A TREMENDOUS BULLFINCHER. 55 



crack of the whip was seldom heard. In chase, 

 Assheton Smith was cheery and cheerful, but at a 

 sudden check he became instantly quiet, giving his 

 hounds time to recover the scent before he inter- 

 fered with them. With him it was an established 

 maxim that a huntsman should always he with his 

 hounds^ and from this rule there are few instances 

 on record of his ever departing. With them he 

 would be, at any risk or any hazard, no matter 

 what might intervene, but it was not for the pur- 

 pose of catching hold of his hounds and hurrying 

 them by hasty casts here and there. He was with 

 them to watch their proceedings only, and help 

 them when necessary, and 7iot before. With such 

 a purpose in view, it is not surprising to hear of 

 the numerous perils encountered by Mr. Smith in 

 the Leicestershire country, in almost every field 

 of which he has been heard to say he had had a 

 fall. There was also " method in his madness,'' as 

 it may be called by some, for he generally contrived 

 to fall on the right side of the fence, that is the 

 other side, and clear of his horse. 



He was one day riding in company with a friend 

 of mine, the hounds running over a very stiff vale, 

 in his Hampshire country, when a tremendous 

 bullfincher presented itself right in their way, 

 which my friend expressed his incapability of ac- 



