OBSERVATIONS ON FOX-HUNTING 103 



hounds, I was always partial to the badger pied 

 ones, or indeed any except yellow, till the de- 

 scendants of the Beaufort " Justice " put me in 

 conceit with even that colour. And you will 

 allow when hounds are going well together over 

 a country, no one pays any attention to their 

 colour. The dress of yourself or servants is of 

 little consequence, whether pink, yellow, or blue 

 and buff : Charlemagne says "it is not the dress 

 of a man I look to, but his actions." 



Should you happen to keep hounds at no great 

 distance from London, you Avill find many of 

 the inhabitants of that capital (cockneys if you 

 please), good sportsmen, well mounted, and riding 

 well to hounds ; they never interfere with the 

 management of them when in the field, contribute 

 liberally to the expense, and pay their subscrip- 

 tions regularly. The sum of fifty or a hundred 

 pounds is nothing out of an individual's pocket ; 

 but to a manager of a subscription pack, the 

 fact of tzventy subscribers, each paying his fifty 

 to a day, is a thing of no small consequence, as 

 he is required to pay for almost every article 

 in advance, old oats, hay, meal, &c. and the 

 interest of the money amounts to one subscription 

 at least. \Maenever I went to town I received 

 the greatest kindness and hospitality from these 

 Gentlemen ; capital dinners, and the choicest 



