THE WILD PONIES OF EXMOOR.
In England there are so few wild horses, that the following description
of a visit I made to Exmoor a few years ago in the month of September,
may be doubly interesting, since Mr. Rarey has shown a short and easy
method of dealing with the principal produce of that truly wild region.
The road from South Molton to Exmoor is a gradual ascent over a
succession of hills, of which each descent, however steep, leads to a
still longer ascent, until you reach the high level of Exmoor. The first
six miles are through real Devonshire lanes; on each side high banks,
all covered with fern and grass, and topped with shrubs and trees; for
miles we were hedged in with hazels, bearing nuts with a luxuriance
wonderful to the eyes of those accustomed to see them sold at the
corners of streets for a penny the dozen. In spring and summer, wild
flowers give all the charms of colour to these game-preserving
hedgerows; but a rainy autumn had left no colour among the rich green
foliage, except here and there a pyramid of the bright red berries of
the mountain ash.
So, up hill and down dale, over water-courses--now merrily trotting,
anon descending, and not less merrily trudging up, steep ascents--we
proceed by a track as sound as if it had been under the care of a model
board of trustees--for the simple reason that it rested on natural rock.
We pushed along at an average rate of some six miles an hour, allowing
for the slow crawling up hills; passing many rich fields wherein fat
oxen of the Devon breed calmly grazed, with sheep that had certainly not
been bred on mountains. Once we passed a deserted copper-mine; which,
after having been worked for many years, had at length failed, or grown
unprofitable, under the competition of the richer mines of Cuba and
South Australia. A long chimney, peering above deserted cottages, and a
plentiful crop of weeds, was the sole monument of departed glories--in
shares and dividends--and mine-captain's promises.
At length the hedges began to grow thinner; beeches succeeded the
hazels; the road, more rugged and bare showed the marks where winter's
rains had ploughed deep channels; and, at the turn of a steep hill, we
saw, on the one hand, the brown and blue moor stretching before and
above us; and on the other hand, below, like a map, the fertile vale lay
unrolled, various in colour, according to the crops, divided by
enclosures into every angle from most acute to most obtuse. Below was
the cultivation of centuries; above, the turnip--the greatest
improvement of modern agriculture--flourished, a deep green, under the
protection of fences of very recent date.
One turnpike, and cottages at rare intervals, had so far kept up the
idea of population; but now, far as the horizon extended, not a place of
habitation was to be seen; until, just in a hollow bend out of the
ascending road, we came upon a low white farm-house, of humble
pretensions, flanked by a great turf-stack (but no signs of corn; no
fold-yard full of cattle), which bore, on a board of great size, in long
letters, this imposing announcement, "The Poltimore Arms." Our driver
not being of the usual thirsty disposition of his tribe, we did not test
the capabilities of the one hostelry and habitation on Lord Poltimore's
Moorland Estate, but, pushing on, took the reins while our conductor
descended to open a gate in a large turf and stone wall. We passed
through--left Devon--entered Somerset; and the famous Exmoor estate of
20,000 acres, bounded by a wall forty miles in length, the object of our
journey, lay before us.
Very dreary was this part of our journey, although, contrary to the
custom of the country, the day was bright and clear, and the September
sun defeated the fogs, and kept at a distance the drizzling rains which
in winter sweep over Exmoor. We had now left the smooth, rocky-floored
road, and were travelling along what most resembled the dry bed of a
torrent: turf banks on each side seemed rather intended to define than
to divide the property. As far as the eye could reach, the rushy tufted
moorland extended, bounded in the distance by lofty, round-backed hills.
Thinly scattered about were horned sheep and Devon red oxen. For about
two miles we jolted gently on, until, beginning to descend a hill, our
driver pointed in the valley below to a spot where stacks of hay and
turf guarded a series of stone buildings, saying, "There's the Grange."
The first glance was not encouraging--no sheep-station in Australia
could seem more utterly desolate; but it improved on closer examination.
The effects of cultivation were to be seen in the different colours of
the fields round the house, where the number of stock grazing showed
that more than ordinary means must have been taken to improve the
pasture.
We started on Exmoor ponies to ride to Simon's Bath.
Exmoor, previous to 1818, was the property of the Crown, and leased to
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, who has an estate of a similar character close
adjoining. He used its wild pasture (at that time it was without roads)
for breeding ponies and feeding Exmoor sheep. There are no traces of any
population having ever existed on this forest since Roman times. The
Romans are believed to have worked iron-mines on the moor, which have
recently been re-opened.
Exmoor consists of 20,000 acres, on an elevation varying from 1000 to
1200 feet above the sea, of undulating table-land, divided by valleys,
or "combes," through which the River Exe--which rises in one of its
valleys--with its tributary, the Barle, forces a devious way, in the
form of pleasant trout-streams, rattling over and among huge stones, and
creeping through deep pools--a very angler's paradise. Like many similar
districts in the Scotch Highlands, the resort of the red deer, it is
called a forest, although trees--with the exception of some very
insignificant plantations--are as rare as men. After riding all day with
a party of explorers, one of them suddenly exclaimed, "Look, there is a
man!" A similar expression escaped me when we came in sight of the first
tree--a gnarled thorn, standing alone on the side of a valley.
The sides of the steep valleys, of which some include an acre, and
others extend for miles, are usually covered with coarse herbage,
heather, and bilberry plants, springing from a deep black or red soil:
at certain spots a greener hue marks the site of the bogs which impede,
and at times almost engulph, the incautious horseman. These bogs are
formed by springs, which, having been intercepted by a pan of sediment,
and prevented from percolating through the soil, stagnate, and cause, at
the same time, decay and vicious vegetation. They are seldom deep, and
can usually be reclaimed by subsoiling or otherwise breaking the pan,
and so drying the upper layers of bog. Bog-turf is largely employed on
Exmoor as fuel. On other precipitous descents, winter torrents have
washed away all the earth, and left avalanches of bare loose stones,
called, in the western dialect, "crees." To descend these crees at a
slapping pace in the course of a stag-hunt, requires no slight degree of
nerve; but it is done, and is not so dangerous as it looks.
Exmoor may be nothing strange to those accustomed to the wild, barren
scenery. To one who has known country scenes only in the best-cultivated
regions of England, and who has but recently quitted the perpetual roar
of London, there is something strangely solemn and impressive in the
deep silence of a ride across the forest. Horses bred on the moors, if
left to themselves, rapidly pick their way through pools and bogs, and
canter smoothly over dry flats of natural meadow; creep safely down the
precipitous descents, and climb with scarcely a puff of distress these
steep ascents; splash through fords in the trout-streams, swelled by
rain, without a moment's hesitation, and trot along sheep-paths,
bestrewed with rolling stones, without a stumble: so that you are
perfectly at liberty to enjoy the luxury of excitement, and follow out
the winding valleys, and study the rich brown and purple herbage.
It was while advancing over a great brown plain in the centre of the
moor, with a deep valley on our left, that our young quick-eyed guide
suddenly held up his hand, whispering, "Ride on without seeming to take
notice; there are the deer." A great red stag, lying on the brown grass,
had sprung up, and was gazing on our party--too numerous and too
brightly attired to be herdsmen, whom he would have allowed to pass
without notice. Behind him were clustered four hinds and a calf. They
stood still for some minutes watching our every movement, as we tried to
approach them in a narrowing circle. Then the stag moved off slowly,
with stately, easy, gliding steps, constantly looking back. The hinds
preceded him: they reached the edge of the valley, and disappeared. We
galloped up, and found that they had exchanged the slow retreat for a
rapid flight, clearing every slight or suspicious obstacle with a grace,
ease, and swiftness it was delightful to witness. In an incredibly short
time they had disappeared, hidden by undulations in the apparently flat
moor.
These were one of the few herds still remaining on the forest. In a
short time the wild deer of Exmoor will be a matter of tradition; and
the hunt, which may be traced back to the time of Queen Elizabeth, will,
if continued, descend to the "cart and calf" business.
A sight scarcely less interesting than the deer was afforded by a white
pony mare, with her young stock--consisting of a foal still sucking, a
yearling, and a two-year-old--which we met in a valley of the Barle. The
two-year-old had strayed away feeding, until alarmed by the cracking of
our whips and the neighing of its dam, when it came galloping down a
steep combe, neighing loudly, at headlong speed. It is thus these ponies
learn their action and sure-footedness.
It was a district such as we had traversed--entirely wild, without
inclosures, or roads, or fences--that came into the hands of the father
of the present proprietor. He built a fence of forty miles around it,
made roads, reclaimed a farm for his own use at Simon's Bath, introduced
Highland cattle on the hills, and set up a considerable stud for
improving the indigenous race of ponies, and for rearing full-sized
horses. These improvements, on which some three hundred thousand pounds
were sunk, were not profitable; and it is very doubtful whether any
considerable improvements could have been prosecuted successfully, if
railways had not brought better markets within reach of the district.
Coming from a part of the country where ponies are the perquisites of
old ladies and little children, and where the nearer a well-shaped horse
can be got to sixteen hands the better, the first feeling on mounting a
rough little unkemped brute, fresh from the moor, barely twelve hands
(four feet) in height, was intensely ridiculous. It seemed as if the
slightest mistake would send the rider clean over the animal's head. But
we learned soon that the indigenous pony, in certain useful qualities,
is not to be surpassed by animals of greater size and pretensions.
From the Grange to Simon's Bath (about three miles), the road, which
runs through the heart of Exmoor proper, was constructed, with all the
other roads in this vast extra-parochial estate, by the father of the
present proprietor, F. Knight, Esq., of Wolverly House, Worcestershire,
M.P. for East Worcestershire (Parliamentary Secretary of the Poor Law
Board, under Lord Derby's Government). In the course of a considerable
part of the route, the contrast of wild moorland and high cultivation
may be found only divided by the carriage-way.
At length, descending a steep hill, we came in sight of a view--of which
Exmoor and its kindred district in North Devon affords many--a deep
gorge, at whose precipitous base a trout-stream rolled along, gurgling
and plashing, and winding round huge masses of white spar. The far bank
sometimes extended out into natural meadows, where red cattle and wild
ponies grazed, and sometimes rose precipitously. At one point, where
both banks were equally steep and lofty, the far side was covered by a
plantation with a cover of under-wood; but no trees of sufficient
magnitude to deserve the name of a wood. This is a spot famous in the
annals of a grand sport that soon will be among things of the past--Wild
Stag Hunting. In this wood more than once the red monarch of Exmoor has
been roused, and bounded over the rolling plains beyond, amid the shouts
of excited hunters and the deep cry of the hounds, as with a burring
scent they dashed up the steep breast of the hill.
But there was no defiant stag there that day; so on we trotted on our
shaggy sure-footed nags, beneath a burning sun--a sun that sparkled on
the flowing waters as they gleamed between far distant hills, and threw
a golden glow upon the fading tints of foliage and herbage, and cast
deep shadows from the white overhanging rocks.
Next we came to the deep pool that gives the name to Simon's Bath, where
some unhappy man of that name, in times when deer were more plentiful
than sheep, drowned himself for love, or in madness, or both--long
before roads, farms, turnip crops, a school, and a church were dreamed
of on Exmoor. Here fences give signs of habitation and cultivation. A
rude, ancient bridge, with two arches of different curves, covered with
turf, without side battlements or rails, stretches across the stream,
and leads to a small house built for his own occupation by the father of
Mr. Knight, pending the completion of a mansion of which the unfinished
walls of one wing rise like a dismantled castle from the midst of a
grove of trees and ornamented shrubs.
A series of gentle declivities, plantations, a winding, full-flowing
stream, seem only to require a suitable edifice and the hand of an
artist gardener to make, at comparatively trifling expense, an abode
unequalled in luxuriant and romantic beauty. We crossed the stream--not
by the narrow bridge, but by the ford; and, passing through the
straggling stone village of Simon's Bath, arrived in sight of the field
where the Tattersall of the West was to sell the wild and tame horse
stock bred on the moors. It was a field of some ten acres and a half,
forming a very steep slope, with the upper path comparatively flat, the
sloping side broken by a stone quarry, and dotted over with huge blocks
of granite. At its base flowed an arm of the stream we had found
margining our route. A substantial, but, as the event proved, not
sufficiently high stone fence bounded the whole field. On the upper
part, a sort of double pound, united by a narrow neck, with a gate at
each end, had been constructed of rails, upwards of five feet in height.
Into the first of these pounds, by ingenious management, all the ponies,
wild and tame, had been driven. When the sale commenced, it was the duty
of the herdsmen to separate two at a time, and drive them through the
narrow neck into the pound before the auctioneer. Around a crowd of
spectators of every degree were clustered--'squires and clergymen,
horse-dealers and farmers, from Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire, as
well as South Devon, and the immediate neighbourhood.
These ponies are the result of crosses made years ago with Arab,
Dongola, and thorough-bred stallions, on the indigenous race of Exmoors,
since carefully culled from year to year for the purpose of securing the
utmost amount of perfection among the stallions and mares reserved for
breeding purposes. The real Exmoor seldom exceeds twelve hands; has a
well-shaped head, with very small ears; but the thick round shoulder
peculiar to all breeds of wild horses, which seem specially adapted for
inclemencies of the weather; indeed, the whole body is round, compact,
and well ribbed. The Exmoor has very good quarters and powerful hocks;
legs straight, flat, and clean; the muscles well developed by early
racing up and down steep mountain sides while following their dams. In
about forty lots the prevailing colours were bay, brown, and gray;
chestnuts and blacks were less frequent, and not in favour with the
country people, many of whom seemed to consider that the indigenous race
had been deteriorated by the sedulous efforts made and making to improve
it--an opinion which we could not share after examining some of the best
specimens, in which a clean blood-like head and increased size seemed to
have been given, without any diminution of the enduring qualities of the
Exmoor.
The sale was great fun. Perched on convenient rails, we had the whole
scene before us. The auctioneer rather hoarse and quite matter-of-fact;
the ponies wildly rushing about the first enclosure, were with
difficulty separated into pairs to be driven in the sale section; when
fairly hemmed in through the open gate, they dashed and made a sort of
circus circuit, with mane and tail erect, in a style that would draw
great applause at Astley's. Then there was the difficulty of deciding
whether the figures marked in white on the animal's hind-quarters were 8
or 3 or 5. Instead of the regular trot up and down of Tattersall's, a
whisk of a cap was sufficient to produce a tremendous caper. A very
pretty exhibition was made by a little mare, with a late foal about the
size of a setter dog.[228-*]
The sale over, a most amusing scene ensued: every man who had bought a
pony wanted to catch it. In order to clear the way, each lot, as sold,
as wild and nearly as active as deer, had been turned into the field. A
joint-stock company of pony-catchers, headed by the champion wrestler of
the district--a hawk-nosed, fresh-complexioned, rustic Don Juan--stood
ready to be hired, at the moderate rate of sixpence per pony caught and
delivered. One carried a bundle of new halters; the others, warmed by a
liberal distribution of beer, seemed as much inspired by the fun as the
sixpence. When the word was given, the first step was to drive a herd
into the lowest corner of the field in as compact a mass as possible.
The bay, gray, or chestnut, from that hour doomed to perpetual slavery
and exile from his native hills, was pointed out by the nervous anxious
purchaser. Three wiry fellows crept cat-like among the mob, sheltering
behind some tame cart-horses; on a mutual signal they rushed on the
devoted animal; two--one bearing a halter--strove to fling each one arm
round its neck, and with one hand to grasp its nostrils--while the
insidious third, clinging to the flowing tail; tried to throw the poor
quadruped off its balance. Often they were baffled in the first effort,
for with one wild spring the pony would clear the whole lot, and flying
with streaming mane and tail across the brook up the field, leave the
whole work to be recommenced. Sometimes when the feat was cleverly
performed, pony and pony-catchers were to be seen all rolling on the
ground together; the pony yelling, snorting, and fighting with his fore
feet, the men clinging on like the Lapithae and the Centaurs, and how
escaping crushed ribs or broken legs it is impossible to imagine. On one
occasion a fine brown stallion dashed away, with two plucky fellows
hanging on to his mane: rearing, plunging, fighting with his fore feet,
away he bounded down a declivity among the huge rocks, amid the
encouraging cheers of the spectators: for a moment the contest was
doubtful, so tough were the sinews, and so determined the grip of Davy,
the champion; but the steep bank of the brook, down which the brown
stallion recklessly plunged, was too much for human efforts (in a moment
they all went together into the brook), but the pony, up first, leaped
the opposite bank and galloped away, whinnying in short-lived triumph.
After a series of such contests, well worth the study of artists not
content with pale copies from marbles or casts, the difficulty of
haltering these snorting steeds--equal in spirit and probably in size to
those which drew the car of Boadicea--was diminished by all those
uncaught being driven back to the pound; and there, not without furious
battles, one by one enslaved.
Yet even when haltered, the conquest was by no means concluded. Some
refused to stir, others started off at such a pace as speedily brought
the holder of the halter on his nose. One respectable old gentleman, in
gray stockings and knee-breeches, lost his animal in much less time than
it took him to extract the sixpence from his knotted purse.
Yet in all these fights there was little display of vice; it was pure
fright on the part of the ponies that made them struggle so. A few
days' confinement in a shed, a few carrots, with a little salt, and
gentle treatment, reduces the wildest of the three-year-olds to
docility. When older they are more difficult to manage. It was a pretty
sight to view them led away, splashing through the brook--conquered, but
not yet subdued.
In the course of the evening a little chestnut stallion, twelve hands,
or four feet in height, jumped, at a standing jump, over the bars out of
a pound upward of five feet from the ground, only just touching the top
rail with his hind feet.
We had hoped to have a day's wild stag hunting, but the hounds were out
on the other side of the country. However, we had a few runs with a
scratch pack of harriers after stout moorland hares. The dandy school,
who revel in descriptions of coats and waistcoats, boots and breeches,
and who pretend that there is no sport without an outfit which is only
within the reach of a man with ten thousand a year, would no doubt have
been extremely disgusted with the whole affair. We rose at five o'clock
in the morning and hunted puss up to her form (instead of paying a
shilling to a boy to turn her out) with six couples, giving tongue most
melodiously. Viewing her away we rattled across the crispy brown moor,
and splattered through bogs with a loose rein, in lunatic enjoyment,
until we checked at the edge of a deep "combe." Then--when the old
yellow Southerner challenged, and our young host cheered him with "Hark
to Reveller, hark!"--to hear the challenge and the cheer re-echoed again
from the opposite cliff; and--as the little pack in full cry again took
up the running, and scaled the steep ascent--to see our young huntsman,
bred in these hills, go rattling down the valleys, and to follow by
instinct, under a vague idea, not unmixed with nervous apprehensions of
the consequences of a slip, that what one could do two could, was vastly
exciting, and amusing, and, in a word, decidedly jolly. So with many
facts, some new ideas, and a fine stock of health from a week of open
air, I bade farewell to my hospitable hosts and to romantic Exmoor.
FOOTNOTES:
[228-*] According to tradition, the Exmoor ponies are descended from
horses brought from the East by the Phoenicians, who traded there with
Cornwall for metals.
[Illustration: SITZ BATH.]
POSTSCRIPT.
THE HUNTING MAN'S HEALTH.
Without health there can be no sport. A man at the commencement of the
hunting often requires condition more than his horse, especially if
engaged in sedentary occupations, and averse to summer riding or
walking. Of course the proper plan is to train by walking or riding. I
remember, some years ago, when three months of severe mental occupation
had kept me entirely out of the saddle, going out in Northamptonshire,
fortunately admirably mounted, when the hounds were no sooner in cover
than they were out of it, "running breast high," five minutes after I
had changed from my seat in a dog-cart to the saddle. We had thirty-five
minutes' sharp run, without a check, and for the latter part of the run
I was perfectly beaten, almost black in the face, and scarcely able to
hold my horse together. I did not recover from this too sudden exertion
for many days. Those who are out of condition will do well to ride,
instead of driving to cover.
In changing from town to country life, between the different hours of
rising and hearty meals--the result of fresh air and exercise--the
stomach and bowels are very likely to get out of order. It is as well,
therefore, to be provided with some mild digestive pills: violent purges
are as injurious to men as to horses, and more inconvenient.
The enema is a valuable instrument, which a hunting man should not be
without, as its use, when you are in strong exercise, is often more
advisable than medicine.
But one of the most valuable aids to the health and spirits of a
hard-riding man is the Sitz Bath, which, taken morning and evening, cold
or tepid, according to individual taste, has even more advantageous
effects on the system than a complete bath. It braces the muscles,
strengthens the nerves, and tends to keep the bowels open. Sitz baths
are made in zinc, and are tolerably portable; but in a country place you
may make shift with a tub half-filled with water. In taking this kind of
bath, it is essential that the parts not in the water should be warm and
comfortable. For this end, in cold weather, case your feet and legs in
warm stockings, and cover your person and tub with a poncho, through the
hole of which you can thrust your head. In default of a poncho, a plaid
or blanket will do, and in warm weather a sheet. If you begin with
tepid water, you will soon be able to bear cold, as after the first
shock the cold disappears. The water must not reach higher than your
hips, rather under than over. The time for a Sitz bath varies from ten
to twenty minutes, not longer, during which you may read or smoke; but
then you will need sleeves, for it is essential that you should be
covered all the time. I often take a cup of coffee in this bath, it
saves time in breakfasting. In the illustration, the blanket has been
turned back to show the right position.
THE HOT-AIR OR INDIAN BATH.
In case of an attack of cold or influenza, or a necessity for sweating
off a few pounds, or especially after a severe fall, there is no bath so
effective and so simple as the hot-air or Indian bath. This is made with
a wooden-bottomed kitchen chair, a few blankets, a tin cup, and a
claret-glass of spirits of wine. For want of spirits of wine you might
use a dozen of Price's night lights.
Take a wooden-bottomed chair, and place it in a convenient part of the
bedroom, where a fire should be previously lighted. Put under the chair
a narrow metal cup or gallipot, if it will stand fire filled with
spirits of wine. Let the bather strip to his drawers, and sit down on
the chair with a fold of flannel under him, for the seat will get
extremely hot--put on his knees a slop-basin, with a sponge and a little
cold water. Then take four blankets or rugs, and lay them, one over his
back, one over his front, and one on each side, so as to cover him
closely in a woollen tent, and wrap his head up in flannel or silk--if
he is cold or shivering put his feet in warm water, or on a hot brick
wrapped in flannel. Then light the spirits of wine, which will very soon
make a famous hot-air bath. By giving the patient a little _cold water_
to drink, perspiration will be encouraged; if he finds the air
inconveniently hot before he begins to perspire, he can use the sponge
and slop-basin to bathe his chest, &c.
[Illustration: INDIAN BATH.]
When the perspiration rolls like rain from his face, and you think he
has had enough, have a blanket warmed at the fire, strip him, roll him
in it, and tumble him into bed. In five or ten minutes, you can take
away the blanket and put on his night shirt--give him a drink of white
wine whey, and he will be ready to go to sleep comfortably.
This bath can be administered when a patient is too ill to be put in a
warm bath, and is more effective. I have seen admirable results from it
on a gentleman after a horse had rolled over him.
It can also be prepared in a few minutes, in places where to get a warm
bath would be out of the question.
In the illustration, the blanket is turned back, to show the proper
position, and by error the head is not covered.
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and fullest picture of the Irish peasantry, who will ere long have
passed away from the troubled land, and from the records of
history."--_Edinburgh Review_, Oct. 1852.
"Truly--Intensely Irish."--_Blackwood._
In 8vo, cloth, full gilt, price =6=s.
THE FORTUNES OF TORLOGH O'BRIEN: a Tale of the Wars of King James. With
Steel Illustrations by Phiz.
"This stirring tale contains the best history of the Battle of the
Boyne, and is written with a master hand. It is fully equal to any of
Lever's works."--_Observer._
In fcap. 16mo, price =1=s. sewed wrapper.
THE NEW TALE OF A TUB. By F. W. N. BAYLEY. Illustrated by Engravings
reduced from the original Drawing by Aubrey.
"Fun and humour from beginning to end."--_Athenaeum._
ROUTLEDGE'S STANDARD NOVELS.
Price =2=s. =6=d. each, cloth gilt.
This Collection now comprises the best Novels of our more celebrated
Authors. The volumes are all printed on good paper, with an
Illustration, and form, without exception, the best and cheapest
collection of light reading that is anywhere to be obtained.
_The following are now ready_:--
=1. Romance of War.= By James Grant.
=2. Peter Simple.= By Captain Marryat.
=3. Adventures of an Aide-de-Camp.= By James Grant.
=4. Whitefriars.= By the Author of "Whitehall."
=5. Stories of Waterloo.= By W. H. Maxwell.
=6. Jasper Lyle.= By Mrs. Ward.
=7. Mothers and Daughters.= By Mrs. Gore.
=8. Scottish Cavalier.= By James Grant.
=9. The Country Curate.= By Gleig.
=10. Trevelyan.= By Lady Scott.
=11. Captain Blake; or, My Life.= By W. H. Maxwell.
=13. Tylney Hall.= By Thomas Hood.
=14. Whitehall.= By the Author of "Whitefriars."
=15. Clan Albyn.= By Mrs. Johnstone.
=16. Caesar Borgia.= By the Author of "Whitefriars."
=17. The Scottish Chiefs.= By Miss Porter.
=18. Lancashire Witches.= By W. H. Ainsworth.
=19. Tower of London.= By W. H. Ainsworth.
=20. The Family Feud.= By the Author of "Alderman Ralph."
=21. Frank Hilton; or, the Queen's Own.= By James Grant.
=22. The Yellow Frigate.= By James Grant.
=24. The Three Musketeers.= By Alexandre Dumas.
=25. The Bivouac.= By W. H. Maxwell.
=26. The Soldier of Lyons.= By Mrs. Gore.
=27. Adventures of Mr. Ledbury.= By Albert Smith.
=28. Jacob Faithful.= By Captain Marryat.
=29. Japhet in Search of a Father.= By Captain Marryat.
=30. The King's Own.= By Captain Marryat.
=31. Mr. Midshipman Easy.= By Captain Marryat.
=32. Newton Forster.= By Captain Marryat.
=33. The Pacha of Many Tales.= By Captain Marryat.
=34. Rattlin the Reefer.= Edited by Captain Marryat.
=35. The Poacher.= By Captain Marryat.
=36. The Phantom Ship.= By Captain Marryat.
=37. The Dog Fiend.= By Captain Marryat.
=38. Percival Keene.= By Captain Marryat.
=39. Hector O'Halloran.= By W. H. Maxwell.
=40. The Pottleton Legacy.= By Albert Smith.
=41. The Pastor's Fireside.= By Miss Porter.
=42. My Cousin Nicholas.= By Ingoldsby.
=43. The Black Dragoons.= By James Grant.
Transcriber's Note
The following typographical errors were corrected.
Page Error
iii Mr. Rarey's Introduction changed to Mr. Rarey's Introduction.
v snaffle.--the changed to snaffle.--The
vii struogling changed to struggling
10 under the auspicies changed to under the auspices
11 violent loungings changed to violent longeings
fn 20-* April 7.' changed to April 7."
23 shere humbug changed to sheer humbug
26 omiting changed to omitting
30 scimetar changed to scimitar
31 spangled troope changed to spangled troupe
31 horse wont changed to horse won't
64 suppleing changed to suppling
88 long wholebone whip changed to long whalebone whip
95 any horse changed to any horse.
128 round to the right. changed to round to the right." (based on
comparison to another edition of the book)
129 gotamongst changed to got amongst
129 aid-de-camps changed to aide-de-camps
159 of my pupils changed to of my pupils.
173 white potatoe oats changed to white potato oats
173 45lbs. changed to 45 lbs.
185 distance, we though changed to distance, we thought
202 Mobbing a fox changed to Mobbing a fox.
210 danger of stubbing changed to danger of stubbing.
216 distinction bewteen changed to distinction between
Ads 2 Bancrofts changed to Bancroft's
bullfinch / bulfinch
farm-house / farmhouse
fox-hounds / foxhounds
jibbing / gibbing
off-side / offside
over-run / overrun
practice / practise (and other forms of the word also vary)
road-side / roadside
steeple-chase / steeplechase
thorough-bred / thoroughbred