62 OBSERVATIONS ON FOX-HUNTING 



of hunters, by '''' Nimrod ; '^ in favour of whose 

 system and ideas I have ever most perfectly 

 coincided. Another advantage will be gained by 

 it, your horses will be less likely to be stolen, and 

 from what we read in the pulilic papers, horse 

 stealing is now so very common, and the rogues 

 knoiu the trick so ivell, that it has become one of 

 our greatest evils, and I hope the police will take 

 it into their serious consideration. During my 

 sojourn in France, in the neighbovuhcod where 

 I resided, I never heard of a thief of any de- 

 scription. The reason given is, when a person 

 is robbed, he has nothing to do but to make 

 his declaration (as they call it,) before a magis- 

 trate, which is merely the particulars of the 

 robbery. The king's attorney general then carries 

 on the prosecution at the exjjence of government, 

 and with the assistance of the police, the culprit 

 seldom escapes. The. person robbed is at no 

 expence, nor has he the odium of bringing a man 

 to justice. I believe there lies the great secret, 

 and the cause of there being so few robberies 

 on the Continent. When a poor Englishman is 

 robbed of his horse, if he prosecutes he must pay 

 all the expenees himself, which will very probabh' 

 amount to more than the value of the horse, 

 should he be so fortunate as to recover him. 

 Another proof of the superiority of the police 



