THE EARTH-STOPPER 95 



has to leave his downy couch and encounter the elements and 

 roughnesses of the thicket. Lord bless us ! fanc}' such a 

 night as last, the rain beating against the casements, the wind 

 howling, and blowing a perfect hurricane : the brooks swelled 

 into torrents, the rivers into seas ; and fancy having to leave 

 the warm house, the bright crackling fire, to grope and prowl 

 about the country like a thief in the night time : a man ought 

 to be well paid for such work as that. 



Earth-stoppers are of two sorts — the resident Earth-stopper, 

 and the head Earth-stopper, or Earth-stopper in Eyi-e, as the 

 old law books designate the judges of assize. The head 

 Earth-stopper is an officer peculiar to great establishments ; 

 he is like the military inspector of a district, and it is his 

 business to go about and see that his subordinates do their 

 duty. In summer he receives and examines into the truth 

 of reported breeds ; in winter he sees that the right range of 

 country is properly stopped ; and, above all, properly opened. 

 The Earth-stopper only does half his business who only stops 

 the earths ; opening them after hunting is quite as important. 



Yon weather-beaten old man, in the two-j'ear old cap, and 

 three-year old coat, is the head of the department of our 

 hunt ; he is to the Earth-stopping fraternity what the " super- 

 intendent " is to the police ; he is paid by the year, they by 

 the stop. Old Foxfix, for such is his name, is a varmint 

 looking old fellow, and when the old grey — or rather white — 

 is away from the high conditioned horses of the field, and the 

 new scarlet coats of the men do not throw the old plum colour 

 into the shade, he makes a \exy respectable appearance. He 

 knows every hill — every rise from which a view of the varmint 

 may be obtained; and often when the chase has lagged, and 

 hopes began to pall, old Foxfix's cap, on the sky line of the 

 horizon, has infused joy into the field below, and brought 

 hounds, horses, and men, to his welcome and undoubted 

 halloo. 



