224 HUNTING IN MANY COUNTRIES. 



big huntsman, rode in remarkably bruising fashion, but in 

 their case it was often sheer weight that got them through a 

 big fence. There was a man — a light weight — on a chesnut 

 polo pony, who particularly distinguished himself, jumping 

 pne or two high and very awkward stiles in particular, but 

 the pony he rode was a marvel and did all he was asked. 

 Though it is more than twenty years ago, I can remember quite 

 half a dozen exceptional jumps I saw taken that day, and I can 

 recall how Capt. Ker remarked that all the big jumping seemed 

 rather a waste of energy which would have been better distri- 

 buted with the foxhounds. The Wirral Harriers have the 

 Wirral peninsula between the rivers Mersey and Dee for their 

 country, for the Cheshire do not go into that particular dis- 

 trict, which is mostly dairyland, and from what I have seen 

 in late years now much built over. It was of Wirral, I 

 believe, that the French hunting enthusiast said : " What a 

 lovely country, all ze ditches on ze ozerside." 



And a projios hare hunting in the north-west, I once saw 

 a good deal of fun with a pack of beagles in Anglesey, which 

 were maintained by Plenry, fourth Marquis of Anglesey, who 

 h:ul been ]Ma?ter of the South Staffordshire from 1865 to 1872. 

 I^ord Anglesey was an all-round sportsman who, besides hunt- 

 ing with harriers and foxhounds, kept a strong kennel of grey- 

 hounds, and was the patron of the very successful Lichfield 

 Coursing Meetings, held over the Beaudesert estate. In the 

 year 1889 (I think) I was at one of these meetings, and Lord 

 Anglesey asked me to go on to Plas Newydd tO' see his beagles, 

 and (incidentally) some coursing at Bangor. I had two days 

 with the beagles on the island, in a very hilly grass country, 

 where the fields were divided by high stone walls. As far as 

 the hunting went it was much as with other beagle packs, but 

 the pack was as smart a one as could be got together at that 

 day, and the Master would have been a tremendous find for 

 Surtees had the author of Jorrocks been living at the time. 

 There was nothing peculiar about his way of hunting 

 hounds — indeed, most of the job was left to the keinnel 

 huntsman — but his costume I shall never forget. His short 

 jacket of brightest gre-en was adorned with a scarlet collar; 

 he had a black velvet cap of his own design, but of less than 

 half the weight of an ordinary hunting cap, and he wore white 



