124 OBSERVATIONS ON FOX-HUNTING 



they wish to sell. A horse that is in good con- 

 dition, and cannot go for an hour the best pace 

 with twelve stone upon his back, is not worth 

 the corn he eats, — and in a long hunting chase 

 he likewise ought not to tire. ^Miat merit is 

 there in being with the hounds, if you have a 

 fresh one to mount every fifteen minutes ? In 

 my ojiinion, a man who sees the most of a run 

 of an hour on one horse, and is in when the 

 hounds kill their fox, deserves the most credit 

 as a rider to hounds. If my memory do not 

 fail me, I believe Lord Sefton was the first person 

 who introduced a " second horse " ; and very 

 properly so, his lordship riding a great weight. 



One of the most material things in a hunting 

 establishment is, to have hounds perfect at their 

 work, with no vice ; and the being as near each 

 other as possible during the chase is indispens- 

 able. It is certainly very pleasing to the eye 

 to see a pack equal in size, but it is of more con- 

 sequence to attend to their shape. How often 

 do we see at Newmarket a large horse and a 

 small one run a dead heat ? I have seen " Vio- 

 lante " and " Meteora " run with large horses, 

 and beat them : the former was beat by " Curry- 

 comb," but she made a proper example of Mr. 

 Shakespear's " Brainworn," not only at short dis- 

 tances, but over the " Beacon Course." Shape 



