SPORTSMAN 55 



by a master or a huntsman, who cannot himself 

 ride at the head ; for when he is there (in his place) 

 and can look the men in the face, he is sure to be 

 obeyed at a word ; and it is difficult, or impossible, 

 to instil into men who do not understand hunting, 

 or scarcely even when hounds are at a check, the 

 exact distance they ought to keep from hounds. 



It often happens that young men are observed 

 to take every opportunity of giving their horses a 

 gallop before the hounds have found their fox ; 

 and indeed it often happens that their horses are 

 more than half beaten before that time, although 

 others at the same time are perfectly fresh after 

 the hounds have been drawing several hours. Not 

 long since, a young man from one of the univer- 

 sities amused a party who overheard him asking 

 the whipper-in to follow him over a gate merely 

 for amusement, whilst the hounds were drawing 

 in a contrary direction ; but he had that pleasure 

 to himself. The hounds shortly afterwards found 

 and had a good run. This gentleman went well 

 for five or ten minutes, but was not seen or heard 

 of afterwards that day ; his horse was beaten 

 before the fox was found. 



There is an old saying that, " It is a bad wind 

 that blows no good " ; and, however much it is 

 to be regretted that men do not enter into the 

 real sport of fox-hunting as formerly, there is this 



