332 The Post and the Paddock, 



as he well knew if once they got them up, by 

 hallooing and lifting, he never could get them down 

 again, which is the cause of being so often beat after 

 a fine run. He was a capital horseman, though rather 

 too heavy for the first flight, but he was always there 

 when wanted, and never upset his horse. As to the 

 condition of his hounds we will not say much. He 

 did not hke to let his capital lie dead, and did not lay 

 in a stock of meal, whereby their coats stared, and 

 they were not up to the mark. The best evidence of 

 his knowledge and judgment was that, although he 

 was for ever changing his hounds, he always, after 

 a time, had them good. He had a happy method 

 of making them fond of him, and he made them 

 do what he liked. In short, he was at the very 

 top of his profession — a very senior wrangler in the 

 science. 



Talking of wild hounds, perhaps there never was 

 a pack so thoroughly wild as that of the late Lord 

 Fitzwilliam's in 1810 or thereabouts. They never 

 were known to hold a scent for half a mile. They 

 were noisy in the extreme, either with or without 

 scent ; they forced and flew, and had every fault 

 which hound ever possessed. Added to this, they 

 were so fat that, had they been as steady as they 

 were the contrary, they could never have killed a 

 good fox. The establishment was splendid in the 

 extreme. The stud was magnificent, being chiefly 

 drafted from the racing stable, and they had every- 

 thing which money could furnish, except sport : utter 

 want of knowledge in Will Dean, the huntsman, 

 wholly marred it. The greatest praise is due to Lord 

 Althorp and Mr. Drake, as sportsmen, for changing 

 the character of their hounds, but we are not sure that 

 more credit is not to be attached to Tom Sebright 

 than to either of them. The former had a steady 

 pack to begin with, and the latter only wanted tongue; 

 whereas Tom went to sea without a compass, and hav- 



