113 



CHAPTER XIV. 



WITH THE N.F.F.H. 



The ideal of the executive of the New Forest Fox- 

 hounds seems to be a run outside the Forest ; and 

 although no doubt it is a change to them^ the stranger 

 will probably not appreciate it. The country is poor- 

 scenting, the fences awkward and trappy, and there is 

 plenty of wire. To my mind the best fun with these 

 hounds is obtained in the Forest itself, but on its 

 northern side, where there are more wide, heathery 

 expanses and fewer dreary fir - planted enclosures. 

 Even if there are no fences, falls are not unknown. 

 Falls in the Forest, too, are often no joke. A horse 

 which comes down over a blind rut or a heather- 

 covered molehill very often rolls over his rider. I 

 have a recollection of one or two such "downers" out 

 of which I came luckily, but there is a record of fatal 

 hunting accidents with these hounds which would 

 surprise some of those who sneer at "hunting on 

 the flat." 



Let us glance at a couple of runs in the upper 

 Forest which took place during the last season in 

 which I hunted there. These were by no means 

 extraordinary, but they happen to be fresh in my 

 mind. The first took place in November. The meet 



H 



