304 HUNTING TOURS. 



there is a fine opportunity of witnessing the 

 "malice prepense" which prevails to spoil 

 sport, by defeating the operations of the pack, 

 and frustrating the efforts of the huntsman. 

 But I will proceed to explain how a gallant 

 fox and a good scent upset their machina- 

 tions. A trot of some three miles or more to 

 Sproxton Thorns served to take away the 

 stiffness of aged hunters and relieve the pipes 

 of the plethoric. The hounds soon found, 

 and, after a little coquetting, a fine fox pre- 

 sented himself in the open. On the left there 

 is a lane, which was thronged with spirits 

 ambitious for a start, and a large portion of 

 the field, equally anxious, occupied the 

 country on the right. Before a hound was 

 out of covert, halloos in both directions in- 

 creased the confusion ; a brace of foxes, as it 

 eventually appeared, were on foot, one of 

 w^hich gallantly faced the throng of horsemen 

 in the lane. The other, with equal determi- 

 nation, threaded his way through the horses 

 on the right, and the hounds dividing were 

 working as best they could in both directions. 

 Which way to steer was a matter of uncer- 

 tainty, but seeing Cooper, and hearing his 

 horn on the left, cleared up the doubt with 



