FOX-HUNTIXG. 201 



are not the mere hunting, drinking, hard- 

 riding sort of men that many think — no, I ivont 

 say t/iin/i, I will rather say have thought — who 

 have only heard of them or known them at 

 a distance, whatever may have been the 

 character of many of the fox-hunting gener- 

 ation of half a century ago ; and even then 

 they were not all of the Squire Western 

 stamp, take Mr. Meynell for instance, the 

 father of fox-hunting. The present fox-hunter 

 is a gentleman in every sense of the word ; and 

 at no previous time was the noble science so 

 well understood, or were there so many well- 

 mounted, well-educated, and well-intentioned 

 men in all the relations of life assembled to 

 take part in it, as there are at an English 

 covert- side at the present day. 



Now for my story of Mr. Assheton Smith, 

 well known as one of the best huntsmen and 

 finest riders of his day. After much con- 

 •troversy it has been decided that to Mr. 

 Assheton Smith is due the invention of gun- 

 boats, now so much in use in our own and 

 other navies. Our fleet stood in great need 

 of such help while it lay helpless off Cron- 

 stadt during the Russian war. 



