\ 



A 21 Id La ng Syne. 333 



ing every fault to contend against without one redeem- 

 ing virtue. How he got them right, or how long he 

 was about it, we know not, but that he did is an ac- 

 complished fact, as for many years he had a pack 

 which the proudest man in the realm might well be 

 proud of. There is a Latin adage, the English of 

 which is, " If a man is not born a poet, you can't 

 make him one." Tom was bred and born a sports- 

 man. His father, old Tom Sebright, knew hunting 

 thoroughly, and hunted the New Forest hounds at the 

 beginning of the present century. 



The hunting in that country, in the month of 

 April, is charming beyond description. A bright 

 gaudy day is not generally supposed to be favourable 

 for hunting ; but in the New Forest, in the spring, 

 it cannot be too brilliant ; in fact, in wet weather they 

 can do nothing. About the year 1802 they hunted 

 thirteen days in April, and perhaps the first or second 

 of May, and killed eleven foxes after a run : not the 

 sort of run you have in Leicestershire, of ten or 

 twelve miles from point to point, but to a man who 

 really likes hunting it is inconceivably beautiful. 

 With good health, youth on your side, pink and 

 leathers in prime trim, and a pleasant nag, nothing 

 could be more enchanting or heart-stirring than the 

 meet in the New Forest on a lovely morning. The 

 bogs in that country, which extend for miles, are as 

 deep as the lake of Avernus ; and if you get in, you 

 will never get out again, at least with your horse. 

 Here the foxes delight to lie ; and seeing them draw 

 up to him is one of the most deHcious sensations 

 imaginable. They go with their heads up, sniffing 

 the breeze, and show you that he is there, though 

 they can't speak to him. At length you hear a 

 tongue, then another and another, till " the sweet 

 melody enraptures the senses, and chases all your 

 cares away." There was no driving 'em over the line, 

 as is now the wont, but the old foresters were all 



