When the leading hounds once went headlong after their fox over the Speeton Cliff he begged a farmer to fetch a cart rope and lower him over the precipice, and he was drawn up first with Lavender in his arms, and then made a second descent for Petticoat, both of which, but for this gallant rope adventure, must have been left to perish among the seagulls and kittiwakes.

"Will Goodall's lease of life was as brief as his hunting career was brilliant. But his faith in the 23in. Brocklesby Rallywood did good service to the Belvoir kennel; and when he laid down his horn in 1859 he left a pack of hounds which, for matchiness in size and colour, as also for steadiness and working qualities, has rarely, if ever, been equalled. His last advice to Ben Morgan was 'hold by the Alfred sort; they are such close workers, and have got me out of many a difficulty.'

"Will Derry, like Ben Morgan, preferred gay, raking hounds of the 24in. stamp, and both men were quick and clever in the field, and great killers of foxes. Nothing delighted Ben so much as to get on the trail of a good fox that would take them over the Holderness or the York and Ainsty frontier, and nothing short of failing scent or closing darkness would prevent his being brought to book. Both Derry and Morgan were hard riders, and proved the truth of the axiom that 'If welter weights break horses' backs, light weights break horses' hearts.'

"Puppies are mostly whelped during the spring months, and, as soon as able to take care of themselves, they are taken out to quarters amongst the farmers, where they lead a dolce far niente sort of life, and are fetched in about the next February, when the lambs begin to drop. On their return they are branded with the initial of the hunt, and their ears are shortened by rounding off the points, to prevent them dipping into the feeding trough, and thus becoming coated and greasy, which would induce canker on the edge of the ear. Each now receives a name, and their education begins in good earnest - being constantly schooled into submission and confidence - for even Tom, the whip's, manner of rating a delinquent is open, decisive, cheery, and instructive, and in marked contrast with Whistle, the head-keeper's bullying and degrading appeal to a recalcitrant pointer, which oftener results in a fit of either the shivers or the sulks than in any knowledge of the fault committed or the duties required.

"The beautiful manner in which the Quorn entries behaved at the late Yorkshire Hound Show at Skipton was worth a day's journey to witness - especially in the case of Alice, the winner in the unentered bitch class - coming up to every call and turning to every wave of Tom Firr's hand, true as the magnet to the pole.

"Some of the bard riding Holderness farmers, whose hearts are in the sport, are proud of being trusted with a favourite bitch before she pups, when for her accommodation and comfort they cut a hole in the bieldy side of the straw stack, where she rears her whelps far better than in any kennel. It is customary in most hunts to have the young unentered hounds judged during the summer, when prizes, which take the shape of silver cups, silver teapots, or handsome silk dresses, are awarded to the lady of the house where the best looking puppy has been walked in the previous year; so that every farmer's wife wants to have charge of a good looking one to qualify her chance for the next show day.

"Draft hounds are such as can be spared from the pack, and are drawn for size as above or below the desired standard of the kennel, or for some fault, real or imaginary. These are the perquisites of the huntsman, and usually fetch three to four guineas a couple. Drafts from the be3t packs are in great request, being often bespoke long before the time, and command higher prices.

"Promoters of monster dog shows must have been profoundly purblind when they placed Foxhounds in their prize schedule, or they would have foreseen that M.F.H.'s of important packs would never send hounds to be cribbed, cabined, and confined for the week about, running the gauntlet of all the ills that dog flesh is heir to; to be poked and provoked by the canes of incipient man-milliners, and submitted to the judgment and criticism of lapdog fanciers - the Whitby deadlock of '75 to wit. ' What's that lang chap, wi'd fine gleaves on keep leaking inta their e'en for ?' asked a Bilsdale jet miner, who had tramped ten miles on foot and thirty-six by rail to back 'oor Charlotte,' and had lost his money in the first over. 'E'en,' replied his companion in travel, 'he's leaking up their noases, mum, to see which ha3 the sharpest scent.'

"From the Waterloo year to the advent of the Russian campaign may be termed the Homeric period of foxhunting. Fields were more select and less crowded, first-flight men had less difficulty in recruiting their studs, as thoroughbreds too slow for the turf were then drafted to the hunting stable, instead of being, as of late, degraded into steeplechasers, timber-toppers, and instruments of cheating and robbery. Fallows were not generally gridironed by drain-pipes and ' catch 'em up ' wire fences, and asphalte had not taken possession of the country. Coverts were not yet sacred to St. Pheasant, nor was there then a branch railway to cross the line of every fox. However, things look brighter in the north, for the engine drivers on the Richmond branch line, who have mostly one or more crosses of the sportsmen in them, have decided to respect the scarlet sleeve of the master of the Bedale, and when they see it standing at danger they draw up to a standstill, and allow his spotted beauties to cross scathless.

But the N.E.R. is accustomed to take things easy, and the traveller who has crawled through Quaker Straits by the North Passage without having his time wasted or his temper spoilt must have dropped into a hopeless state of uselessness.

"The music of hounds breaking covert, blended with the windings of the huntsman's horn, is something to be remembered with pleasure; but it is reserved for those whose nights are spent within earshot of the kennel to listen to that matchless song of unpricked music which, once heard, is never to be forgotten - the midnight chorus of a pack of foxhounds, as it breaks on the ear and swells in tuneful cadences in the dark and stilly night; when Harmony and Audible pitch the keynote, and Musical and Singwell and Songstress carry on the air, waking old Charon and Crowner, that put in the bass notes, while Vocal and Tuneful and Rhapsody and Rantipole and a score more swell the choir and prolong the song. The wakened kennelman starts from his pillow, but, catching bon-accord notes ere he can clutch the handle of the riot bell, gives pious thanks that it is Harmony, and not old Discord, that breaks his dreams, composes himself, and drops off to sleep again."

To the foregoing remarks by "Vert" we add the following, as giving information on points not touched upon by him.

Two qualities have always been considered essential in the Foxhound - nose and endurance, and to that is now added speed. To ensure the latter two qualities perfect symmetry is essential; by which is meant harmony and due proportion of each part relatively to the other and to the whole, and as applied in the present instance, includes the adaptability for displaying a high rate of speed conjointly with great stoutness by the special development and strengthening of certain parts towards that end.

Mere size has nothing to do with this, and on that point there is still difference of opinion, although still the balance, as in the days of Somerville and Beckford, is in favour of a middle sized hound, but that must always be a question to be determined to a considerable extent by the nature of the country to be hunted.

On the subject of size Beckford says, "I most approve of hounds of the middle size, and believe all animals of that description are strongest and best able to endure fatigue." And Somerville, in "The Chase," gives his views on this point in the following words:-

But here a mean Observe, nor the large hound prefer, of size Gigantic; he in the thick-woven covert Painfully tugs, or in the thorny brake Torn and embarrassed bleeds; but if too small The pigmy brood in every furrow swims; Moiled in the clogging clay, panting, they lag Behind inglorious; or else shivering creep, Benumbed and faint, beneath the sheltering thorn. Foxhounds of middle size, active and strong, "Will better answer all thy various ends, And crown thy pleasing labours with success.

The head must be of good size and well balanced, forehead well pronounced without being unduly prominent, good length of skull and also of muzzle, which is not pointed, the nostrils being wide and open; the ears, which are generally rounded to prevent them from getting torn, set on low and closely carried.

The neck from the head should gradually swell towards the shoulder; it is long and muscular, without coarseness, clean, and free from dewlap or throatiness, such as characterise the bloodhound and old southern hound.

The shoulders should be strong and clean, not loaded, and well sloped, the arms long and muscular, the elbows thereby being well let down. It is essential the elbows should be quite straight, in a line with the body, to insure the requisite speed.

The chest should be deep and fairly wide, the ribs, especially the back ribs, coming down well, giving strength and a certain degree of squareness without clumsiness.

The back and loins must be strong, and connected with abundance of muscle.

The hind quarters of the foxhound must also be very strong, the buttocks firm and muscular, the thighs long, letting down the hock well, and the stifles but slightly bent.

The legs and feet are of great importance. The leg bone should be great, and the muscles hard and firm. They should be "straight as arrows," and the feet round and compact, with high knuckles, strong claws, and a hard, firm sole.

The coat must be close, short, and rather hard in texture. The chief colours are black and white, black tan and white, hare pied, and badger pied.

The stern should be thick at the root, gradually tapering, carried well up with a gentle arch, and fringed slightly with strongish hair.