Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

three times, and of course gave him up for a dead dog; but, to the surprize of every one, master Challenger appeared one morning safe and sound, and still continues a terror to every fox in the country.

This pack originated from Mr. Codrington, a particular friend of Mr. Bulteel, who in the commencement of his sporting career was indebted to him (Mr. C.) for much useful information and assistance: since which, the mixture of Dr. Troyte's and Lambton's blood has produced this staunch pack, which by and bye, when the hounds are lower of leg, will be a real killing one.

Before I left Lyneham I had a glance at old Gainsborough, now in Mr. Bulteel's stable. I found my quondam friend in good condition, hearty and well, and still shewing those capabilities of fathering bony stock, which, when united to a large and roomy dam, have invariably produced clippers; such, indeed, as cannot be surpassed by any blood in the West. I saw a half-bred entire horse (Landseer), with two as good ends and bone as can be seen; but such a strange middle-piece, and hollow-deep sinking back, that a little. man would be almost swallowed up in its circumbendibus. It appears, indeed, a complete deformity; but I was told he is, notwithstanding, a rasper at his work, and can carry weight brilliantly.

In a field near the house I saw several young Gainsboroughs, likely looking ones for future service: one, a black with a blaze in his face, will be a brilliant with a welter, or I am much mistaken.

It was with no little pleasure I anticipated a gallop with Sir Walter Carew's pack during my stay in the West, but

"L'homme propose, mais Dieu dispose;"

[blocks in formation]

with one of the prettiest girls I ever saw in my life, to Newton Bushell, a town within a walk of Sir W. Carew's residence.-I now find myself in a perfect dilemma-within two stools, as the phrase is. What shall I do? Shall I digress, and perhaps offend my readers, who think me, no doubt, prosy enough already; or shall I continue the thread of my story, and thus forfeit my title to gallantry and a becoming admiration of the fair sex ? Forbid it, ye Loves and Graces! that I should fail in the latter: therefore I will risk the anger of my readers, who would not be sportsmen if they were not gallant, and give the belle of Chudley a chance of being known to posterity in the pages of the Magazine. Lord Byron, I think, must have had just such a model in his eye when he sketched his blooming Dudu; and as I am quite unequal to such brilliant deseriptions, I will allow him to pourtray my divinity:—

"A kind of sleepy Venus seem'd Dudu, Yet very fit to murder sleep' in those Who gazed upon her cheek's transcendent hue,

Her Attie forehead, and her Phydian

[blocks in formation]

nameless charms which are so superior to mere beauty, and are loved and remembered when that is "faded and gone." Amongst other topics we talked a good deal on the sports of England; but my fair companion confessed she was no advocate for hunting-it was such a break-neck sort of amusement: she preferred the calmer pleasures of the quiet streain, "O'erbower'd with newly-budding trees, And kiss'd by the gently fanning breeze!

How sweet is the fisherman's haunt!
Life's struggles do not reach him there,
And there ambition is forgot;
There dwells no pride, there springs no
taunt,

Nor pining for a prouder lot.
Then let the prey in covert rest,
And change the scarlet for fisher's vest,
The stubble and chase for the flood."

She was, in fact, an enthusiastic admirer and disciple of good old Izaak Walton, and was then proceeding on a fishing excursion to the Dart. Giving her, therefore, an old man's blessing (it was well I am old, or I should have been lost), I left her to pursue her pleasure-seeking way, and set sail under favour of a bright sun for Haccombe, the seat of Sir Walter, whom I was fortunate enough to find at home, and very well disposed to afford me the gratification I sought.

I found the pack very strong, upwards of forty couples; they were more once, and formed two distinct packs, bitch and dog: but disease, weeding, and the various accidents incident to a kennel, where perfection is sought, have reduced them considerably; and they now muster twenty couples in the field-quite strength enough, too, for the open country, which they frequently draw. The hounds were marshalled before me one at a time, which afforded an excellent opportunity of viewing them as I desired, and is, indeed, the only way in which one can form a fair judgment; for when in a group, you have no sooner fixed your eye on one than he is off, and his place filled by another-like the cloud one watches in a summer sky, and which, long ere you have admired its splendid hue, has sailed away, and is succeeded by

another as bright, as beautiful, and as evanescent. They are long, big-bcdied dogs, clean and straight in their legs, and free from gum; fine feet, and shorter, squarer noses than any I have seen westward-a point I admire, as I am sure such heads are true indicatives of good scenting, particularly in cold and difficult hunting. I would not have them heavy and old Sotheron like, but with a proper degree of squareness, and style, and animation in their physogs. They are even and high-bred, and, when assembled together in the yard, had, to a canine lover like myself, a very imposing appearance; but their size, as usual, is not what I approve; and, as I observed with Mr. Bulteel, if Sir Walter would breed a shade or two lower on the leg, having the same substance, or even rather less than they now carry, and in a more compact form, I think they would lop over the Devon hills, which in some places are raspers, with greater ease to themselves, and with equal satisfaction to their leaders. I have frequently heard a distinguished Officer, who was in every engagement of the Peninsular war, say, that in a long day's march he invariably found the Light Infantry got quicker up the mountains, and came fresher to bivouac, than the sturdiest grenadier. I hope those brave heroes will excuse me for comparing them in this particular with hounds; but I confess I think the comparison holds good.

The Baronet regretted that the pack were not in the highest order the day I saw them, having assisted at the capture and execution of a varmint the previous day, after a brilliant race under a scorching sun, the effects of which were certainly very apparent: but this I have no objection to; for, like the Palais de la Verité, it gives one that rare advantage of seeing things as they really are, which in the case of hounds you cannot if too full of flesh. Notwithstanding their previous exertion they shewed well, seemed lively, and in good working condition. They are young and vigorous, all three-year-old dogs, therefore much sport may be expected for

some seasons to

come. Of their prowess and high character for destructiveness, fifty noses of the varmint affixed to the yard door can answer, and amongst the whole, to the honour of Sir Walter, but one bagman! In a country where the varmint cut out much galling and determined work, this is no mean thing for one pack to accomplish; and is honorable both to hounds and huntsman.

The pack was originally purchased of that out-and-out sportsman the Honorable Newton Fellowes, who for many years was noted in the North of Devon for the judgment and eclat with which he conducted his hounds. The Fitzwilliam-Codrington blood ran in their veins, and made them racy and bony, the latter point being a grand desideratum in the Eggsford kennel. Those which now remain I saw together, and they bear a strong family resemblance; colours, black and white, with tan outlines over the frontispiece, shewing, in my opinion, a considerable dash of the bloodhound in their form and appearance. I fancied them not close enough for a long day's work; in fact, there seems too much back, or, as we should say of a lengthy-barrelled prad, too much space between the hind-quarters and ribs, for heavy and hilly skirmishing; and though over the lowlands hounds of this mould spin along blazingly, I have seldom seen them able to encounter a second fox with that spunk and ardour we are apt (perhaps unjustly) in our own buoyancy of spirit to expect.

Many of the bitches in this kennel were very pretty and fashionablylooking; so that with such blood as is here (the Grafton, Osbaldeston, Codrington, and Yeatman) to cross with the Fitzwilliam-certainly the very best for produce-the Baronet can never be wanting in first-rate clippers to scud along, and make echo on the wilds of Dartmoor and Haldon.

borough, a prime, strapping, wellmoulded hound, worthy a post of honour under any banners. The puppies in-doors looked extremely promising, healthy, and well-conditioned. Ten couples, I understood, are to come in from walk, and will give a rich choice for selection next season. There was one little bitch (which being under the scale of proportion for the kennel was to be drafted), that I think, without exception, the most airy and symmetrical creature I ever beheld, and worthy to be kept, if only for her extreme beauty. Though small according to the present fashion of hounds, I think she would go the pace with the biggest of her fraternity: a perfect fairy she really is, and Fairy she ought to be called.

Would that the description of this faultless little hound ended my catalogue, for it is a painful duty to blame; nevertheless, it is a duty, and I should be unworthy a place in your Magazine-I should be unworthy the name of Sportsman--could I pass over in silence what it grieves me to relate. Will it be believed, Mr. Editor, that in the nineteenth century, when education and refinement have arrived almost at their climax-when the march of reason has extended to the remotest parts of the British dominions, and the barbarisms of a darker age are forgotten-will it be believed, I repeat, that a gentleman of the county of Devon should be guilty of so unsportsmanlike an act as setting gins in the immediate vicinity of a crack pack of fox-hounds! The honorable-minded readers of the Sporting Magazine, I am sure, would be inclined to doubt such a statement, did I not assure them, that in Sir Walter Carew's kennel I saw a superb hound ruined, rendered perfectly useless, through being caught in one of these infernal machines, set for the preservation of game forsooth! "Love laughs at locksmiths ;" and, believe me, ye game-preservers-ye selfish monopolisers, who would rather the whole race of poor were exterminated, than one head of thy cherished game be lost-Poachers laugh at traps. "It is but lost labour that ye rise up

I was much struck with the symmetrical beauty of Beiram, by Mr. King's Majesty (bitch I forget), a splendid upstanding dog; Minion, by Sir Walter's Justice out of a bitch from Mr. King's kennel; and LoughVOL. V.-SECOND SERIES.-No. 25.

I

early and so late take rest," and set traps about your grounds; for so long as mean-spirited gentlemen and game are found together, there will poachers be. I am at a loss to imagine why the injurious act I mentioned should be resorted to, as gentlemen who preserve game must of course have game keepers-though, for a truth, half these fellows know very little of their business-and they should inform their masters that gin-setting on the ground is neither the best nor the most humane way of going to work; and that if traps are necessary to ensnare vermin, they should at least be so constructed as to prevent injury to hounds which may pass through their grounds in pursuit of game. But enough of this disagreeable subject. It was my duty to mention it, and I have done so; and I can assure the gentleman, whoever he may be (for I know him not), that in so doing I have been actuated by no other motive than the wish of seeing every depart ment of sport conducted on fair and honorable principles. I trust never again to have an opportunity of recording such an occurrence; and with this wish take leave of the subject, merely remarking, such instances of unfriendly feeling are very rare in this county.

The kennel at Haccombe is in a dry and sunny situation, though rather low. It is spacious, containing two good-sized yards and close sleeping apartments, flagged with slate, and the pure element flowing through. In one I noticed a novelty-an octagon granite post for hounds to rub against -an excellent idea, as it prevents them using timber, from which they often get splinters, that fester and annoy them, unknown to the feeder ; besides which, the constant friction keeps the coat even and smooth, and cleanses it from the dust and scurf which will accumulate. The boiling room is rather small (I prefer a large one, and that at the end of the kennel on account of the smell), but is perfectly sweet and well fitted up. To the huntsman, who by the bye is a very civil and well-conducted fellow, I would give a few hints en passant.

Imprimis-boil your potatoes; it is better than steaming them; give more vegetable diet, particularly mangel wurzel, which you might grow at the place very easily, as I noticed soil that would just suit this vegetable; and when you give oatmeal, let it be thicker. Vary their food as much as you can, and never forget to throw in a handful or two of salt once or twice a week: it makes hounds strong and healthy, and improves their skins wonderfully.

Sir Walter has, I understand, purchased Mr. Russell's pack, and intends keeping it in the northern part of the county, where he has a kennel. This is the country Mr. Newton Fellowes once hunted, where foxes are plenty, and generally afford excellent runs. I consider this a good move of the Baronet's, as, by the addition, he will be spared the necessity of travelling the Haccombe pack backwards and forwards-a thing which takes more out of the feet of hounds than half a dozen teazing days' gallop, besides which repose will bring them well up to the scratch on his return from the

north. From the spirited way in

which this Gentleman conducts his hunting department, he has always a strong muster of prime performers at his fixtures; and his range of ground being so extensive, and the scent generally running breast high, he is seldom troubled with a blank. observed no grass yard about this kennel, which is a fault, grass being essentially necessary to the health and comfort of hounds.

I

A new set of very roomy and excellent stables has just been erected in one of the best situations I have seen for a long time; the boxes and stalls not too many together, but capacious, lofty, and well ventilated. Several of the prads had just been turned to grass, so I was unable to see the whole of the stud, which I understand is large and well selected. The one that carried Sir Walter the previous day looked fresh and well, and shewed that good grooming is the fashion in this establishment. He is a very lengthy, clipping, three-partsbred one, and handsome withal‍; was

purchased, I heard, from Mr. Charles Trelawney-(who, begging his pardon, must have had a leetle green in his eye the day he sold him)-a gentleman who has had some dealings in this way with Sir Walter, for I observed a strong built, well-shaped entire horse, a son of Whalebone, which also came from his stable: and he had Oswestry of the Baronet, a horse which had the name of a trump when he performed in Oxfordshire. I met Oswestry (who is now a travelling stallion) in my rambles: he is much like his sire, old Filho, in many points, has good bone and substance for throwing useful and promising stock, and I have little doubt his progeny will turn well to the book account. By the bye, Mr. Trelawney has in his stud Anacreon, by Walton out of Goosander, which I looked at, and, though seventeen summers have passed over his head, he still shews the beauty of a good constitution. He is rather low on his pins for a racer, but so prettily and compactly moulded, that his get ought to be very handsome and useful. I know a son of his, a winner of the Endsleigh, who, but for a devilish pain in his temper, would be worth any money.

The Agricultural Society of Devon have brought down Elephant for the laudable purpose of improving the breed of the yeomen, who ought to be flogged if they do not make use of him, as he is a horse in every respect suited to country stock, being an amazingly short-jointed, big-boned, well-actioned bit of blood.

I must return for an instant to make my adieu to Sir Walter, who is considered one of the boldest and most efficient riders of his country-quite the Peyton of the West: but I have heard he has lately met with some ugly purls, which have rather damped his ardour, and that raspers are not quite so cagerly sought for as they used to be some few years ago. His weight must be somewhere about a welter. He is a young man, blessed with two packs of hounds, a pretty estate (which he is much improving), adorned with extensive and thriving

plantations; a good income, and, better than all, liberty-that is, fair and gentle readers, if any such there are who honour the lucubrations of GILBERT FORESTER with a perusal Sir Walter has no wife, a defect which I daresay you think ought immediately to be remedied.

Returning from my walk I beheld beneath me the lovely and secluded residence of Stover House, once inhabited by that real good one, Mr. Templar, now by His Grace of Somerset. It almost pained me, as I surveyed its beauties, to reflect what a loss the Sporting World has sustained by the retirement of this diamond, who in the attributes of gentleman and sportsman had no rival; and though the Sons of Devonia are indeed a gallant race, I fear it will be long before another Templar,__will arise to grace her diadem. Mr. Templar, though a young man, has now retired for ever from the bustle of the world, and enjoys that calm quiet which springs from a well-regulated life, and is so fit to usher in its close, the world forgetting, though not by it forgot-for who that ever met him in the field or at the board can forget those bright hours!

My next step was to Mr. Woolcombe's kennel of harriers, which I had heard were of the very best stamp; but conceive my mortification, when on nearing Ashbury, after a ride of five and thirty miles, I found the hounds were out, and not likely to return for some days. I was not a little vexed at this disappointment, the pack having so high a name; but thought I should be more fortunate at Mr. Russell's, which lay in my route, and to which I was also bound. I was extremely anxious to see this capital workman and his protegés, but Fortune was certainly not inclined to favour me this day; for on inquiring for him, I was told he was pursuing the enemy on the Bodmin moors, in the neighbourhood of which a strong force of the elite had assembled for a week's sport. This news was far from pleasant, as my chapfallen phiz must have denoted; so sticking the diggers rather spitefully

« ПредишнаНапред »