42 A PLEA FOR INTEREST IN HOUNDS 



"Yes! Horrid things, aren't they? But my horse 

 is very sure-footed." But almost a similar reply was 

 pretty recently made to me when I offered some advice 

 about riding through a field where the pulled turnips 

 were lying on the land. 



I often gaze with interest on the comely features 

 of a lady who firmly refused to subscribe to the fowl 

 fund on the grounds that she had never ridden over 

 a chicken in her life, but can discern no lack of in- 

 telligence ; and I have never been able to account 

 for the reply given me very sweetly by one, for whose 

 abilities I have the greatest respect, when I asked her 

 to " ride the headland." " Yes, certainly I will," she 

 said, "if you'll only show me which is the headland." 

 Now, the headland was very fine and large. Had 

 it been narrow I would have felt sure that she con- 

 descended to sarcasm as an excuse, implying that 

 there really was no headland at all ; but she had 

 spent most of her life in the country, so no wonder 

 I looked at her pretty hard. 



Twice in the last few weeks have I seen in the 

 neighbouring country one lady ride slap through the 

 middle of a field of grass seeds, in spite of loud 

 expostulations. Her excuse on each occasion was 

 that her horse pulled so, and she couldn't hold him. 

 Of course she should have been told that she had 

 no sort of business to come out hunting on a horse 

 that she couldn't hold. Perhaps, however, she is a 

 very large subscriber, and will promptly settle for the 

 damage she did. 



I have just heard a delightful little anecdote from 

 a southern English county. Hounds, after a sharp 



