THE HUNTSMAN 55 



and he always saves his horse in anticipation of a long 

 day. He never seems in a hurry, and yet he is always 

 near his hounds ; he never gallops when he can trot, 

 or takes a leap when he can go through a gap. Old 

 Will is sixty-seven, but he is not older than most men 

 at fifty. He has not an ounce of superfluous flesh 

 upon him, and is as equal to four days a week as he 

 was at twenty. 



Will and his Whips are turned out as they should 

 be. They look as if they were going to ride across 

 country instead of to canter up and down Rotten 

 Row after my lord or my lady. We don't like to 

 see dandified Huntsmen and whips. Over-dressed 

 gentlemen are bad enough in the field, let us have no 

 over-dressed servants. Shooters always put on their 

 stoutest and worst things, wet or dry, wood or open ; 

 but some foxhunters seem to think that only the best 

 of everything will do for hunting. Then, if they get 

 to the meet in apple-pie order, they don't care how 

 soon after they spoil themselves, save and except, 

 and always reserved, the Muffs and Fribbleton 

 Browns who are going to lunch with the Miss Cotton- 

 wools. They don't care how soon they get away after 

 the pride of the meet is over. 



Huntsmen and Whips should all wear caps. 

 Nothing looks so ugly as servants in hats. Strange 

 that Lord Darlington, who was painted by Marshall 

 in the cap and spare stirrup-leather of the Huntsman, 

 should, in his ducal days, have put his men in hats. 

 Lord Lonsdale, too, had his in them latterly, and 

 very slow they looked. Hats should only be worn 

 at exercise. Modern times have introduced some 

 frightful projections at the back of some hunting caps, 

 like sheds thrown out at the backs of lodges. On 

 inquiry, we found they were meant to turn the wet 

 off the wearer's back. The same purpose would 

 be answered by turning the cap peak backwards in 

 wet weather, as Tom Rounding used to do at a wet 



