( 76) 



MR. SAMUEL SHRUB. 



LL right, squire ! My old horse don't kick," sa3^s 

 a cheery voice in front of us. We are wedged 

 in the middle of the crowd of horsemen enter- 

 ing Raddleton Wood, and as our mare playfully nibbles 

 the tail of the horse in front of her, we naturally look out 

 for a squeal and a hearty kick out. The owner of this 

 well-mannered animal is a jolly-looking, middle-aged' 

 stoutish man, clad in a green coat, brown cords, and 

 butcher boots ; his head is covered with a low-crowned 

 felt hat, a Manilla cheroot adorns his mouth, and he 

 is none other than Mr. Samuel Shrub, the well-known 

 sporting landlord of the Daisyfield Arms, the principal inn 

 of the town of Bullerton. 



The Daisyfield Arms, besides being used by all the 

 county people, is the sporting house of the country-side. 

 Bullerton, as everyone knows, lying right in the heart of 

 the Harkaway country, besides being within easy reach 

 of three other packs of fox, and one of staghounds. 



Mr. Shrub, then, is a most important, as well as 

 popular personage ; nothing, indeed, in the sporting line 

 being apparently able to take place in the county without 

 his assistance and advice. 



Is there a meeting of the hunt to be held, where does it 



