swig at his hunting-horn-shaped monkey; Major Mark and Mr.
Archer threw away their cigar ends; Mr. Bliss drew on his dogskin gloves;
Mr. Wake rolled the thong of his whip round the stick, to be better able to
encounter his puller; Mr. Sparks got a yokel to take up a link of his curb;
George Smith and Joe Smith looked at their watches; Sandy McGregor, the
factor, filled his great Scotch nose with Irish snuff, exclaiming, as he
dismissed the balance from his fingers by a knock against his thigh, 'Oh,
my mon, aw think this tod will gie us a ran!' while Blossomnose might be
seen stealing gently forward, on the far side of a thick fence, for the
double purpose of shirking Jawleyford and getting a good start.

In the midst of these and similar preparations for the fray, up went a
whip's cap at the low end of the cover; and a volley of 'Tallyhos' burst
from our friends, as the fox, whisking his white-tipped brush in the air,
was seen stealing away over the grassy hill beyond. What a commotion was
there! How pale some looked! How happy others!

'Sing out, Jack! for heaven's sake, sing out!' exclaimed Lord Scamperdale;
an enthusiastic sportsman, always as eager for a run as if he had never
seen one. 'Sing out. Jack; or, by Jove, they'll override 'em at starting!'

'HOLD HARD, gentlemen,' roared Jack, clapping spurs into his grey,
or rather, into his lordship's grey, dashing in front, and drawing the
horse across the road to stop the progression of the field. 'HOLD
HARD, _one minute_!' repeated Jack, standing erect in his stirrups,
and menacing them with his whip (a most formidable one). 'Whatever you do,
_pray_ let them get away! _Pray_ don't spoil your own sport! Pray remember
they're his lordship's hounds!--that they cost him five-and-twenty
under'd--two thousand five under'd a year! And where, let me ax, with wheat
down to nothing, would you get another, if he was to throw up?'

As Jack made this inquiry, he took a hurried glance at the now pouring-out
pack; and seeing they were safe away, he wiped the foam from his mouth on
his sleeve, dropped into his saddle, and, catching his horse short round by
the head, clapped spurs into his sides, and galloped away, exclaiming:

'Now, ye tinkers, we'll all start fair!'

Then there was such a scrimmage! such jostling and elbowing among the
jealous ones; such ramming and cramming among the eager ones; such
pardon-begging among the polite ones; such spurting of ponies, such
clamberi