Of all sights in the world there is, I think, none more beautiful than that of a pack of fox-hounds seated, on a winter morning, round the huntsman, if the place of meeting has been chosen with anything of artistic skill. It should be in a grassy field, and the field should be small. It should not be absolutely away from all buildings, and the hedgerows should not have been clipped and pared, and made straight with reference to modern agricultural economy. There should be trees near, and the ground should be a little uneven, so as to mark some certain small space as the exact spot where the dogs and servants of the hunt should congregate.
There are well-known grand meets in England, in the parks of noblemen, before their houses, or even on what are called their lawns; but these magnificent affairs have but little of the beauty of which I speak. Such assemblies are too grand and too ornate, and, moreover, much too far removed from true sporting proprieties. At them, equipages are shining, and ladies' dresses are gorgeous, and crowds of tradesmen from the neighbouring town have come there to look at the grand folk. To my eye there is nothing beautiful in that. The meet I speak of is arranged with a view to sport, but the accident of the locality may make it the prettiest thing in the world.
Such, in a special degree, was the case at Edgehill. At Edgehill the whole village consisted of three or four cottages; but there was a small old church, with an old grey tower, and a narrow, green, almost dark, churchyard, surrounded by elm-trees. The road from Roebury to the meet passed by the church stile, and turning just beyond it came upon the gate which led into the little field in which the hounds felt themselves as much at home as in their kennels. There might be six or seven acres in the field, which was long and narrow, so that the huntsman had space to walk leisurely up and down with the pack clustering round him, when he considered that longer sitting might chill them. The church tower was close at hand, visible through the trees, and the field itself was green and soft, though never splashing with mud or heavy with holes.
Edgehill was a favourite meet in that country, partly because foxes were very abundant in the great wood adjacent, partly because the whole country around is grass-land, and partly, no doubt, from the sporting propensities of the neighbouring population. As regards my own taste, I do not know that I do like beginning a day with a great wood,--and if not beginning it, certainly not ending it. It is hard to come upon the cream of hunting, as it is upon the cream of any other delight. Who can always drink Lafitte of the finest, can always talk to a woman who is both beautiful and witty, or can always find the right spirit in the poetry he reads? A man has usually to work through much mud before he gets his nugget. It is so certainly in hunting, and a big wood too frequently afflicts the sportsman, as the mud does the miner. The small gorse cover is the happy, much-envied bit of ground in which the gold is sure to show itself readily. But without the woods the gorse would not hold the foxes, and without the mud the gold would not have found its resting-place.
But, as I have said, Edgehill was a popular meet, and, as regarded the meet itself, was eminently picturesque. On the present occasion the little field was full of horsemen, moving about slowly, chatting together, smoking cigars, getting off from their hacks and mounting their hunters, giving orders to their servants, and preparing for the day. There were old country gentlemen there, greeting each other from far sides of the county; sporting farmers who love to find themselves alongside their landlords, and to feel that the pleasures of the country are common to both; men down from town, like our friends of the Roebury club, who made hunting their chosen pleasure, and who formed, in number, perhaps the largest portion of the field; officers from garrisons round about; a cloud of servants, and a few nondescript stragglers who had picked up horses, hither and thither, round the country. Outside the gate on the road were drawn up a variety of vehicles, open carriages, dog-carts, gigs, and waggonettes, in some few of which were seated ladies who had come over to see the meet. But Edgehill was, essentially, not a ladies' meet. The distances to it were long, and the rides in Cranby Wood--the big wood--were not adapted for wheels. There were one or two ladies on horseback, as is always the case; but Edgehill was not a place popular, even with hunting ladies. One carriage, that of the old master of the hounds, had entered the sacred precincts of the field, and from this the old baronet was just descending, as Maxwell, Calder Jones, and Vavasor rode into the field.
[Illustration: Edgehill.]
"I hope I see you well, Sir William," said Maxwell, greeting the master. Calder Jones also made his little speech, and so did Vavasor.
"Humph--well, yes, I'm pretty well, thank'ee. Just move on, will you? My mare can't stir here." Then some one else spoke to him, and he only grunted in answer. Having slowly been assisted up on to his horse,--for he was over seventy years of age,--he trotted off to the hounds, while all the farmers round him touched their hats to him. But his mind was laden with affairs of import, and he noticed no one. In a whispered voice he gave his instructions to his huntsman, who said, "Yes, Sir William," "No, Sir William," "No doubt, Sir William." One long-eared, long-legged fellow, in a hunting-cap and scarlet coat, hung listening by, anxious to catch something of the orders for the morning. "Who the devil's that fellow, that's all breeches and boots?" said Sir William aloud to some one near him, as the huntsman moved off with the hounds. Sir William knew the man well enough, but was minded to punish him for his discourtesy. "Where shall we find first, Sir William?" said Calder Jones, in a voice that was really very humble. "How the mischief am I to know where the foxes are?" said Sir William, with an oath; and Calder Jones retired unhappy, and for the moment altogether silenced.
And yet Sir William was the most popular man in the county, and no more courteous gentleman ever sat at the bottom of his own table. A mild man he was, too, when out of his saddle, and one by no means disposed to assume special supremacy. But a master of hounds, if he have long held the country,--and Sir William had held his for more than thirty years,--obtains a power which that of no other potentate can equal. He may say and do what he pleases, and his tyranny is always respected. No conspiracy against him has a chance of success; no sedition will meet with sympathy;--that is, if he be successful in showing sport. If a man be sworn at, abused, and put down without cause, let him bear it and think that he has been a victim for the public good. And let him never be angry with the master. That rough tongue is the necessity of the master's position. They used to say that no captain could manage a ship without swearing at his men. But what are the captain's troubles in comparison with those of the master of hounds? The captain's men are under discipline, and can be locked up, flogged, or have their grog stopped. The master of hounds cannot stop the grog of any offender, and he can only stop the tongue, or horse, of such an one by very sharp words.
"Well, Pollock, when did you come?" said Maxwell.
"By George," said the literary gentleman, "just down from London by the 8.30 from Euston Square, and got over here from Winslow in a trap, with two fellows I never saw in my life before. We came tandem in a fly, and did the nineteen miles in an hour."
"Come, Athenian, draw it mild," said Maxwell.
"We did, indeed. I wonder whether they'll pay me their share of the fly. I had to leave Onslow Crescent at a quarter before eight, and I did three hours' work before I started."
"Then you did it by candle-light," said Grindley.
"Of course I did; and why shouldn't I? Do you suppose no one can work by candle-light except a lawyer? I suppose you fellows were playing whist, and drinking hard. I'm uncommon glad I wasn't with you, for I shall be able to ride."
"I bet you a pound," said Jones, "if there's a run, I see more of it than you."
"I'll take that bet with Jones," said Grindley, "and Vavasor shall be the judge."
"Gentlemen, the hounds can't get out, if you will stop up the gate," said Sir William. Then the pack passed through, and they all trotted on for four miles, to Cranby Wood.
Vavasor, as he rode on to the wood, was alone, or speaking, from time to time, a few words to his servant. "I'll ride the chestnut mare in the wood," he said, "and do you keep near me."
"I bean't to be galloping up and down them rides, I suppose," said Bat, almost contemptuously.
"I shan't gallop up and down the rides, myself; but do you mark me, to know where I am, so that I can change if a fox should go away."
"You'll be here all day, sir. That's my belief."
"If so, I won't ride the brown horse at all. But do you take care to let me have him if there's a chance. Do you understand?"
"Oh, yes, I understand, sir. There ain't no difficulty in my understanding;--only I don't think, sir, you'll ever get a fox out of that wood to-day. Why, it stands to reason. The wind's from the north-east."
Cranby Wood is very large,--there being, in truth, two or three woods together. It was nearly twelve before they found; and then for an hour there was great excitement among the men, who rode up and down the rides as the hounds drove the fox from one end to another of the enclosure. Once or twice the poor animal did try to go away, and then there was great hallooing, galloping, and jumping over unnecessary fences; but he was headed back again, or changed his mind, not liking the north-east wind of which Bat Smithers had predicted such bad things. After one the crowd of men became rather more indifferent, and clustered together in broad spots, eating their lunch, smoking cigars, and chaffing each other. It was singular to observe the amazing quantity of ham sandwiches and of sherry that had been carried into Cranby Wood on that day. Grooms appeared to have been laden with cases, and men were as well armed with flasks at their saddle-bows as they used to be with pistols. Maxwell and Pollock formed the centre of one of these crowds, and chaffed each other with the utmost industry, till, tired of having inflicted no wounds, they turned upon Grindley and drove him out of the circle. "You'll make that man cut his throat, if you go on at that," said Pollock. "Shall I?" said Maxwell. "Then I'll certainly stick to him for the sake of humanity in general." During all this time Vavasor sat apart, quite alone, and Bat Smithers grimly kept his place, about three hundred yards from him.
"We shan't do any good to-day," said Grindley, coming up to Vavasor.
"I'm sure I don't know," said Vavasor.
"That old fellow has got to be so stupid, he doesn't know what he's about," said Grindley, meaning Sir William.
"How can he make the fox break?" said Vavasor; and as his voice was by no means encouraging Grindley rode away.
Lunch and cigars lasted till two, during which hour the hounds, the huntsmen, the whips, and old Sir William were hard at work, as also were some few others who persistently followed every chance of the game. From that till three there were two or three flashes in the pan, and false reports as to foxes which had gone away, which first set men galloping, and then made them very angry. After three, men began to say naughty things, to abuse Cranby Wood, to wish violently that they had remained at home or gone elsewhere, and to speak irreverently of their ancient master. "It's the cussidest place in all creation," said Maxwell. "I often said I'd not come here any more, and now I say it again."
"And yet you'll be here the next meet," said Grindley, who had sneaked back to his old companions in weariness of spirit.
"Grindems, you know a sight too much," said Maxwell; "you do indeed. An ordinary fellow has no chance with you."
Grindley was again going to catch it, but was on this time saved by the appearance of the huntsman, who came galloping up one of the rides, with a lot of the hounds at his heels.
"He isn't away, Tom, surely?" said Maxwell.
"He's out of the wood somewheres," said Tom;--and off they all went. Vavasor changed his horse, getting on to the brown one, and giving up his chestnut mare to Bat Smithers, who suggested that he might as well go home to Roebury now. Vavasor gave him no answer, but, trotting on to the point where the rides met, stopped a moment and listened carefully. Then he took a path diverging away from that by which the huntsmen and the crowd of horsemen had gone, and made the best of his way through the wood. At the end of this he came upon Sir William, who, with no one near him but his servant, was standing in the pathway of a little hunting-gate.
"Hold hard," said Sir William. "The hounds are not out of the wood yet."
"Is the fox away, sir?"
"What's the good of that if we can't get the hounds out?--Yes, he's away. He passed out where I'm standing." And then he began to blow his horn lustily, and by degrees other men and a few hounds came down the ride. Then Tom, with his horse almost blown, made his appearance outside the wood, and soon there came a rush of men, nearly on the top of one another, pushing on, not knowing whither, but keenly alive to the fact that the fox had at last consented to move his quarters.
Tom touched his hat, and looked at his master, inquiringly. "He's gone for Claydon's," said the master. "Try them up that hedgerow." Tom did try them up the hedgerow, and in half a minute the hounds came upon the scent. Then you might see men settling their hats on their heads, and feeling their feet in the stirrups. The moment for which they had so long waited had come, and yet there were many who would now have preferred that the fox should be headed back into cover. Some had but little confidence in their half-blown horses;--with many the waiting, though so abused and anathematized, was in truth more to their taste than the run itself;--with others the excitement had gone by, and a gallop over a field or two was necessary before it would be restored. With most men at such a moment there is a little nervousness, some fear of making a bad start, a dread lest others should have more of the success of the hunt than falls to them. But there was a great rush and a mighty bustle as the hounds made out their game, and Sir William felt himself called upon to use the rough side of his tongue to more than one delinquent.
And then certain sly old stagers might be seen turning off to the left, instead of following the course of the game as indicated by the hounds. They were men who had felt the air as they came out, and knew that the fox must soon run down wind, whatever he might do for the first half mile or so,--men who knew also which was the shortest way to Claydon's by the road. Ah, the satisfaction that there is when these men are thrown out, and their dead knowledge proved to be of no avail! If a fox will only run straight, heading from the cover on his real line, these very sagacious gentlemen seldom come to much honour and glory.
In the present instance the beast seemed determined to go straight enough, for the hounds ran the scent along three or four hedgerows in a line. He had managed to get for himself full ten minutes' start, and had been able to leave the cover and all his enemies well behind him before he bethought himself as to his best way to his purposed destination. And here, from field to field, there were little hunting-gates at which men crowded lustily, poking and shoving each other's horses, and hating each other with a bitterness of hatred which is, I think, known nowhere else. No hunting man ever wants to jump if he can help it, and the hedges near the gate were not alluring. A few there were who made lines for themselves, taking the next field to the right, or scrambling through the corners of the fences while the rush was going on at the gates; and among these was George Vavasor. He never rode in a crowd, always keeping himself somewhat away from men as well as hounds. He would often be thrown out, and then men would hear no more of him for that day. On such occasions he did not show himself, as other men do, twenty minutes after the fox had been killed or run to ground,--but betook himself home by himself, going through the byeways and lanes, thus leaving no report of his failure to be spoken of by his compeers.
As long as the line of gates lasted, the crowd continued as thick as ever, and the best man was he whose horse could shove the hardest. After passing some four or five fields in this way they came out upon a road, and, the scent holding strong, the dogs crossed it without any demurring. Then came doubt into the minds of men, many of whom, before they would venture away from their position on the lane, narrowly watched the leading hounds to see whether there was indication of a turn to the one side or the other. Sir William, whose seventy odd years excused him, turned sharp to the left, knowing that he could make Claydon's that way; and very many were the submissive horsemen who followed him; a few took the road to the right, having in their minds some little game of their own. The hardest riders there had already crossed from the road into the country, and were going well to the hounds, ignorant, some of them, of the brook before them, and others unheeding. Foremost among these was Burgo Fitzgerald,--Burgo Fitzgerald, whom no man had ever known to crane at a fence, or to hug a road, or to spare his own neck or his horse's. And yet poor Burgo seldom finished well,--coming to repeated grief in this matter of his hunting, as he did so constantly in other matters of his life.
But almost neck and neck with Burgo was Pollock, the sporting literary gentleman. Pollock had but two horses to his stud, and was never known to give much money for them;--and he weighed without his boots, fifteen stones! No one ever knew how Pollock did it;--more especially as all the world declared that he was as ignorant of hunting as any tailor. He could ride, or when he couldn't ride he could tumble,--men said that of him,--and he would ride as long as the beast under him could go. But few knew the sad misfortunes which poor Pollock sometimes encountered;--the muddy ditches in which he was left; the despair with which he would stand by his unfortunate horse when the poor brute could no longer move across some deep-ploughed field; the miles that he would walk at night beside a tired animal, as he made his way slowly back to Roebury!
Then came Tom the huntsman, with Calder Jones close to him, and Grindley intent on winning his sovereign. Vavasor had also crossed the road somewhat to the left, carrying with him one or two who knew that he was a safe man to follow. Maxwell had been ignominiously turned by the hedge, which, together with its ditch, formed a fence such as all men do not love at the beginning of a run. He had turned from it, acknowledging the cause. "By George!" said he, "that's too big for me yet awhile; and there's no end of a river at the bottom." So he had followed the master down the road.
All those whom we have named managed to get over the brook, Pollock's horse barely contriving to get up his hind legs from the broken edge of the bank. Some nags refused it, and their riders thus lost all their chance of sport for that day. Such is the lot of men who hunt. A man pays five or six pounds for his day's amusement, and it is ten to one that the occurrences of the day disgust rather than gratify him! One or two got in, and scrambled out on the other side, but Tufto Pearlings, the Manchester man from Friday Street, stuck in the mud at the bottom, and could not get his mare out till seven men had come with ropes to help him. "Where the devil is my fellow?" Pearlings asked of the countrymen; but the countrymen could not tell him that "his fellow" with his second horse was riding the hunt with great satisfaction to himself.
George Vavasor found that his horse went with him uncommonly well, taking his fences almost in the stride of his gallop, and giving unmistakeable signs of good condition. "I wonder what it is that's amiss with him," said George to himself, resolving, however, that he would sell him that day if he got an opportunity. Straight went the line of the fox, up from the brook, and Tom began to say that his master had been wrong about Claydon's.
"Where are we now?" said Burgo, as four or five of them dashed through the open gate of a farmyard.
"This is Bulby's farm," said Tom, "and we're going right away for Elmham Wood."
"Elmham Wood be d----," said a stout farmer, who had come as far as that with them. "You won't see Elmham Wood to-day."
"I suppose you know best," said Tom; and then they were through the yard, across another road, and down a steep ravine by the side of a little copse. "He's been through them firs, any way," said Tom. "To him, Gaylass!" Then up they went the other side of the ravine, and saw the body of the hounds almost a field before them at the top.
"I say,--that took some of the wind out of a fellow," said Pollock.
"You mustn't mind about wind now," said Burgo, dashing on.
"Wasn't the pace awful, coming up to that farmhouse?" said Calder Jones, looking round to see if Grindley was shaken off. But Grindley, with some six or seven others, was still there. And there, also, always in the next field to the left, was George Vavasor. He had spoken no word to any one since the hunt commenced, nor had he wished to speak to any one. He desired to sell his horse,--and he desired also to succeed in the run for other reasons than that, though I think he would have found it difficult to define them.
Now they had open grass land for about a mile, but with very heavy fences,--so that the hounds gained upon them a little, and Pollock's weight began to tell. The huntsman and Burgo were leading with some fortunate county gentleman whose good stars had brought him in upon them at the farmyard gate. It is the injustice of such accidents as this that breaks the heart of a man who has honestly gone through all the heat and work of the struggle! And the hounds had veered a little round to the left, making, after all, for Claydon's. "Darned if the Squire warn't right," said Tom. Sir William, though a baronet, was familiarly called the Squire throughout the hunt.
"We ain't going for Claydon's now?" asked Burgo.
"Them's Claydon's beeches we sees over there," said Tom. "'Tain't often the Squire's wrong."
Here they came to a little double rail and a little quick-set hedge. A double rail is a nasty fence always if it has been made any way strong, and one which a man with a wife and a family is justified in avoiding. They mostly can be avoided, having gates; and this could have been avoided. But Burgo never avoided anything, and went over it beautifully. The difficulty is to be discreet when the man before one has been indiscreet. Tom went for the gate, as did Pollock, who knew that he could have no chance at the double rails. But Calder Jones came to infinite grief, striking the top bar of the second rail, and going head-foremost out of his saddle, as though thrown by a catapult. There we must leave him. Grindley, rejoicing greatly at this discomfiture, made for the gate; but the country gentleman with the fresh horse accomplished the rails, and was soon alongside of Burgo.
"I didn't see you at the start," said Burgo.
"And I didn't see you," said the country gentleman; "so it's even."
Burgo did not see the thing in the same light, but he said no more. Grindley and Tom were soon after them, Tom doing his utmost to shake off the attorney. Pollock was coming on also; but the pace had been too much for him, and though the ground rode light his poor beast laboured and grunted sorely. The hounds were still veering somewhat to the left, and Burgo, jumping over a small fence into the same field with them, saw that there was a horseman ahead of him. This was George Vavasor, who was going well, without any symptom of distress.
And now they were at Claydon's, having run over some seven miles of ground in about thirty-five minutes. To those who do not know what hunting is, this pace does not seem very extraordinary; but it had been quite quick enough, as was testified by the horses which had gone the distance. Our party entered Claydon's Park at back, through a gate in the park palings that was open on hunting days; but a much more numerous lot was there almost as soon as them, who had come in by the main entrance. This lot was headed by Sir William, and our friend Maxwell was with him.
"A jolly thing so far," said Burgo to Maxwell; "about the best we've had this year."
"I didn't see a yard of it," said Maxwell. "I hadn't nerve to get off the first road, and I haven't been off it ever since." Maxwell was a man who never lied about his hunting, or had the slightest shame in riding roads. "Who's been with you?" said he.
"There've been Tom and I;--and Calder Jones was there for a while. I think he killed himself somewhere. And there was Pollock, and your friend Grindley, and a chap whose name I don't know who dropped out of heaven about half-way in the run; and there was another man whose back I saw just now; there he is,--by heavens, it's Vavasor! I didn't know he was here."
They hung about the Claydon covers for ten minutes, and then their fox went off again,--their fox or another, as to which there was a great discussion afterwards; but he who would have suggested the idea of a new fox to Sir William would have been a bold man. A fox, however, went off, turning still to the left from Claydon's towards Roebury. Those ten minutes had brought up some fifty men; but it did not bring up Calder Jones nor Tufto Pearlings, nor some half-dozen others who had already come to serious misfortune; but Grindley was there, very triumphant in his own success, and already talking of Jones's sovereign. And Pollock was there also, thankful for the ten minutes' law, and trusting that wind might be given to his horse to finish the run triumphantly.
But the pace on leaving Claydon's was better than ever. This may have come from the fact that the scent was keener, as they got out so close upon their game. But I think they must have changed their fox. Maxwell, who saw him go, swore that he was fresh and clean. Burgo said that he knew it to be the same fox, but gave no reason. "Same fox! in course it was; why shouldn't it be the same?" said Tom. The country gentleman who had dropped from heaven was quite sure that they had changed, and so were most of those who had ridden the road. Pollock confined himself to hoping that he might soon be killed, and that thus his triumph for the day might be assured.
On they went, and the pace soon became too good for the poor author. His horse at last refused a little hedge, and there was not another trot to be got out of him. That night Pollock turned up at Roebury about nine o'clock, very hungry,--and it was known that his animal was alive;--but the poor horse ate not a grain of oats that night, nor on the next morning. Vavasor had again taken a line to himself, on this occasion a little to the right of the meet; but Maxwell followed him and rode close with him to the end. Burgo for a while still led the body of the field, incurring at first much condemnation from Sir William,--nominally for hurrying on among the hounds, but in truth because he got before Sir William himself. During this latter part of the run Sir William stuck to the hounds in spite of his seventy odd years. Going down into Marham Bottom, some four or five were left behind, for they feared the soft ground near the river, and did not know the pass through it. But Sir William knew it, and those who remained close to him got over that trouble. Burgo, who would still lead, nearly foundered in the bog;--but he was light, and his horse pulled him through,--leaving a fore-shoe in the mud. After that Burgo was contented to give Sir William the lead.
Then they came up by Marham Pits to Cleshey Small Wood, which they passed without hanging there a minute, and over the grass lands of Cleshey Farm. Here Vavasor and Maxwell joined the others, having gained some three hundred yards in distance by their course, but having been forced to jump the Marham Stream which Sir William had forded. The pace now was as good as the horses could make it,--and perhaps something better as regarded some of them. Sir William's servant had been with him, and he had got his second horse at Claydon's; Maxwell had been equally fortunate; Tom's second horse had not come up, and his beast was in great distress; Grindley had remained behind at Marham Bottom, being contented perhaps with having beaten Calder Jones,--from whom by-the-by I may here declare that he never got his sovereign. Burgo, Vavasor, and the country gentleman still held on; but it was devoutly desired by all of them that the fox might soon come to the end of his tether. Ah! that intense longing that the fox may fail, when the failings of the horse begin to make themselves known,--and the consciousness comes on that all that one has done will go for nothing unless the thing can be brought to a close in a field or two! So far you have triumphed, leaving scores of men behind; but of what good is all that, if you also are to be left behind at the last?
It was manifest now to all who knew the country that the fox was making for Thornden Deer Park, but Thornden Deer Park was still two miles ahead of them, and the hounds were so near to their game that the poor beast could hardly hope to live till he got there. He had tried a well-known drain near Cleshey Farm House; but it had been inhospitably, nay cruelly, closed against him. Soon after that he threw himself down in a ditch, and the eager hounds overran him, giving him a moment's law,--and giving also a moment's law to horses that wanted it as badly. "I'm about done for," said Burgo to Maxwell. "Luckily for you," said Maxwell, "the fox is much in the same way."
But the fox had still more power left in him than poor Burgo Fitzgerald's horse. He gained a minute's check and then he started again, being viewed away by Sir William himself. The country gentleman of whom mention has been made also viewed him, and holloa'd as he did so: "Yoicks, tally; gone away!" The unfortunate man! "What the d---- are you roaring at?" said Sir William. "Do you suppose I don't know where the fox is?" Whereupon the country gentleman retreated, and became less conspicuous than he had been.
Away they went again, off Cleshey and into Thornden parish, on the land of Sorrel Farm,--a spot well to be remembered by one or two ever afterwards. Here Sir William made for a gate which took him a little out of the line, but Maxwell and Burgo Fitzgerald, followed by Vavasor, went straight ahead. There was a huge ditch and boundary bank there which Sir William had known and had avoided. Maxwell, whose pluck had returned to him at last, took it well. His horse was comparatively fresh and made nothing of it. Then came poor Burgo! Oh, Burgo, hadst thou not have been a very child, thou shouldst have known that now, at this time of the day,--after all that thy gallant horse had done for thee,--it was impossible to thee or him. But when did Burgo Fitzgerald know anything? He rode at the bank as though it had been the first fence of the day, striking his poor beast with his spurs, as though muscle, strength, and new power could be imparted by their rowels. The animal rose at the bank and in some way got upon it, scrambling as he struck it with his chest, and then fell headlong into the ditch at the other side, a confused mass of head, limbs, and body. His career was at an end, and he had broken his heart! Poor noble beast, noble in vain! To his very last gasp he had done his best, and had deserved that he should have been in better hands. His master's ignorance had killed him. There are men who never know how little a horse can do,--or how much!
There was to some extent a gap in the fence when Maxwell had first ridden it and Burgo had followed him; a gap, or break in the hedge at the top, indicating plainly the place at which a horse could best get over. To this spot Vavasor followed, and was on the bank at Burgo's heels before he knew what had happened. But the man had got away and only the horse lay there in the ditch. "Are you hurt?" said Vavasor; "can I do anything?" But he did not stop, "If you can find a chap just send him to me," said Burgo in a melancholy tone. Then he sat down, with his feet in the ditch, and looked at the carcase of his horse.
There was no more need of jumping that day. The way was open into the next field,--a turnip field,--and there amidst the crisp breaking turnip-tops, with the breath of his enemies hot upon him, with their sharp teeth at his entrails, biting at them impotently in the agonies of his death struggle, poor Reynard finished his career. Maxwell was certainly the first there,--but Sir William and George Vavasor were close upon him. That taking of brushes of which we used to hear is a little out of fashion; but if such honour were due to any one it was due to Vavasor, for he and he only had ridden the hunt throughout. But he claimed no honour, and none was specially given to him. He and Maxwell rode homewards together, having sent assistance to poor Burgo Fitzgerald; and as they went along the road, saying but little to each other, Maxwell, in a very indifferent voice, asked him a question.
"What do you want for that horse, Vavasor?"
"A hundred and fifty," said Vavasor.
"He's mine," said Maxwell. So the brown horse was sold for about half his value, because he had brought with him a bad character.
Of all sights in the world there is, I think, none more beautiful than that of a pack of fox-hounds round the huntsman on a winter morning. There are some well-known hunting meets in the parks of noblemen, but these are too grand and ornate, and have more to do with fashion than with sport. The meeting I am thinking of is arranged for sport, but may happen to be the prettiest thing in the world.
Such was the case at Edgehill. The village consisted of three or four cottages, a small church with a grey tower, and a narrow green churchyard surrounded by elm-trees. The field by the church where the hounds gathered was green and soft, never splashing with mud or heavy with holes.
Edgehill was a favourite meet in that country, partly because foxes were very abundant in the great wood nearby. On the present occasion the field was full of horsemen, chatting, smoking cigars, getting off their hacks and mounting their hunters, and giving orders to their servants. There were old country gentlemen, greeting each other from far sides of the county; sporting farmers who love to find themselves alongside their landlords; men come from town to hunt, like our friends of the Roebury club; officers from garrisons round about; a cloud of servants, and a few nondescript stragglers.
Outside the gate on the road were drawn up a variety of open carriages and waggonettes, in some of which were seated ladies who had come to see the meet. There were one or two ladies on horseback; but Edgehill was not popular with hunting ladies. From one carriage, the master of the hounds was descending, just as Maxwell, Calder Jones, and Vavasor rode into the field.
"I hope I see you well, Sir William," said Maxwell, greeting the master.
"Humph - yes, I'm pretty well, thank'ee." Having slowly been assisted up on to his horse - for he was over seventy - he trotted off to the hounds, while all the farmers touched their hats to him. He whispered his instructions to his huntsman, who said, "Yes, Sir William," "No, Sir William," "No doubt, Sir William."
"Where shall we find first, Sir William?" said Calder Jones humbly.
"How the mischief am I to know where the foxes are?" said Sir William, with an oath; and Calder Jones retired unhappy and silenced.
And yet Sir William was the most popular man in the county; a mild, courteous gentleman when out of his saddle. But a master of hounds of long standing obtains an unequalled power. He may say and do what he pleases, and his tyranny is always respected.
"Well, Pollock, when did you come?" said Maxwell.
"By George," said the literary gentleman, "just down from London by the 8.30 from Euston, and got over here from Winslow in a trap. I did three hours' work before I started."
"Then you did it by candle-light," said Grindley.
"Of course I did. Why shouldn't I? I suppose you fellows were playing whist, and drinking. I'm uncommon glad I wasn't with you, for I shall be able to ride."
"I bet you a pound," said Jones, "if there's a run, I see more of it than you."
"I'll take that bet with Jones," said Grindley, "and Vavasor shall be the judge."
"Gentlemen, the hounds can't get out, if you stand in the gate," said Sir William.
Then the pack of hounds passed through, and they all trotted on for four miles, to Cranby Wood. Vavasor rode alone, or speaking occasional words to his servant.
"I'll ride the chestnut mare in the wood," he said, "and you stay near me, so that I can change horses if a fox should go away."
"You'll be here all day, sir. That's my belief."
"If so, I won't ride the brown horse at all. But let me have him if there's a chance. Do you understand?"
"Oh, yes, sir. Only I don't think you'll ever get a fox out of that wood today. The wind's from the north-east."
Cranby Wood is very large, and it was nearly twelve before they found a fox; and then for an hour there was great excitement as the hounds drove the fox from one end to another of the enclosure. Once or twice the poor animal did try to get away, and then there was great hallooing, galloping, and jumping over unnecessary fences; but he was headed back again.
After one o'clock the crowd of men became more indifferent, and clustered together eating their lunch, smoking cigars, and chaffing each other. An amazing quantity of ham sandwiches and sherry had been carried into Cranby Wood that day. Maxwell and Pollock formed the centre of one of these crowds, and chaffed and made fun of each other with the utmost industry, and then turned upon Grindley. Meanwhile Vavasor sat apart, quite alone, and Bat Smithers grimly stood about three hundred yards away.
Lunch and cigars lasted till two. From then till three there were two or three false reports of foxes which had gone away, which first set men galloping, and then made them very angry. After three, men began to abuse Cranby Wood and to wish that they had stayed at home.
"It's the cussidest place in all creation," said Maxwell. "I won't come here again."
"You'll be here the next meet," said Grindley.
"Grindems, you know a sight too much," said Maxwell; "you do indeed."
Just then the huntsman came galloping up, with several hounds at his heels.
"He isn't away, Tom, surely?" said Maxwell.
"He's out of the wood somewheres," said Tom - and off they all went. Vavasor changed his horse, getting on to the brown one, and giving up his chestnut mare to Bat Smithers, who suggested that he might as well go home to Roebury now.
Vavasor gave him no answer, but stopped a moment and listened carefully. Then he took a path diverging away from that by which the huntsmen and the crowd of horsemen had gone, and made his way through the wood. At the end of this path he came upon Sir William, with no one near him but his servant, standing by a little hunting-gate.
"Hold hard," said Sir William. "The hounds are not out of the wood yet."
"Is the fox away, sir?"
"What's the good of that if we can't get the hounds out? Yes, he's away. He came out here." Then he began to blow his horn, and other men and a few hounds came down the ride. Soon there came Tom the huntsman and after him a rush of men, nearly on top of one another.
Tom touched his hat, and looked at his master inquiringly.
"He's gone for Claydon's," said the master. "Try them up that hedgerow."
Tom did try them up the hedgerow, and in half a minute the hounds found the scent. Men settled their hats on their heads, and their feet in the stirrups. The moment for which they had so long waited had come, and yet there were many who would now have preferred that the fox should be headed back into cover. Some had little confidence in their horses; and others needed a gallop over a field or two before their enthusiasm would be restored. Most men at such a moment are a little nervous. But there was a great rush and a mighty bustle as the hounds scented their game.
And then certain sly old stagers might be seen turning off to the left, instead of following the hounds. They were men who had felt the air, and knew that the fox must soon run downwind, whatever he might do for the first half mile or so - men who knew also knew the shortest way to Claydon's by the road.
At present the fox seemed determined to go straight, for the hounds ran the scent along three or four hedgerows in a line. He had managed to get full ten minutes' start, and had left his enemies well behind him. And here, from field to field, there were little hunting-gates at which men crowded, poking and shoving each other's horses, and hating each bitterly. No hunting man ever wants to jump if he can help it, and the hedges near the gate were not alluring.
There were a few who took their own route through an adjoining field, or scrambled through the corners of the fences; and among these was George Vavasor. He never rode in a crowd. If he lost the trail he would go home by himself, leaving no report of his failure to be spoken of by his companions.
After crossing some four or five fields in this way they came out upon a road, and the dogs crossed it without hesitation. Many men narrowly watched the leading hounds to see whether they showed signs of turning to one side or the other. Sir William turned sharp to the left, knowing that he could reach Claydon's that way; and very many horsemen followed him. But a few took the road to the right, having in their minds some little game of their own.
The fastest riders had already crossed the road into the country, close behind the hounds, some of them ignorant of the brook before them. Foremost among these was Burgo Fitzgerald, who never spared his own neck or his horse's. Poor Burgo seldom finished well; he came repeatedly to grief in his hunting, as he did so constantly in other matters of his life.
But almost neck and neck with Burgo was Pollock, the sporting literary gentleman. Pollock had only two cheap horses - and he weighed fifteen stones barefoot! No one ever knew how Pollock did it; but he would ride as long as the beast under him could go.
Then came Tom the huntsman, with Calder Jones close to him, and Grindley intent on winning his sovereign. Vavasor had also crossed the road somewhat to the left, along with one or two who knew that he was a safe man to follow. Maxwell had been turned by the hedge.
"By George!" said he, "that's too big for me; and there's no end of a river at the bottom." So he had followed the master down the road.
All those whom we have named managed to get over the brook. Some horses refused it, and their riders thus lost all their chance of sport for that day. George Vavasor found that his horse went uncommonly well, taking his fences almost in the stride of his gallop.
"I wonder what it is that's amiss with him," said George to himself, resolving, however, that he would sell him that day if he got a chance.
"Where are we now?" said Burgo, as four or five of them dashed through the open gate of a farmyard.
"This is Bulby's farm," said Tom, "and we're going for Elmham Wood."
"Elmham Wood be d----," said a stout farmer. "You won't see Elmham Wood today."
"I suppose you know best," said Tom; and then they were through the yard, across another road, and down a steep ravine by the side of a little copse. "He's been through them firs, anyway," said Tom. Then up they went the other side of the ravine, and saw the hounds almost a field ahead of them at the top.
"I say, that took some of the wind out of a fellow," said Pollock.
"Don't mind about that now," said Burgo, dashing on.
"Wasn't the pace awful?" said Calder Jones, looking round to see if Grindley was shaken off. But Grindley, with some six or seven others, was still there.
And there, also, always in the next field to the left, was George Vavasor. He had spoken no word to anyone, nor had he wished to. He desired to sell his horse - and he desired also to succeed in the hunt for other reasons, though he would have found it difficult to define them.
Now they had open grass for about a mile, but with very heavy fences; and the hounds veered round to the left, making, after all, for Claydon's.
"Darned if the Squire warn't right," said Tom. They came to a double rail and a quick-set hedge. A double rail is a nasty fence, and one which a man with a wife and family is justified in avoiding. They mostly can be avoided, having gates; and this one could have been avoided. But Burgo never avoided anything, and went over it beautifully. Tom went through the gate, as did Pollock, who knew that he could have no chance at the double rails.
But Calder Jones came to grief, striking the top bar, and going head-first out of his saddle, as though thrown by a catapult. There we must leave him. Grindley, rejoicing greatly at this discomfiture, took the gate; but a country gentleman with a fresh horse jumped the rails, and was soon alongside Burgo.
"I didn't see you at the start," said Burgo.
"And I didn't see you," said the country gentleman.
Burgo said no more. Grindley and Tom were soon after them, the huntsman doing his utmost to shake off the attorney. Pollock was coming on also; but the pace had been too much for him, and his poor beast laboured and grunted sorely. The hounds were still veering to the left, and Burgo, jumping over a small fence into the same field with them, saw that there was a horseman ahead of him. This was George Vavasor, who was going well.
And now they were at Claydon's, having run over some seven miles of ground in about thirty-five minutes. To those who do not hunt, this pace does not seem very extraordinary; but it had been quick enough. Our party entered Claydon's Park through a back gate, but many more, including Sir William and Maxwell, had come in by the main entrance.
"A jolly thing so far," said Burgo to Maxwell.
"I didn't see a yard of it," said Maxwell. "I was on the road. Who's been with you?"
"Tom; and Calder Jones was there for a while. I think he killed himself somewhere. And Pollock and Grindley, and a chap whose name I don't know who appeared about half-way; and another man - by heavens, it's Vavasor!"
They hung about for ten minutes, and then their fox went off again, turning towards Roebury. Those ten minutes had brought up some fifty men, among them Grindley, very triumphant in his own success, and already talking of Jones's sovereign. And Pollock was there also, thankful for the ten minutes' wait.
But on leaving Claydon's they went faster than ever, and the pace soon became too good for poor Pollock. His horse refused a little hedge, and there was not another trot to be got out of him. Vavasor had again taken his own route, this time to the right of the meet; but Maxwell followed him and rode close with him to the end. Burgo for a while led the body of the field, incurring condemnation from Sir William, who was behind him.
Going down into Marham Bottom, some four or five were left behind, for they feared the soft ground near the river, and did not know the way through it. But Sir William knew it, and those who remained close to him got over that trouble. Burgo nearly foundered in the bog; but he was light, and his horse pulled him through, leaving a shoe in the mud. After that Burgo was content to give Sir William the lead.
Then they came up by Marham Pits to Cleshey Small Wood, and over the grass lands of Cleshey Farm. Here Vavasor and Maxwell joined the others, having gained some three hundred yards, but having been forced to jump the Marham Stream. The pace now was as good as the horses could make it. Sir William's servant had been with him, and he had got his second horse at Claydon's; Maxwell had been equally fortunate. But Tom's second horse had not come up, and his beast was in great distress. Grindley had remained behind at Marham Bottom, being contented with having beaten Calder Jones (from whom, however, he never got his sovereign.)
Burgo, Vavasor, and the country gentleman still held on; but it was devoutly desired by all of them that the fox might soon come to the end of his tether. Ah! that intense longing that the fox may fail, when the horse is failing - and the knowledge that all the effort will go for nothing unless the thing ends soon! So far you have triumphed, leaving scores of men behind; but of what good is that, if you also are left behind at the last?
It was clear now that the fox was making for Thornden Deer Park, but that was still two miles ahead, and the hounds were so near to the poor beast that it could hardly hope to get there.
"I'm about done for," said Burgo to Maxwell.
"Luckily for you," said Maxwell, "the fox is much in the same way."
But the fox had still more power left in him than poor Burgo Fitzgerald's horse. He started off again, and away they went, onto the land of Sorrel Farm - a spot to be well remembered by one or two ever afterwards. Here Sir William made for a gate, but Maxwell and Burgo Fitzgerald, followed by Vavasor, went straight ahead. There was a huge ditch and boundary bank there which Sir William had known and avoided.
Maxwell took it well. His horse was comparatively fresh and made nothing of it. Then came poor Burgo! He rode at the bank as though it had been the first fence of the day. The animal somehow got upon the bank, and then fell headlong into the ditch at the other side, a confused mass of head, limbs, and body. Poor noble beast, he had broken his heart! To his very last gasp he had done his best, and deserved to have been in better hands. His master's ignorance had killed him.
There was a small gap in the fence where Maxwell had first ridden it: to this spot Vavasor followed, and was on the bank at Burgo's heels before he knew what had happened. Burgo had dismounted and the horse lay there in the ditch.
"Are you hurt?" said Vavasor; "can I do anything?" But he did not stop.
"If you can find a chap just send him to me," said Burgo in a melancholy tone. Then he sat down, with his feet in the ditch, and looked at his dead horse.
There was no more need of jumping that day. The way was open into the next field; and there amidst the crisp breaking turnip-tops, with the breath of his enemies hot upon him, the poor fox finished his career. Maxwell was the first there, but Sir William and George Vavasor were close behind him. If the taking of brushes were still in fashion, the honour would have been due to Vavasor. But he claimed no honour.
He and Maxwell rode home together, having sent assistance to Burgo Fitzgerald; and as they went along the road, Maxwell, in a very indifferent voice, asked:
"What do you want for that horse, Vavasor?"
"A hundred and fifty," said Vavasor.
"Done," said Maxwell. So the brown horse was sold for half his value, because he had brought with him a bad character.
Chapter 17: Edgehill