but the plot of our drama thickens. for on the green carpet of our little theatre, on which so many actors have been performing, there now lie tragically before us, as it were side by side, the body of a swooned lamb, and the carcase of a dead fox. let us therefore for a moment place each into one of the scales of justice, to weigh the relative specific gravities of these two tiny emblems—164 the one of innocence, the other of guilt—as regards their utility to man.
when a lamb has been nursed, reared, fattened, and killed, its quarters afford say four good dinners, or possibly one dish only at four great dinners, and as soon as, either above stairs or below, his bones have been cleanly picked, the history of his usefulness is at an end. but the benefits which a fox confers upon his country would, though stewed down for hours, require very many more dishes to contain them.
if an individual migrates in search of happiness, he not only may travel many a weary mile without attaining it, but sooner or later, foot-sore, leg-wearied, and dejected, he will be sure to discover that a very small proportion of the trouble, time, and money he has expended would have procured for him at home contentment or peace of mind, the greatest of all earthly blessings. for truly may it be said, that there exists nothing in a garden or in a field more easy to cultivate than domestic happiness, composed, as we all know, of innumerable small fibres, which, by the laws of nature, taking root in every direction, attach a man, like gulliver in the island of lilliput, to the ground on which he has happened to take rest.
a cynic may sneer at the rich man who, with his own hands, and with bent back, sows flowers to deck his path, and who plants trees to grace shrubberies to harbour the165 birds that are to sing to him. he may despise him for delving and digging, for carpentering, lathe-turning, and for other labour which a paid workman could infinitely better perform. but if this labour sweetens the cup of human existence, by giving that health to the body, which invigorates the mind for its studies—in short, if this mixture of physical and mental exertion results in producing contentment, the labourer, however high his rank, without deigning to revile the philosopher, may justly return thanks to that almighty power which, by such simple means, has enabled him, by dulcifying his "domum," to produce for himself domestic happiness.
as, however, what is good for the parts must also be beneficial for the whole, it must be evident that, in spite of the sneers of the cynic, it is equally wise for a people to foster and encourage among themselves any description of healthy recreation or amusement that may have the effect of creating among the community not only a friendly acquaintance with each other, but an indissoluble attachment to "the land they live in." indeed, if this salutary precaution were to be neglected, lamentable consequences must ensue; for, like two merchants dealing in the same article, so do virtue and vice strenuously compete against one another, by each, at the same moment, offering to mankind, pleasures for sale.
the great cities of the continent, especially paris, in166 this respect possess powerful attractions, which, unless they were to be neutralized or rather counteracted by national attachments of still greater power, would inevitably drain from the united kingdom, especially from the country, a large proportion of those wealthy classes whose presence, expenditure, and charity have proved so beneficial to their respective neighbourhoods. in like manner, as nature abhors a vacuum, so, if the affluent among the middle and lower classes, with a little money and leisure on hand, were to find themselves without some wholesome recreation, it is proverbial that a certain sable personage, who delights in idleness, would very soon, in his own service and in his own peculiar way, "set them to work."
but however wise it may be for an individual within his own precincts to create recreation to suit his particular palate, it is not so very easy to concoct any amusement that shall be pleasing to the taste of many ranks of the community as well as be generally beneficial to the whole.
a public racket-court or fives-court can only contain a very small party.
the far-famed national game of cricket (the stock in trade of which consists of a ball, some bats, half-a-dozen stumps, and eleven players) is adapted only to that bright, joyous, sunshiny half of the year, which, with its flowers and fruits, hardly requires to be enlivened, leaving the167 dreary months of winter totally unprovided with amusement.
what therefore, pro bono publico, we require is to invent, if possible, some description of national recreation which, in all weathers, shall concentrate in groups over the whole superficies of the kingdom, people of all conditions, from the highest ranks down to the lowest, to join together in a healthy, manly, harmless sport, requiring coolness, good temper, science, and resolution: and lastly, which shall manure, or top-dress, the entire surface of the country by broad-casting over it, annually, a large amount of gold, silver, and copper.
now the invention of hunting produces all these beneficial results. at the appointed meet, classes in ordinary life as distinctly separated from each other as the various castes in india, first assemble together, and then, during a good run, are jostled together in lumps, and by bumps, which, by collision, produce many a spark of generous feeling that, under ordinary circumstances, could not possibly have been elicited. for instance, not very long ago, during a run in leicestershire, a well-dressed, good-looking young stranger was seen to pull up, dismount, and run to the assistance of an old man lying under a horse that was struggling violently above him. in extricating the prisoner the liberator was repeatedly kicked. however, although his flesh and coat were cut, and a168 silver flask flattened in his breast-pocket, he resolutely effected his object and then cantered away. "who's that?" said a gentleman to a farmer who had gallantly assisted in the extrication. "i don't know his name," was the reply, "but, whoever he is, he stuck to him like a right good 'un!" about a month afterwards it transpired that the "right good 'un," who had risked his life to help one he never before saw, and whom probably he will never see again, was lord c., now marquis of h., and heir to the dukedom of d. in the hunting field, unfettered by prescriptive rights or privileges, the head and heart of man rise or sink to that level, whatever it may be, that intrinsically is their due. in short, irrespective of parentage, education, or income, any rider may assume whatever position he can take, and, so long as he leads, no one can prevent his wearing the honours, whatever they may be, of the day.
hunting is generally accused of being a very dangerous amusement, and yet by medical returns it might easily be demonstrated that it is not so injurious to a man's health or so fatal to his life as going to a succession of balls, or especially of good dinners; in fact, there can be no doubt that a london season blanches, per cent. per annum, more cheeks, and requires more physic and more coffins, than a hunting season.
how little danger, instead of how much, belongs to169 hunting, is daily proved by, comparatively speaking, the impunity with which inexperienced people join in the chase. if a crowd of 150 or 200 persons of all ages and shapes, none of whom had ever before been in a boat, were all of a sudden, say during christmas holidays, to dress themselves like tars, and then compete with sailors in every sort of weather, the chances, or rather the certainty, would be, that, without any disparagement to the art of boating, at least half of them would be drowned from sheer ignorance and inexperience. again, if an eccentric gentleman in london, making his coachman stand up behind his carriage, were to require his footman to drive it, the vehicle, before it could reach the opera-house, would probably be either smashed or upset; and yet, its fate would not be admitted as proving that it is dangerous to drive. in fact, it is a common proverb, that, in order to be proficient in any trade, it is necessary to be first duly apprenticed to it. but in the hunting field no education at all is deemed requisite. and, accordingly, so soon as a young man, "gentle or simple" (though oftener simple than gentle), can get hold of money, he buys a stud of horses and hacks, hires grooms, orders three or four scarlet coats with the appurtenances thereto, goes to melton, makes his formal appearance at a crack meet, and his informal disappearance into the first brook, or on the other side of the first fence he comes170 to, and yet, "oh! pray catch that horse if you please!" is usually the only result, repeated over and over again without injury to anybody. now, if people who really have never learned to ride, mounted on young horses who have never learned to hunt, can thus attempt to follow hounds without damaging much more than their clothes, it ought to follow that an experienced rider on a clever hunter has, at all events, not more danger to apprehend than other people are liable to, who ride solely on hard roads, on which a horse is very apt to travel carelessly, and always falls heavily. will williamson, now upwards of eighty years of age, who has been huntsman to the duke of buccleugh for more than fifty years, and whose worst accident was lately caused by being overturned in a dog-cart, still follows his hounds; and, in like manner, in every part of the kingdom are to be found old men who, with very little to complain about, have been hunting from their boyhood, and occasionally from their childhood.
charles payne, the huntsman of the pytchley, was much damaged by being thrown out of a gig; while, a short time ago, his head whip, who had fearlessly crossed almost every fence in northamptonshire, dislocated his shoulder by slipping off a little deal table. the gallant master of the tedworth hounds was severely injured in his conservatory; the huntsman of the surrey fox-hounds171 within his house by a fall. lastly, it may truly be asserted, that, in hunting, more accidents occur from over caution in riders than from a combination of boldness and judgment; indeed, if hunters could but speak, they would often whisper to their riders, "if you keep taking such affectionate care of my head, you'll throw me down."
the encouragement given to farmers to breed horses of the best description, the high prices paid to them for hay, oats, beans, and straw; the sums of money expended for the purchase or rent of hunting-boxes, lodgings, stables, carriage-houses, &c., added to a variety of other incidental expenses, large and small, amount to a grand total which it would be less easy to underrate than exaggerate.
but besides the sums which hunting-men, by maintaining from eight to fourteen hunters, with grooms and strappers in proportion, distribute in their various localities, in almost every county men of rank and fortune step forward to support, more or less at their own private cost, a huntsman, one or two whips, hounds, and a stable full of horses, for the recreation and amusement of the community.
with this generous object in view, the late sir richard sutton, for many years, spent about 10,000l. a-year in maintaining two packs of hounds and a stud of about fifty horses, for which he readily paid enormous prices.
in any portion of the globe, except the united kingdom, the price of dog-flesh in england would appear172 utterly incomprehensible. in 1812 lord middleton gave 1200 guineas for the pack he purchased. when mr. warde gave up the craven country mr. horlock paid him 2000 guineas for his hounds; while lord suffield coolly handed over to mr. lambton 3000 guineas for his pack without seeing them. to mr. conyers the master of the tedworth hounds offered for "bashful" 100 guineas; and for another bitch, called "careful," 400 guineas, or 10,080 francs; a sum which, in any village in france, would be considered for a peasant girl—though neither bashful nor careful—a splendid marriage portion.
before sir richard's death, lord alford, lord hopetoun, lord southampton, and, since his decease, lord stamford, who keeps seventy horses, have come forward to bestow upon the hunting counties around them the same noble and munificent assistance which, on a smaller scale, is as liberally given in many other localities; and yet, without one minute item, the sum total of the enjoyment, the recreation, the health, the good fellowship, the hard riding, the enormous sums of money distributed over the united kingdom to maintain that ancient, royal, loyal, noble, and national sport which seriatim we have endeavoured to describe would suddenly be annihilated, were we but to lose that tiny unclean beast, that dishonest little miscreant that everybody abuses—the fox.
ille jacet.
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but the scene suddenly shifts,——a small cracked bell in a violent hurry rings,——the slight shuffling of a few running-away feet is heard,——the green curtain which scarcely half a minute ago had dropped slowly rises,——and in the centre of the little stage there now appears, reposing by itself, a white wicker cradle containing a new-born baby, who will rapidly grow before our readers into a character intimately connected with the sayings and doings, the scenes and incidents we are endeavouring to describe.
[h]some seasons ago the master of the pytchley determined "to give to the hounds" a fox that had run to ground in a narrow culvert communicating with the reservoir at maidwell.
to prevent the poor animal escaping from his doom, the hounds were made to surround the mouth of the drain before the order was given to "lift up the sluice."
on the words being uttered the eyes of all the riders who encircled the pack were, of course, concentrated on one point. a slight noise was heard, some dead sticks appeared, followed by a violent rush of water, in the midst of which, rolled up like an immense hedgehog, appeared the fox, who no sooner got into daylight, than, before a hound could snap hold of him, he jumped to the left, and, at almost the same instant, popping through the only little hole in the thick hedge that bounded the drain, burst away, distanced the pack of enemies, quadruped and biped, that followed him, and thus escaped a death from which nothing but his extraordinary quickness and determination could have saved him.