68 THE HUNTING-FIELD. 



a bore ; so does the daily exertion required of a 

 man by bis trainer. 



But without the necessity of going into regular 

 training, the exertion required to keep up elas- 

 ticity is such as very few men, left to follow their 

 own inclinations, wall continue. So soon as this 

 ceases elasticity decreases, and man becomes in 

 the situation of the horse I suppose to be jog- 

 trotted by the elderly gentleman. And, as I 

 think I may say, ninety-nine men in a hundred 

 wall indulge in ease if they can ; so it is that we 

 do not see more than one man in a hundred that 

 at middle age has even a moderate portion of 

 elastic feat about him, though the horse of pro- 

 portionate age has. 



The old masters of hunting establishments 

 would say, that to do a horse justice he should 

 not be backed till five years old, hunted at all till 

 six, or go through a run till seven. I doubt not 

 that if we wanted a mere useful animal, and one 

 to live so long that we should grow grey in riding 

 him, our worthy ancestors were right ; and this is 

 something like what they did want, and probably 

 often got; but I must hazard the opinion, that if 

 we want extraordinary speed aud elasticity, the 

 practice of such must, with a proper consideration 

 of a tender age, be called forth early, or in very 

 few cases will they become prominent. 



If a man merely w^ants to walk a quadrille as 



