170 MEMORIES OF THE SHIRES 



been at 9.30, but the master was an indefatigable 

 early riser, and had gone back to 9 o'clock. 



It is the business of the master and his staff to 

 catch as many cubs as possible, for which purpose 

 the early hour is certainly the best. I am a great 

 advocate for hunting early, and believe we should 

 have much better sport with the meets at nine 

 instead of eleven, but all the same should not wel- 

 come the change. During cub-hunting we rather 

 expect the first hour or two to be devoted to serious 

 business in covert, and to the killing of cubs, a part 

 of the programme which is not usually very amusing 

 to the onlookers in the Shires. Of course, in a 

 woodland country it is a different thing, but to stand 

 for two or three hours outside a strong gorse covert 

 is apt to become a trifle wearisome, even though you 

 may occasionally see a fox and hear the cry of 

 hounds. 



There are people — I admire them — who make it 

 a rule never to be a minute late, however early the 

 meet may have been fixed, but the majority of these 

 severely punctual cub-hunters seldom wait to see 

 hounds go home. For the first hour the con- 

 sciousness of excessive virtue exudes from them at 

 every pore, but later on want of sleep, insufficient 

 breakfast, and general boredom, reduce them to a 

 state of utter weariness. 



On this particular occasion the early bird really 

 did get the worm, for hounds went away with the 

 first fox a few minutes after the hour fixed for the 

 meet. Needless to observe, that bird did not neglect 

 the opportunity of crowing over those who had 

 been less punctual. 



Hounds ran up-wind to Beeby, then turned 



