PILOTS. 375 



A lady should not deceive her pilot, any more than 

 we should withhold the truth from our doctor or lawyer. 

 If she feels more in skirting trim than in hard hunting 

 nerve, she should not hesitate to say so ; for we all 

 like to take things easy at times, whether it be in 

 hunting or in anything else, according as we feel fit 

 or otherwise. There is no gainsaying that the human 

 barometer is regulated to a great extent by the weather, 

 as we may see by the big fields which greet the Master 

 on a fine hunting morning. 



The unpleasant disclosures which have been recently 

 made in our Law Courts, concerning the free and easy 

 conduct of a certain set of hunting men and women, 

 may prejudice many mothers against hunting as a 

 fitting pastime for their daughters ; but the indiscre- 

 tions of a few idle fast people should not be taken 

 as a sample of the behaviour of an entire field. In 

 the crowd and bustle of hunting, the large majority 

 of the people are seriously engaged in the business of 

 the day, and have no time to indulge in flirtations. 

 Certainly no sane man would choose a meet or covert 

 side, where he is surrounded by a crowd of people, to 

 do his love-making. If the usual discretion is observed 

 in the choice of a companion for a young lady going to 

 and returning from a hunt, she would have far less 

 opportunity for " frivol," than in any ordinary ball room 

 or theatre. We need only watch hunting men and 

 women passing through a crowded gateway, to see that 

 each one goes in turn, and that there is very little 

 consideration for sex. 



