CRITICISMS OF HIS FOLLOWERS i6i 



course, mum's the word." Ego, in a P.S. to his reply, 

 writes : " What would you Hke to be done in ? The 

 Q.R., the O.S.M., the N.S.M., the S.R., the S., Fraser, 

 Blackwood, New Monthly, Old ditto, 'The Encyclo- 

 paedia,' ' Oracle of Rural Life,' or ' Almanack for 

 Country Gentlemen ? ' " Speaking to his huntsman, 

 Pigg, of Ego's approaching visit, Mr. Jorrocks says : 

 " If by any unlucky chance he blames an 'untsman, or 

 condemns a pack, it's all dickey with them for ever ; 

 for no living man dare contradict him, and every one 

 swears by what he says." It was in 1822 that " Nimrod," 

 in conjunction with Mr. Pittman, the editor of the 

 Sporting Magazine, pioneered hunting journalism, and 

 so great was the success that Mr. Pittman paid " Nim- 

 rod " at the rate of ;^2o a page. Shortly afterwards, 

 the Sporting Review was founded by the Messrs. Acker- 

 mann, to which "Nimrod" contributed; and in 1838 

 Mr. Murray published in the Quarterly Review " Nim- 

 rod's " celebrated articles on the " Chase," " the Turf," 

 and the " Road," for which he paid him one hundred 

 and seventy guineas. 



It has been objected that Mr. Apperley was never a 

 hunting critic, but merely a travelling agent seeking 

 advertisements from Masters of Hounds, and that 

 therefore a large discount should be deducted from 

 the value of his opinions. Be this as it may, the 

 occupation of " Nimrod " became a thing of the past, 

 thirty years at least before the commencement of the 

 twentieth century. So great is the present popularity 

 of hunting, that Masters of Hounds not only do not 

 require any advertisement, but detest the hunting 



L 



