Pig'Sticking 15 



fine dogs bow-wowing musically after a poor little 

 animal who does his level best to escape from them ? 

 What is the excitement, except watching the ' dogs ' 

 and riding jumping falling ? If you are after a 

 good pig, to begin with, he gives you a couple of 

 miles as hard as you can gallop, and unless you 

 have a tiptop horse under you, you won't live with 

 him. Then he will probably stop quite unexpectedly, 

 rush round, and charge you like lightning : you may 

 stop his rush, but you won't kill him you only 

 wound him ; and when you have done that you will 

 have learnt what a fiend a wounded boar can be." 



Firm hand and eagle eye 

 Must he acquire, who would aspire 

 To see the wild boar die. 



If a woman's opinion is worth having, I should say 

 that the two sports cannot be compared : I love 

 fox-hunting for a thousand reasons, apart from the 

 enjoyment of the mere country at Home ; but " the 

 runs of a lifetime' 1 are few and far between. 



Pig-sticking is always wildly exciting : no one 

 realises who is near, or what may be in front ; it is 

 a case of riding as never before one has ridden ; and 

 the excitement of a breakneck gallop only gives place 

 at the finish to a battle royal, fraught with danger. 

 Of more than one gallop after and tussle with a 

 gallant pig it might be written, 



How mad and bad and sad it was ! 

 And yet, alas! how sweet! 



