The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-10-16

$50 -,,sr ON the trail. new scenes appear,
>cy Landscapes encounter the eye.
>Sn,ndcl's swce, music more pleases the car
NJ >Th.n tina; of the hounds In fut cry"
- - singular that foX-hunting has not
,,,o national pastime. In Great BIT
..;r i ;s The sport par eIcelence OF the gen
ll%, l%'n n'' and no establishment is complete
.:.h,,,t ..;.t,r The Kennel. Any one who has ever
,t.nn ~ = foy-hunt will never forget the
va w., Measure and intense excitement OF
~ rtasr il has all dash OF the Steepie-race
hon. -. lis rrra. danger; besides, 1t Is an
""sIl ''an,;aIly social sport, and tends more
.s.,, "."nvhins else to bring people together
=, .,'., "In.n amitv. 1t is the most manly eSer-
~ ~, !, the world. ALL the poets have en-
.'n.Ird the subject with the charm OF their
.r;rs Virgil makes his young AscaniuS
-'.'r-.sr,lY a> soon Us he is able to sit his
llaracc. n disgust OF womanly youth,
-,.1,,ncnd. in his cpistle to Soilius the chase
,,,,. onIv 4< 4 noble exercise, but as con-
,-.i,,t;,i., to health and peace OF mind. His
men Sccularc was written in honor Of
'nanir .norts. Ovid, Pliny. Tacitus, and
III .ha classic authors write i'll its favor.
>',,rryilIr's poem. The Chase" will live
~ ttt tIi u tune -,
T,h. fox iS the most Sa-aciolls animal that
tr...hcs. he has more sharpness, shrewd-
rs,. and cunning than any other brute. a
'..r,lcrau told me that one night he heard
: ;%arful racket in his hen-houSe, and going
IN bc found "a fox. who appearedto be dead.
d. l,rkcd the body, and threw the carcass
aroono the dogs, who snarled and fought
"vcr i, All this time the fox remained
risic,,, and convinced him that it was only
" dead body. and so he let 1t lie, but found
the next morning that it had been playing
'nossum. and had had the nerve to suffer
and endure all this torture for It's lie.
Another sportsman said that he had seen
fox counterfeit death so naturally that a
ichted paper passed across his nose and
,ycs failed to move n muscle. how
l1rr the fox will run, or his exact
s?ccd, are questions not easily an
sw,red A red fox was once I'M
car1hcd by Lord Fairfax, and run with
different relays OF hounds fifty miles, and
then rot away. At Marsham, in England,
il i related that fox was unsennelled ut s
o'clock in the morning and was pushed
hard until in the evening, and be coursed
in tha, time sixty miles, breaking down all
the horses. Old IoX-hunters have told me
that pack Of hounds OF fine strain have
been known to run q mile In sixty seconds.
CAPTAIN Dan. McCarty's pet fox once ran
iorv miles in four hours, completely using
up the hounds and the herseS.
There arc two kinds OF 1oXes-the gray
and the red. The former is native OF
America: not so with the other. Colonel
r. b. Thorpe. brilliant writer on these
subjects, says:
The red fox is supposed to have been
imported from England to the Eastern
shore OF Maryland, and to have emigrated
10 Virginia on the ice in the severe winter
Of l,,79. at which time the Chesapeake bay
was frozen over. In 1899 the first red fox
thu, we have any record OF was killed in
MARYLAND. In that year there had been q
few red foxes turned loose on Long Island.
The red fox drives the gray fox before him.
In writing the history of the red and gray
fox il would seem that they vary in strength
and sagacity in different sections. In Florida
the gray fox i> almost worthless for the
chase.
In this country it costs but little to keep
pack Of hounds; the price. OF course Va
rc- but il is certain that the price is
strangely at variance with the horse.
Hounds have always been undervalued. A
good hunter frequently sells for 1000 gui-
meas, while 4 pack OF hounds, on which
everything depends, goes for hundred !;
yct Shakespeare himself appeared to know
hc value OF good hound, for in his intro
duction 10 the * Tanning OF the Shrew," the
h0tieInan returning from hunting thus
speaks OF his hounds with pride to his
Euntsman:
"llun;sman. charge thee tender we'll my hounds ua
" lpr nn hny
Al ;ic hedge corner at the coldest fault
would not lose the dog for ttcentY pounds.
1t vas nearly half century after the first
epoch Of which I have written, and OF the
gallant cavaliers who followed the Fairfax
hunts but few survived; they lay buried
where they had fallen on scores Of bloody
leldS. Others battle-worn and bullet
Scared lived to see the infant republic they
had founded making rapid progress towards
wealth and power. As the country changed
and Immigration flowed steadily the gen.
try insensibly adapted themselves to the
new order of things. Many Of the old
customs in vogue before the Revolution
were entirely done away with. The law Of
primoytniture was abrogated and the splen.
uld estates passed into other hands. The
poor people now began to assert their
sovereignty, aud the old but still proud and
naughty form Of aristocracy was reeling
under the vigorous blows of young Demo-
cracy, who gained strength each moment.
will hurry on to the subject Of the chase.
There met one morning in January, 1915,
The largest inject" ever held in Virginia.
Two hundred guests were present, many OF
lhtln being Ladies, who were invited to
Cedar Grove. Great preparation had been
made for the reception Of the many guests;
ior not only was there to be grand ball,
out also the annual 'foX-hunt" was to be
heid. Noted spoTtsmen from the whole
s'a'e had been invited, and were expected
10 come with their packs OF hounds. The
seine ol the meet was ut Cedar Grove, five
niles f.om the former site Of Belvoir, and
situated On the Potomac. The mansion was
partly OF brick and partly OF wood-a wide,
tioolny edi1icc OF two stories, covering q
l1FSe space OF ground. 1t had sort OF
COURTYARD fronting the river, with roman
Tic III: serpentine walks, all trellised, where the
Virginia crseper and the honeySuckle
cohtended for mastery. At intervals q
rustic bench was placed, and 1t is
no wonder that every enamored
swain in the neighborhood was anxious
70 carry his Duicinea to visit the hospitable
mouse OF Captain McCarty; for il his suit
iailed with those romantic surroundings his
ehance was hopeless indeed. Cedar Grove
took Its name from an avenue OF stately
efaar trees that bounded the park on two
siues. a!ues. The mansion was large and commo-
uloqs; the walls were OF panelled wood,
win small windows seated in deep en-
y inrasures; and the mantel was high, embel-
mshed with heavy mouldings that extended
ap 70 the cornice Of the room. In one cor
aef stood small triangular cupboard. and
opposite to it clock equally as tall, with q