FOX-HUNTING AND WARFARE 311 



chatter, especially when ladies are the culprits. I 

 have been told that if an M.F.H. were to insist 

 upon his orders being obeyed there would be a 

 decrease in the subscription list, but this I venture 

 to doubt. Stern generals have invariably won the 

 respect and admiration of the men serving under 

 them, since they are more likely to be victorious 

 than a general who allows discipline to become 

 lax. So it is with fox-hunting. A stern M.F.H. 

 will show better sport than the man who allows 

 his field to rule him, instead of ruling his field. Of 

 course, there are different degrees of sternness. Bad 

 language does not add to the sting of a reproof 

 nor to the authority of an order ; but I uphold the 

 etiquette which demands that the M.F.H. should be 

 the commanding officer of the day, with the covert- 

 owners as his staff. 



Nothing is of more importance to a scout in 

 warfare than the proper care of man and horse, and 

 few things are of more importance to the hunting 

 man, especially when he cannot afford to have a 

 second horse out. The scout is dependent for his 

 life upon his horse ; the hunting man is dependent 

 for his pleasure upon his hunter. The secret of 

 getting ov^er a long distance rapidly is not to tire 

 your horse out by overriding him, and there is no 

 school in which this secret can be learnt better than 

 in the hunting-field. A man who can ride through 

 a long day with hounds, see what sport there is 

 to be seen, and bring his horse home without having 



