its season, may not intrench upon other domestical affairs There is great danger lest we be transported with this pastime, and so ourselves grow wild, hunting the woods till we resemble the beast which are citizens of them; and by continual conversation with dogs, become altogether addicted to slaughter and carnage, which is wholly dishonourable, being a servile employment. For as it is the privilege of man, who is endued with reason, and authorized in the law of his creation, to subdue the beasts of the field, so to tyrannize over them too much is in plain English brutish.

"Mistake me not: I intend this reflection not for the nobility and gentry of this nation, whose expense of time in this noble and delightful exercise can nowise prejudice their large possessions, since it is so far from being very chargeable, that it is exceedingly profitable to the bodily health of such who can dispense with their staying at home without any injury to their families.

"I might much enlarge myself in the commendation of hunting, but that I am loath to detain you too long from the knowledge of what will make a right and perfect huntsman; I shall, therefore, thus conclude: No music can be more ravishly delightful than a pack of hounds in full-cry, to such a man whose heart and ears are so happy to be set to the tune of such charming instruments."

The writer then proceeds to notice "those terms of art huntsmen, foresters, and woodmen use, when they are discoursing of their commendable and highly-recreative profession :" but, as they vary little from the terms used in our days, I shall pass them over, as I shall his remarks on hounds and other sporting dogs, merely remarking that some of the names of foxhounds and beagles appeared to me to be very harmonious: Singwell, Soundwell, Truelips, Tunewell, Truescent; while other were more eccentric than euphonious-Fuddle, Jollyboy, Lillups, and Yerker. The author, who in his way is as quaint as Pepys, then remarks that "the hunting used by the ancients was much like that way which is at present taken (A.D. 1666) with the reindeer, which is seldom hunted. at force or with hounds, but only drawn after with a bloodhound and forestall'd with nets and engines. So did they will all beasts; and, therefore, a dog is never commended by them for opening before he hath by signs discovered where the beast lyeth in his lair, as by their drawing stiff our harbourers are brought to give right judgment. Therefore I do not find that they were curious in the music of their hounds, or in a composition of their kennel or pack, either for deepness or loudness, or sweetness of cry, like to ours. Their huntsmen were accustomed to shout and make a great noise, as Virgil observes in the third of his Georgies, Ingentem clamore premes ad retia cervum,” so that it was only with that confusion to bring the deer to the nets laid for him; but we comfort our hounds with loud and courageous cries and noises, both of voice and horn, that they may follow over the same way that they saw the hart pass, without crossing or coasting.

"The Sicilian way of hunting was this: When the nobles or gentry were informed which way a herd of deer passed, giving notice to one another, they appointed a meeting, and every one brought with him a cross-bow or a long-bow and a bundle of staves. These staves have an iron spike at the bottom, and their head is bored with a cord drawn

through all of them; their length is about four foot. Being thus provided they come to the herd, and there casting themselves about into a large ring, they surround the deer, and then every one of them receives a peculiar stand, and there, unbinding his faggot, ties the end of his cord to the other, who is set in the next station; then, to support it, sticks into the ground each staff about the distance of ten-foot one from the other; then they take out feathers, which they bring with them, dyed in crimson for this very purpose, and fastened upon a thread which is tied to the cord, so that with the least breath of wind they are whirled round about. Those which keep the several stands withdraw and hide themselves in the next covert. After this, the chief-ranger enters within the line, taking with him only such hounds which draw after the herd, and coming near with their cry rouse them; upon which the deer fly till they come towards the line, where they turn off towards the left, and still gazing upon the shaking and shining feathers, wander about them as if they were kept in with a wall or pale. The chiefranger pursues, and calling to every one by name, as he passeth by their stand, cries to them that they shoot the first, third, or sixth as he shall please; and if any one of them miss, and single out any other than that which was assigned by the ranger, it is counted a disgrace to him, by which means as they pass by the several stations the whole herd is killed by several hands. This relation is of undoubted truth, as you may find it in Pierius: his Hieroplyhics,' lib. vii., chap. 6.

"Boar-hunting is very usual in France. In this sort of hunting the way is to use furious, terrible sounds and noises, as well of voice as horn, to make the chase turn and fly, because they are slow, and trust to their tusks and defence, which is agere aprum, to bait the boar. Whensoever the boar is hunted and stands at bay, the huntsmen ride in, and with swords and spears, striking on that side which is from their horses, wound or kill him. This is the French hunting; but the ancient Romans, standing on foot or setting their knees to the ground and charging directly with their spear, did opponere ferrum and excipere aprum; for such is the nature of a boar, that he spits himself with fury, running upon the weapon to come at his adversary; and so seeking his revenge, he meets with his own destruction. Though these wild boars are frequent in France, we have none in England; yet it may be supposed that heretofore we had, and did not think it convenient to preserve that game, for our old authors of hunting reckon them amongst the beasts of venery.

"Of making a hunting-match its advantages and disadvantages.— Since many persons of honour delight in good horses, both for hunters as well as gallopers, it may not be improper to speak a word in this place concerning the advantages or disadvantages which happen in making of hunting-matches; since he that proceeds cautiously and upon true grounds in matching his horse is already in a great measure sure of gaining the prize, at least if the proverb be true that a match well made is won.

"The first thing to be considered by him that designs to match his horse, for his own advantage and his horse's credit, is this: that he do not flatter himself in the opinion of his horse, by fancying that he is swifter than the wind, when he is but a slow galloper, and that he is

whole-running (that is, will run four miles without a sob, at the height of his speed) when he is not able to run a mile.

"And the ground of this error, I suppose, arises from a gentleman's being mistaken in the speed of his hounds, who for want of trial against other dogs who have been really fleet, has supposed his own to be swift, when in reality they were but of middle speed; and because his horse (when trained) was able to follow them all day, and at any hour to command them, upon deep as well as light earths, has therefore falsely concluded him to be swift as the best, but upon trial against a horse that has been rightly trained after hounds that were truly fleet, has to his cost bought his experience and been convinced of his error.

"Therefore I would persuade all lovers of hunters to get two or three couple of tried hounds, and once or twice a-week to follow them after a train-scent; and when he is able to top them on all sorts of earth, and to endure heats and colds stoutly, then he may the better rely on his speed and toughness.

"That horse which is able to ride a hare-chase of five or six miles briskly, and with good courage, till his body be as it were bathed in sweat, and then, upon the death of the hare, on a nipping frosty morning, can endure to stand still till the sweat be frozen on his back, so that the cold may pierce him as well as the heat, and then even in that extremity of cold to ride another chase as briskly and with as much courage as he did in the former-that horse that can thus endure heats and colds oftenest, is of most value amongst sportsmen. And, indeed, 'tis not every horse that is able to endure such extraordinary toil; and I, myself, have seen very brave horses to the eye that have ridden the first chase to admiration, that when the cold had struck to them, and they began to grow stiff, have flagged the second and given quite out the third heat.

"Therefore, to make a judgment of the goodness of your own horse, observe him after the death of the first hare, if the chase has been anything brisk. If, when he is cold, he shrinks up his body, and draws his legs up together, 'tis an infallible token of want of courage; and the same you may collect from the slackening of his girths after the first chase, and from the setting of his teeth, and the dulness of his countenance, all of which are true marks of faintness and tiring; and therefore there is no reliance on such a horse, in case of a wager. But if, on the contrary, you are master of a horse (not only in your own judgment, but in the opinion of knowing horsemen) that is approved for speed and toughness, and you are desirous to match him, or otherwise to run for a plate, I will, to the best of my power, tell you the advantages that are to be gained in matching.

"But before I enter upon the subject proposed, I think it convenient to tell you the way our ancestors had of making their matches, and our modern way of deciding wagers. First, then, the old way of trial was by running so many train-scents after hounds as was agreed upon by the parties concerned, and a Bell Course, this being found not so uncertain and more durable than hare hunting, and the advantage consisted in having the trains led on earth most suitable to the nature of the horses. Now, others chose to hunt the hare till such an hour prefixed, and then to run the Wild-goose Chase, which, because it is not known to all huntsmen, I shall explain the use and manner of it.

"The Wild-goose Chase received its name from the manner of the flight which is made by wild geese, which is generally one after another. So the two horses, after the running of twelve score yards, had liberty, which horse soever could get the leading, to ride what ground he pleased, the hindermost horse being bound to follow him within a certain distance agreed on by articles, or else to be whipped up by the triers or judges which rode by; and whichever horse could distance the other, won the match.

"But this chase was found by experience too inhuman, and destructive to good horses, especially when two good horses were matched; for neither being able to distance the other, till ready both to sink under their riders through weakness, oftentimes the match was fain to be drawn, and left undecided, though both the horses were quite spoiled.

"This brought them to run train-scents, which afterwards was changed to three heats and a straight course. And that the lovers of huntinghorses might be encouraged to keep good ones, plates have been erected in many places of this land, purposely for hunters, and some of their articles exclude all others, namely gallopers, from running.

"But whether you design to match your horse against any one horse in particular, or to put him for a plate, where he must run against all that come in general, yet 'tis necessary that you know the nature and disposition of your horse before you venture any wager on his head..

"If your horse be hot and fiery, 'tis odds but he is fleet withal (for generally those horses are so), and delights to run upon light and hard flats, and must be held hard by the rider, that he may have time to recover wind by sobs, or else his fury will choke him. The best way to match such a horse is to agree to run train-scents, and the fewer the better for you before you come to the course, also in these train-scents the shorter you make your distance the better; and, above all things, be sure you agree to have the leading of the first train, and the making choice of such grounds as your horse may best show his speed, and the fleetest dogs you can procure; give your hounds as much law before you as your tryers will allow, and then, making a loose, try to win the match with a wind; but if you fail in this attempt, then bear your horse, and save him for the course at last."

And here we must, in the writer's own words, describe what a trainscent is: "I shall acquaint you," he says, "that it has its name, as I suppose, from the manner of it-viz, the trailing or dragging of a dead cat or fox, and, in case of necessity, a red herring, three or four miles, according to the will of the riders, or the directions given him, and then laying the dogs on the scent. But this caveat let me give all huntsmen, to keep about two or three couple of the fleetest hounds you can possibly procure for this purpose only. For although I have seen skilful sportsmen use their harriers in this case for their diversion, yet I would persuade them not to use them to it often; for it will teach them to lie off the line, and fling so wide, that they never will be worth anything."

To return to the hints on match-making, the author proceeds to say: "But if your horse be slow, yet well winded, and a true-spurred nag, then the more train-scents you run before you come to run the straight course the better. Observing here too, to gain the leading of the first train, which in this case you must lead it upon such deep earths that it may not end near any light ground. For this is the rule received

among horsemen, that the next train is to begin where the last ends, and the last train is to be ended at the starting-post of the course. Therefore, observe to end your last on deep earths as well as the first.

"In the next place, have a care of making a match of a sudden and in drink, for fear lest you repent when you are sober. Neither make a match against a horse which you do not know, without first consulting some skilful or trusty friend on whose judgment and honesty you can safely rely, and who is able to give a good account of your adversary's horse's speed, and his manner of riding; and if you find him any ways correspondent to your own in speed or goodness, be not too peremptory to venture, but upon some reasonable probabilities of winning; for tis neither brags nor fancy that will make your horse run one jot the better or your adversary's the worse. And remember this, that there is no horse so good but there may be another as good; and then if you proceed on good grounds and true judgment, you may be the bolder to go on, and stand to your match, notwithstanding the opinion of other men may be against you.

"One material advice I had like to have forgot, and that is this: be sure at no time give advantage of weight, for you will find the inconvenience of it at the latter end of the day; for though a horse feel it not when he is fresh, yet it will sink him very much when he grows weak. A horse-length lost by odds of weight in the first train may prove a distance in the straight course at last, for the weight is the same every heat, though his strength be not.

"But if, on the other side, you gain any advantage in weight, article that the horseman shall ride so much weight as you agreed on, besides the saddle, for by this means the rider (if he be not weight himself) must carry the dead-weight somewhere about him, which will be troublesome to the rider as well as the horse; and the more to the latter, since it is more remote from his back than if it were in the saddle, and by consequence will more disorder his stroke if the rider incline to either side than if it were nearer the centre, as you may see by a pair of scales, where, if the pin be not placed exactly in the midst of the beam, the longest part (as being most distant from the centre) will be the heaviest."

After some practical hints for preparing a hunter for a match or plate, the writer says: "As to plaiting his mane and tail, shoeing him with plates, pitching his saddle and girths, and the like preparations, they are things which every groom can instruct you in." We quote the above to show that in bygone days hunters' tails were plaited, after the manner of the modern cart-horses at a fair.

The next chapter contains instructions for riding a hunting match, or three heats and a course for a plate, and the author remarks: "The first requisite in a rider, next to faithfulness in his trust, is to have a good close seat, his knees being held firm to his saddle skirts, his toes. turned inward and his spurs outward from his horse's side, his left hand governing his horse's mouth, and his right commanding his whip, observing during all the trial throughout to sit firm in his saddle, without waving, or standing up in his stirrups, which very much incommodes the horse, notwithstanding the conceited opinion of some jockey's that it is a becoming seat. Observe when you whip or spur your horse, and that you are certain he is at the top of his speed, if then he clap