110 THE HUNTER. 



country, a neighbour wished to have him, and at a 

 pretty high premium, as the term is, for he was 

 very perfect in his form. On having him examined, 

 however, after giving him a gallop, by a veterinary 

 surgeon, he was pronounced thick-winded, and the 

 deal did not take place. He, however, turned out 

 a capital hunter, and became the property of the 

 present Lord Wenloch, then Mr. Beillby Lanley, 

 at a large price. 



The price of the hunter varies with the times, 

 and, no doubt, is as much regulated by the price of 

 wheat as the quartern loaf is. During the war 

 prices, the sum of a thousand guineas was occa- 

 sionally given, and that of five hundred guineas 

 frequently. Half the last-mentioned sum now com- 

 mands a first-rate hunter. But first-rate horses, 

 in all ages of the world, have ever produced extra- 

 vagant prices. It is recorded of Alexander the 

 Great, that he gave four Roman talents for Buce- 

 phalus, which approaches near to the Melton Mow- 

 bray prices, and those, we may safely conclude, 

 stand at the head of the list. 



