ATHELSTANEFORD TO COLDSTREAM. 147 



The sliow-ground was by the river-side^ and the 

 Spring wood Policy woods sheltered it south and east. 

 TreeSj too^ occasionally broke the uniformity of the 

 shed avenues, and between the Ayrshires and the 

 busy horse-ring they clustered still closer within the 

 low palisades of the ancient burial-ground of three 

 parishes, where the grey headstones lay strewn in 

 wild disorder among the rank nettle crop — a cheru- 

 bim here and cross-bones there. Nine acres were 

 devoted to the stock ; and the great implement in- 

 terest, which has grown so surely and so well, occu- 

 pied seven. The horse-ring — not exactly our grand 

 English oval, but still 140 feet in diameter — was 

 there, for the morning and afternoon parade ; and not 

 unfrequently a goodly assembly of dukes and mas- 

 ters of hounds stood in the centre, watching the 

 Clydesdales at their long steady trot, and looking out 

 for hunting action among the blood sires and the 

 half-bred geldings ; while the poultry classes proved 

 to sceptical henwives that a noble AI.F.H. can take 

 a delight in breeding foxes and first-prize coloured 

 Dorkings as well. 



There stood in one grand line a century of sturdy 

 Clydesdales, most of them with white stockings almost 

 to the hocks ; the red-ilecked Ayrshires, with their 

 clean expressive heads and wedge -like figures ; two 

 first-prize roans from the Royal, ^' The Pride^' vic- 

 torious, and "The Duke" defeated; the sires and dams 

 of " heavy blacks,^^ round which the London butchers 

 bold their earliest parleys with the salesmen, at the 



2 l2 



