track which Rowena would have taken. So Miss Sarah was doubly punished: first, she was ill-treated by Dough: and then disqualified by the stewards, because she was driven out of her place, without the slightest blame being attached to her jockey." The articles on betting and handicapping, with which the work is wound up, are too good to be sacrificed in an epitome. Every one taking any interest in the turf will read them, and with lively interest. Upon the principle of wagers Captain Rous says:-"It is a popular theory with many amateurs on the turf, that the owner of a horse which has been backed by the public (and is, consequently, a favourite) is bound in honour to start him. This may be true if the owner has declared that his horse shall run in the event of his being in force; but if the owner has never connived at bringing his horse into favour, and if, having other engagements of importance, it does not suit him to start his horse, considering the chance of running inadequate to the extra expenses of running, no man has a right to complain. The only orthodox betting is on the field; and if a person chooses to back horses not his own property, he takes a responsibility upon himself for which no other person is answerable." Thus, reader, are there "more things than are dream't of in your philosophy" upon the turf. COUNTRY PRACTICE. BY GELERT. No. IV. THE BEAUFORT HOUNDS. (Continued.) Among the many noble hunting establishments of which this country may be justly proud, that of his Grace the Duke of Beaufort has long occupied a distinguished rank. During the last half century the Beaufort blood has been highly valued and diffused throughout all the fashionable kennels of England. There are at present sixty-nine and a-half couple of hounds in the Badminton kennels, the most remarkable of which, both for work and beauty, are the following: EIGHT YEARS. HERO, by Lord Yarborough's Druid, out of Warspite: a black-and-tan hound; an extraordinary 200d finder. SEVEN YEARS. FAIRPLAY, by Freeman, out of Vengeance: a hare-pied bitch, and a trimmer at work. PLUNDER, by Launcelot, out of Pleasant: a badger-pied hound, a capital line bunter. SIX YEARS. VANQUISH, by Frankfort, out of Vigorous: very good, BONNYLASS, by Boaster, out of Prudence: a black-pied bitch, as good as gold. RARITY by Rutland, out of Wary: two hardworking hounds; the first badger, RUIN.. the other yellow-pied. FIVE YEARS. FAITHFUL, by Flyer, out of Fearless: a lemon-pied bitch. WILLING, by Duncan, out of Winifred a black-tan bitch. WARLOCK, by Flyer, out of Wily: this is a very handsome black-and-tan hound; sensible, hardworking, and combining all the qualifications of a high-bred foxhound. FOUR YEARS. MATRON, by Lord Fitzwilliam's Mentor, out of Fearless: a grey-pied bitch. HALBERT, by Hero, out of Honesty a grey-pied hound; excellent in his work. FLYAWAY, by Flyer, out of Vesta: a remarkably clever dark-tan bitch, and very quick in her work. DAUNTLESS, by Dashwood, out of Fatal: a dark-tan bitch. BOUNDLESS, by Boaster, out of Rapture a yellow-pied hound. CHAMPION. TWO YEARS. by the Duke of Rutland's Sportsman, out of Boundless: a capital lot of hounds. ONE YEAR. LAUDABLE. by Herald, out of Lavender: two very good, promising, young LADY..... bitches. PRIMATE.. by Potentate, out of Fatal: a black-tan lot, and very promising; PRESIDENT Potent has displayed such unusual excellence that he has been turned to account as a stallion hound. POTENT. RUFUS.... REMUS... RADIANT.. by Lord Fitzwilliam's Hermit, out of Rarity: the two first are capital young hounds, the two last badger-pied, and equally promising. William Long is an old servant of the Beaufort family. In the year 1808 he first appeared by the cover-side with hounds; his quickness and elegant horsemanship soon attracted the attention of his Grace the late Duke of Beaufort, who, when an accident occurred to the whipper-in, John Wood, in 1809, appointed Long as his successor. In this capacity he worked regularly under Philip Payne until 1826, when he was called upon to succeed that veteran as huntsman to the Beaufort Hounds. No man in England has done more honour to his station in life than Will Long; a steady, judicious huntsman, respectful himself, and respected by all; he labours to do his duty, and, doing that, is certain of his reward. Monday, February 24th, met at Shipton-le-Moyne: a goodly muster, not less than 200 of blue, pink, and black coats came to the cover-side and a rare day's sport was the result. Found in Shipton Wood. After a short delay the fox broke away for Newington village, crossed the Foss, and pointed for Chelwell; but here an untoward circumstance occurred, the hounds got upon the heel of another fox, and before the mistake was discovered it was too late to pursue their first game. The hounds were then taken towards Mr. Bucknell Estcourt's to draw his laurels and garden, where last season they found a fox lying within twenty yards of a chained mastiff, but, in passing by Shipton Wood, the hounds were allowed to run through it. "The laurels will keep," said Will Long, as he heard a young "Hermit" hound throw her tongue in a desperate hurry; and the next moment a simultaneous crash rent the air, the horses pricked up their ears, the riders gathered up their reins, and, in another moment, the whole body swept forwards, like a hurricane, in the direction of Charlton Park; the fox, however, turned to the left, and made a strong point for Hankerton, but was headed, and crossed the park, where, by mistake, a good sportsman inadvertently brought the hounds to a check-he had halloed a cock pheasant! Long, however, was quickly on his line, and hunted up to him in some briars; he then passed through the park, through Kemble Wood, leaving Jackaments on the right, over the Down, and, running parallel with the Cirencester and Tetbury-road, reached Rodmarton, and crossed the Foss to Chelwell; here the hounds were brought to cold hunting, and, night coming on, were reluctantly stopped. This was a long day for hounds and horses; the bitches, twenty-one couple of which left the kennel in the morning, did not return to it before half past nine at night; and the heavy ground, strong fencing, and the pace throughout, told severely upon the horses. His Grace declared that the death of the fox would have crowned the day, and that the finale alone was wanting to render it one of the best days upon record. The fine field of the morning dwindled down to a small twenty before night; two officers who were present did honour to her Majesty's service, nor quitted the field till the flag was struck. Mr. Miles, M.P.; Mr. J. Bailey; Captain E. Somerset, M.P., who is a steady, good sportsman; the Marquis of Worcester; Sir John Duntze, a Devonshire baronet, a welter that won't be denied;" Mr. Fuller; Mr. Edmund Estcourt; and Mr. R. Holford, a capital friend to foxes, were the gentlemen who went to the last. 66 A meet on the Badminton Lawn is a sight which every man should see at least once in his life; he would then have some notion of the importance and attraction which a pack of hounds, maintained in magnificent style, commands; he would then comprehend what Macaulay says with reference to the Beaufort family in the days of James II. :-"The power of Beaufort bore some faint resemblance to that of the great barons in the fifteenth century. He was President of Wales and Lord Lieutenant of four English counties. His official tours through the extensive region in which he represented the majesty of the throne were scarcely inferior in pomp to royal progresses. His household at Badminton was regulated after the fashion of an earlier generation. The land to a great extent round his pleasure grounds was in his own hands, and the labourers who cultivated it formed part of his family. Nine tables were every day spread under his roof for two hundred personsa crowd of gentlemen and pages were under the orders of his steward, A whole troop of cavalry obeyed the master of the horse. The fame of the kitchen, the cellar, the kennel, and the stables was spread over all England. The gentry many miles round were proud of the magnificence of their great neighbour, and were, at the same time, charmed by his affability and good nature." What Macaulay has said of the ancestor, we take leave to say of his descendant, the present noble Duke, that a higher caste of gentleman or a more affable nobleman never represented the Plantagenet blood. In the far-famed Pytchley country, both before and since the frost, the sport has been of the first order. Many of the runs have been of so clipping a character, that men and horses have cried "Enough," and gone home, while the sun was yet high in the sky. The best portion of the country is awfully fenced, and the riding, among those who will see hounds, has been pressing and severe; but they are not all members of the Pytchley hunt who ride to the Pytchley hounds. Numbers there are, and they are on the increase, who come regularly down from the metropolis and other large towns, who crowd the field, ride young horses, and over-ride the hounds, contributing largely to the discomfiture of sport, and nothing towards its maintenance. In former days, as well as the present, the Pytchley gentlemen had the character of being hard goers; and we are told that old Tom Rose, the famous huntsman of the Grafton hounds, had a wholesome dread of the "Red-coat flingers," or "Pytchley Wild-boys," as he used to call them. "The Pytchley Wildboys, who were ever for a scurry in the morning, used to indulge Tom with their company whenever they met in the open, and not being accustomed (when at home) to give them much room, used to drive them over it most unmercifully, and generally soon lost their first fox for them. As soon, however, as Tom's company had left him, or he had left them, by slipping down wind with a few farmers, and a field he could control, no hounds would settle sooner to their work, or make more of it." On Wednesday, the 14th of November, the Pytchley hounds met at Stanford Hall, and had two remarkably fast runs before 1 o'clock. They found their first fox in Swinford gorse: he went straight away, at a ripping pace, for Hemplow Hills, turned to the left over the brook, leaving South Kilworth and Mr. Gough's house on the right, and went to ground near Walcot: time, 23 minutes, and extreme pace throughout. The Pytchley gentlemen are indebted to Mr. Gough for many a good fox. He is a staunch preserver of the animal, and as true a friend to fox-hunting as there is in the world. A fox has not unfrequently been found close to his dining-room window. Found No. 2 in Showell Wood: he went away for Misterton, with the pack close at his brush; left Lutterworth on the right, and flew over as fine a country as fox ever crossed, towards Church Over, where he went to ground. It was just one o'clock when they earthed him: time, 35 minutes. The strug gle was a desperate one, the fox scarcely a field ahead, and the pack screeching in his rear. The gallant animal, however, gained his point and his life only by a few seconds, and will doubtless show them another brush. On Monday, 19th, they met at Cottesbrook: found three or four brace of foxes at once in Coaton Park, a small cover of four acres. Got away with a lean, hungry-looking dog fox, and ran him hard by Ravensthorpe, Buckly Folly, West Haddon, Winwick Warren, and pointing for Hamplow Hill; but changing his tactics, the fox bore to the right, leaving Elkington on the let by Cold Ashby. The country, over which the chase had swept, now presented a picture such as is seldom seen in less "rasping" countries. Men and horses in every form of difficulty and disaster, rolling, sobbing, and straining every nerve to keep their places; some beat to a stand-still ages behind; some hanging like Mahomet's coffin between earth and heaven in strong bulfinches, the riders wondering whether heads or tails would have the preponderance; and a few living in front, the ecstatic spectators of the foxhound's power, dash, and determination. They ran into this stout fox near Thornby. He stood one hour before them, at a pace that has seldom been surpassed. Wednesday, 21st, at Crick, a favourite meet of the Pytchley hounds. Found him in "the sticks," and after running about ten minutes, the scent was so good, that they "rousted" him out in a desperate hurry. Away he went, like an arrow, for Hilmorton gorse, and skirting it, pointed for Stanford; but the hounds pressing him so hard, forced him towards Winnick Spinnies: he then crossed the canal, and made a straight point for Yelvertoft gorse; but he dare not enter it, and passing on, turned short to the left towards Yelvertoft village, where the hounds ran into him. Time, exactly one hour; 50 minutes of which was over the open, and that open the finest in Northamptonshire. The huntsman, as he should do, occupied the front rank throughout. A better man never faced a country; he has a fine seat, a light hand, a quick eye, indomitable courage, in fact every requisite for a first-rate rider to hounds. With him came Mr. George Payne, who is too well known to need description. Mr. Bingham Newland, the Hon. Frederick Villiers, Mr. Knightley, and a Mr. Bennett, in a dark coat, but which coat never fails to be conspicuous when hounds settle to hard running. The Pytchley country is so distinguished a one, that a short description of it cannot fail to interest those who take interest in such matters. It has long maintained a character second only to the Quorn. Its large grass grounds are famous for holding a scent; its fences are awfully strong, and nothing but a first-class horse, with a resolute, good rider on his back, can live with hounds when they drop to hard running. The following is a list of its many distinguished masters, as they have succeeded each other:-Lord Spencer, Mr. Buller, Mr. John Warde, who held the country for 13 years, and on resigning it, sold his pack to Lord Althorp for 1000 guineas, who succeeded him; then Lord Sondes, Sir Charles Knightley, Sir Bellingham Graham, Mr. John Musters, who held it for seven years, and resigning on his father's death, sold his pack for 1000 guineas, to Lord Middleton, who took them into South Notts; after Mr. Musters came Mr, Osbaldeston, "the Squire," with his celebrated pack of "Flying Ladies," and Jack Stevens at the head of them; then Mr. Wilkins, for one year; Mr. George Payne, for four years; Lord Chesterfield, for two years; Mr. Smith, now of the Hambledon, for two years; Sir F. H. Goodricke, for two years; again Mr. George Payne, for three years; and lastly, Viscount Alford, who, to the infinite regret of every member of the hunt, is now absent and unable to attend to his duties on account of ill health. Report, however, announces a decided improvement in his lordship's health, and, moreover, that in all probability, he will be able to take an active part in the management of his hounds during the next season, The celebrated Vanderplank's gorse held a good fox on the 1st of December. They ran him hard for 1 hour and 35 minutes, but the fox prevailed. On Wednesday, the 12th, they met at Misterton, and found a fox at Mr. Gough's, North Kilworth; but the hounds were so shamefully over-ridden by the field, that he was soon lost. Found No. 2 in South Kilworth cover; ran him hard to Stanford Hall, and killed him. Found No. 3 at Hemplow, and went away closo at his brush, with a burning scent, for Kilworth; turned towards Welford, by Cold Ashby, and almost up to Thornby, when he pointed for Guilsborough |