Social and Convivial Aspects 75 



horses, a fair hunting country being selected, and when 

 one of those gallant cavaliers steers his own champion to 

 victory, the resulting applause is most enthusiastic. It was 

 at one of these reunions^ by the by, that Mr. Byron, 

 riding his own horse, sustained a bad fall which knocked 

 him out for some time. Happily, however, few accidents 

 of a serious nature have occurred at the Old Surrey Point- 

 to-Points, although the course has, in technical phrase, 

 " wanted doing." " Half done," so to speak, and 

 " purlers " were certain. 



Amusing anecdotes are told as to sundry amateurs who 

 have essayed to cover themselves with glory — and perhaps 

 with mud — at the races under notice. One of those 

 gentlemen had a habit of " calling a cab " at his fences — 

 that is, he threw his arm up whilst in the act of jumping, 

 an inartistic thing to do — and once he overbalanced 

 himself, falling off behind and giving himself a severe 

 shaking. An Old Surreyite picked him up, saying : 

 " And what did I tell you, my lad ? Why, that after you 

 have called a cab, some fine day the ambulance will comeT 



Curiously, too, we read in " The Annals of Sporting," 

 date 1822, a short account of the cordial social relations 

 then existing amongst the Surrey fox-hunters. The author 

 concludes as follows : — 



" Having thus sent you a few scraps relating to the 

 Surrey Hunt of which I am a member, permit me to 

 mention that we have had this season some very extra- 

 ordinary runs ; and, as we only hunt three days a week, 

 eighteen brace and a half of foxes may, I think, be 



