MR. JOHN CHAWORTH MUSTERS 309 



Was one of the London Farmers' Club, when a paper 

 Was read on the use and abuse of fox-hunting, by the 

 Rev. E. Smithies, of Hathern Rectory. 



He occupied, he said, about three hundred acres of land, a 

 large portion of which ran by one of the best coverts of the Quorn 

 Hunt. Hounds often met at this place, found a fox three times 

 out of four, and invariably crossed his land. He frequently, 

 therefore, had the pleasure of seeing three hundred or six hundred 

 persons ride across the ploughed fields, and no matter whether 

 the crops were wheat, clover, or peas, away they went, all up 

 wind, and he confessed that he frequently stood by with very 

 mixed feelings on the national pastime. The country gentleman 

 who had a stake in the country went over the grass ; he was gene- 

 rally a good sportsman, and did comparatively little injury; but 

 the rich brewer from Melton, the cotton lord from Manchester, 

 the cloth lord from Leeds, and the iron lord from Wolverhampton, 

 these were the men who did not care what injury they did. He 

 said he knew opinions were divided as to whether crops suffered 

 from being ridden over, but he was inclined to think that those 

 who were of opinion that no harm was done farmed light land, 

 and those who came to the opposite conclusion farmed heavy clay 

 land. He said that he was able to show in two or three of his 

 fields of wheat at least a thousand prints of horses' hoofs, and 

 he would almost go so far as to say he would offer any gentleman 

 who thought no injury was done thereby a sovereign for every 

 blade he could find in the footprints. If, however, it was really 

 a good thing to have one's crops ridden over he would rather ride 

 over his own, so that he could do it regularly. 



There is nothing new under the sun ; for the argu- 

 ments which are advanced against hunting to-day were 

 used upwards of a hundred years ago. 



The mastership, however, which began amidst such 

 pleasant promises was soon destined to come to an end. 

 Towards the close of his second season Mr. Musters's 

 health showed signs of giving way, while at the same 

 time the strain upon his purse was greater than he could 

 afford. Like the good sportsman he was, he could never 

 bring himself to hunt the Quorn country in parsimonious 



