138 COVERT-SIDE SKETCHES. 



CHAPTER XY. 



THE YORK AND AINSTY. 



Hark ! the brave North Easter ! 



Breast-high lies the scent, 

 On by holt and headland. 



Over heath and bent. 

 Chime, ye dappled darlings, 



Through the sleet and snow ; 

 Who can over-ride you ? 



Let the horses go ! 



Much as I have already said about hoimds, I have so far not 

 touched on what must be termed the prince of countries for 

 sport, although I am free to admit that there are much better 

 and pleasanter ones to ride over. I allude to Yorkshire, which 

 has, perchance, turned out more good sportsmen than any 

 other county in England, as indeed it has the right to do, being 

 the biggest ; and as I commenced my Yorkshire hunting expe- 

 riences with the York and Ainsty, it is only natural that I 

 should give that pack precedence. They do not date back into 

 the last century like some, for their annals extend not beyond 

 the year 1818 as a pack; yet I believe tradition speaks of 

 Colonel Thornton, of Thornville Eoyal, as having hunted in the 

 county, who disturbed the inhabitants of the Riding by bringing 

 a couple of wolves in his train when visiting the jDlace, and was 

 one of, if not the last who kept up a hawking establishment in 

 England. He was also deep in the fox-hound racing which took 



