312 WHICH IS THE BEST 



appearance than it does in the months that have 

 gone by. 



Nevertheless, the shepherd's dog is less likely to 

 do mischief to the Hunt when attending on his master 

 than when out with a comrade on a roving hunting 

 expedition ; the ploughman has often supplied useful 

 information at a pinch, and the fox is not likely 

 to run through heavily stocked fields when he sees 

 the dreaded human being therein ; so altogether I 

 think the chase is usually carried on without as many 

 interruptions and obstacles to success as we are dis- 

 posed to fear, during the shortest month of the 

 year. 



Then think of the many pleasures it brings ! How- 

 ever much the fox-hunter may be supposed to dread 

 the advent of spring, to loathe the " nasty stinking 

 violets " of Mr. Leech's huntsman, and to shudder at 

 the white masses of snowdrops beneath the trees, he 

 must confess to a feeling of exhilaration when the 

 indescribable freshness of the air at this time of year 

 greets him on his morning ride. The jocund sound 

 of the birds who mistake the month for April cheers 

 him while dressing for the chase, and dispels the gloom 

 caused by the reflection that the season is on the wane. 

 Out he goes rejoicing, and can stay out full of hope 

 till the evening, with no dread of stumbling home 

 over stony roads in inky darkness on a beaten horse, 

 as in November. For his horses now should be in 

 the pink of hard condition, inured to fatigue and handy 

 to ride, as none are in the beginning of the season. 

 If he be a cautious and observant horseman he has 

 learned the run of the foxes from the different coverts ; 



