

 this wild western shire. The hounds of the country 

 will sweep at a tremendous pace over the great banks 

 — taking them widely abreast when the scent serves 

 them. But it is curious to note the appalling effect 

 produced on an imported hound, by his first ex- 

 periences of these formidable earthworks. His first 

 half dozen banks are pretty sure to roll him back as 

 many times ; and it is only the pressure of example, 

 and the dislike of a high couraged foxhound to 

 finding himself left behind, that help him to acquire 

 the knack of jumping a Devonshire bank even as 

 -quickly as this. 



