284 RECORDS OF THE CHASE 



assimilate with the taste of hard riders, who desire 

 nothing but a burst over the open; and the fox-hunter 

 who comes out for fashion's sake must necessarily 

 repudiate such practices. The fields are therefore 

 numerically small and exclusively select, consisting 

 principally of the master of the hounds, obviously 

 anxious to watch the expanding instinct of his young 

 entry. A few true devotees of the chase, and probably 

 a farmer or two residing in the neighbourhood, usually 

 form the little group. 



Those who confine their hunting generally to one 

 pack of hounds naturally acquire an interest in all 

 their proceedings. As the soldier describes the glorious 

 achievements of the regiment to which he belongs, so 

 does the sportsman proudly boast of the prowess of the 

 pack which he identifies as that to which he belongs : 

 and each makes the distinction from all others as our 

 regiment and our hounds. With them much gratifica- 

 tion is obtained hi cub-hunting; they participate with 

 the master in the promising conduct of the rising 

 generation. The first touch on the horn or the first 

 challenge of the hound is sufficient to awaken them 

 from their slumbers; they enter into the sport with 

 enthusiasm and delight. Every year, and every season 

 of the year, opens with a series of anticipations con- 

 templative of forthcoming destinies which await the 

 pleasures, the interests, and the vicissitudes which are 

 in store. The sportsman entertains sanguine hopes 

 that the foxes are plentiful, that the young hounds will 

 enter favourably, and that a good-scenting season will 

 assist them in the development of their powers. 



The approach of the hunting-season brings to new 

 life a host of pleasing engagements and joyful expecta- 

 tions. The daily progress of the hunter's condition as 

 the time draws near is a source of interest alike with 

 those who are enabled to keep large studs and those 

 who are compelled to confine their limits to a 

 single horse. Possibly it proves an excuse for a brief 

 visit to the metropolis to replenish the wardrobe, the 



