APPEARANCE OF THE CATTLE. 179 



and by degrees we got to within rather more than a 

 hundred yards of the herd, pulling up the cart close to 

 the edge, and somewhat under the cover of the adjoining 

 wood. They stood on the rising ground above us, and 

 we saw them to perfection during more than a quarter 

 of an hour, for we had opera-glasses and a telescope. 

 And a grand sight it was. The whole herd of about 

 seventy were grouped in constantly changing picturesque 

 bodies, enjoying the cool sea-breeze, which relieved at 

 that elevation the heat of that hot sunny day. We saw 

 clearly most of those small details which are described 

 elsewhere ; their general outline and their red and black 

 points being distinctly visible. The older bulls — the 

 thicker and longer hair of their necks darkened to a 

 rich cream-colour by constantly pawing up the soil — 

 showed themselves in different attitudes to the greatest 

 advantage ; and noble beasts they were. The cows were 

 singularly symmetrical and beautifully feminine in ap- 

 pearance. The steers were not, relatively to the others, 

 so magnificent as at Chartley. Be the cause what it 

 may, at Chillingham the bull, at Chartley the ox, is the 

 grander animal of the two. The back-line of both sexes 

 was beautifully straight ; so also was the belly-line ; and 

 all agreed with the remark I made — that the owner of 

 many a prize Short-horn might have envied the exquisite 

 form of their hind quarters,- and the stylish thorough- 

 bred manner in which their tails were set on. Their 

 excellence in this point had, as we have seen, previously 

 struck Mr. Pole-Grell also. 



The pretty young ones, of all ages and of both 



sexes, enlivened the interesting group. We saw several 



of the calves suck their dams ; one heifer we particularly 



observed when so employed. It was very large, and had 



m 2 



