OBSERVATIONS ON FOX-HUNTING 63 



on the Continent is, that the Estafettc, who 

 daily carries the letters and other valuables for 

 the merchants from Havre de Grace to Paris, 

 and from Paris again to the sea-coast, is nothing 

 more than a common post-boy on horseback, 

 with a portmanteau strapped behind his saddle, 

 in the same way that our letters were formerly 

 conveyed in England before mail coaches were 

 established. These boys at times carry immense 

 sums, and have nothing to defend themselves 

 with but their whips, which they are continu- 

 ally smacking, yet it is confidently asserted by 

 the merchants, there never has been an instance 

 of any of them having been robbed, or even 

 attempted to be stopped. If a similar Estafette, 

 or express, was established by the English mer- 

 chants between London and Uverpool, do you 

 suppose it would arrive at its destination un- 

 molested ? — Query, would it ever pass beyond 

 Finchley Common in safety ? 



Mr. Corbet thought it necessary to bring forward 

 a certain number of young horses to keep his 

 establishment effective in that department ; his 

 plan was to piu'chase in their raw state the 

 promising young horses of four and five years 

 old, bred in his own country (Sliropshire), cele- 

 brated at that time for its excellent breed of 

 hunters, particularly those from the Bridgenorth 



