isty; but he
maintained his point notwithstanding, and seemed to hold all this
technical lore in utter disrespect.

I was surprised with the good-humour with which Master Simon bore his
contradictions, till he explained the matter tom e afterwards. Old
Christy is the most ancient servant in the place, having lived among
dogs and horses the greater part of a century, and been in the service
of Mr. Bracebridge's father. He knows the pedigree of every horse on
the place, and has bestrode the great-great-grandsires of most of
them. He can give a circumstantial detail of every fox-hunt for the
last sixty or seventy years, and has a history for every stag's head
about the house, and every hunting trophy nailed to the door of the
dog-kennel.

All the present race have grown up under his eye, and humour him in
his old age. He once attended the Squire to Oxford, when he was a
student there, and enlightened the whole university with his hunting
lore. All this is enough to make the old man opinionated, since he
finds, on all these matters of first-rate importance, he knows more
than the rest of the world. Indeed, Master Simon had been his pupil,
and acknowledges that he derived his first knowledge in hunting from
the instructions of Christy: and I much question whether the old man
does not still look upon him rather as a greenhorn.

On our return homewards, as we were crossing the lawn in front of the
house, we heard the porter's bell ring at the lodge, and shortly
afterwards, a kind of cavalcade advanced slowly up the avenue. At
sight of it my companion paused, considered it for a moment, and then,
making a sudden exclamation, hurried away to meet it. As it
approached, I discovered a fair, fresh-looking elderly lady, dressed
in an old-fashioned riding-habit, with a broad-brimmed white beaver
hat, such as may be seen in Sir Joshua Reynolds' paintings. She rode a
sleek white pony, and was followed by a footman in rich livery,
mounted on an over-fed hunter. At a little distance in the rear came
an ancient cumbrous chariot, drawn by two very corpulent horses,
driven by as corpulent a coachman, beside whom sat a page dressed in a
fanciful green livery. Inside of the chariot was a starched prim
personage, with a look somewhat between a lady's companion and a
lady's maid; and two pampered curs, that showed their ugly faces, and
barked out of each window.

There was a general turning out of the garrison, to receive this new
comer.