102 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN 



to courage. The men who made the greatest 

 Empire the world has ever seen were those to 

 whom danger and difficulties were the breath of 

 life, and risky adventures a pastime. To fulfil one 

 of the qualifications of a gentleman, a man must 

 also be a sportsman. It will be a bad day for 

 England when the instinct for sport, and especially 

 for hunting, is a thing of the past. 



I have read somewhere that in "no situation 

 are the faculties of man more displayed, more real 

 society observed, from the peer to the peasant, than 

 in the hunting field." Then, again, the Rev. 

 Mr Paley says : " I never met with any sportsman 

 who could tell me in what the sport consisted, 

 resolve it into principle and state that principle." 

 Here you have an example of a man who has lost 

 touch with nature and all connected with it. 



Some parts of Ireland — e.g. the counties of 

 Meath, Louth and Limerick — comprise a country 

 second to none for carrying an average good 

 scent for those following. The ground is never 

 heavy, and most of it is light, springy turf. I 

 cannot help recalling a great hunt in County 

 Limerick, in the days when the Hon. Walter 

 Nugent hunted the hounds, assisted by his 

 brother Charlie. 



How I came to participate in that great hunt 

 is as follows. 



