104 A SnAEP LURST AND A HARD RUN. 



enabled, by laying up direct for the leading honnd, to 

 ride the chord of an arc, and to bring himself once 

 more fairly abreast of our hero. He had still, how- 

 ever, this disadvantage, that whereas his rival, having 

 been from the first well up to the hounds, had been 

 able to take the profit of every variation of pace — for 

 it must not be supposed that hounds, even when run- 

 ning at their best speed across a country, always go 

 at their very fastest, for scent will differ "vn ith soils, and 

 so pace likewise — he had been able to pull up his 

 horse once or twice, and once to give him a fair stand- 

 still with his nose to the wind for a few seconds, 

 while Jardinier being all the time a little, though but 

 a very little, way behind, and striving to make up lee- 

 way, had never an opportunity of easing or sparing 

 his fine black hunter for a single yard. On the other 

 hand he had the advantage in weight considerably, in 

 perfect knowledge of the ground, and in being a thor- 

 ough practised and old fox-hunter, though but a young 

 man, against a comparative tyro. Away ! away went 

 the lady pack, as if they had been winged ; wo to the 

 fox whose ill fate had set him before them on that 

 sporting morning. Of all the skirting squad, late so 

 hopeful of nicking in, their fate was sealed forever, 

 should the fox hold to his point for the Coplow. 



There were but a handful now of the whole field, 

 which must at the break have numbered full three 

 hundred scarlet jackets, within two fences of the 

 hounds. All the rest had come to grief. 



First rode, abreast, on parallel lines, literally neck 

 and neck, taking every fence as they found it in their 

 stroke, Jardinier, the crack young one of the country, 

 and Fairfax, already mentally admitted by good 

 judges to be a good one. Close behind these, and all 

 nearly abreast, not following their leaders, but each 

 resolutely riding his own line, came Osbaldiston, Al- 

 vanley^ Musgrave, the Duke of Beaufort, Holyoke, 



