4 6 The Old Surrey Fox Hounds 



up ! Yoicks, wind him ! and the whole pack begins to 

 work like good 'uns." 



The above-quoted passage is fairly inspiriting ; yet, in 

 one sense, the reference to the horsemanship of Tom Hills 

 is somewhat unfair. So far as we can learn — and we do 

 not write without authority — Tom's hunters were not in 

 the habit of refusing with him, nor was he " prevented by 

 his weight from being shaken out of his saddle." Nor 

 would he be likely to beat " his beast " about the head. 

 He was far too skilful and humane a horseman, he was far too 

 fond of horses, to do anything of the kind. We do well to 

 bear in mind that the waggish creator of Jorrocks would have 

 his joke, no matter at whose expense. Some of his contem- 

 poraries, it appears, did not love him with a perfect devotion. 



Incidentally, too, he describes a day with the Old 

 Surrey, when the meet was at Croydon, and when he 

 delivered his sparkling pronouncement : " My soul's on 

 fire, and eager for the chase." The account is too long for 

 reproduction here ; besides, it is essentially frolicsome, and 

 not intended to be taken seriously, though it does justice 

 to Tom Hills as " an excellent huntsman, and worthy of 

 a better country." Summing up the situation, Jorrocks 

 tells a friend, whilst riding home after hunting : " Oh, we 

 have had a most gallant thing, a brilliant run indeed — 

 three hours and twenty minutes without a check — over 

 the finest country imaginable." 



" But did you kill ? " asked his friend. 



" Kill ! To be sure we did," was the response. " When 

 don't the Surrey kill, I should like to know ? r 



