380 HUNTING. 



beneath the taste of a British country gentleman, 

 in what circle soever he may move. That the sports 

 of the field are classical, the authority of all ages 

 will vouch for ; neither is the man of fashion, or 

 haut ton^ by any means incompatible with the 

 country gentleman and sportsman. On the con- 

 trary, how has the character of Paris been handed 

 down to us by the poets ? Was he not the finest 

 gentleman, the greatest favourite of the female sex, 

 the greatest beau of his day \ Such he is repre- 

 sented to have been ; but although a prince, he had 

 been bred a shepherd ; and from the robust habits 

 he had acquired in his youth, he was the only man 

 who could stand up against the powerful arm of 

 Dares, the great champion of his day. What was 

 the all-accomplished Pliny, or Lollius whose edu- 

 cation Horace had superintended \ 



Again ; on the score of health, the chief felicity 

 of man, were it not for the sports of the field, the 

 softness and effeminacy of modern manners, in the 

 higher walks of life, would soon exhibit their per- 

 nicious effects on forthcoming generations, by de- 

 priving them of their natural defence against dis- 

 eases incident to our climate, by subjecting them 

 to that morbid debility and sensibility of the nerv- 

 ous system which lay the foundation of most dis- 

 eases, as also depriving them of the courage to sup- 

 port them. And who enjoys the blessing of health 

 equally with the country gentleman and sports- 

 man ? Somerville says, 



" In vain malignant steams and winter fogs 

 Load the dull air, and hover round cur coasts : 



