INTRODUCTORY 19 



would advise a young man, commencing his 

 hunting career, to acquire a knowledge of the 

 working of hounds, and to put himself in sym- 

 pathy with the aims of the huntsman. Let him 

 forget all about the riding and the fences, thinking 

 only of the ultimate capture of the fox and the 

 means the hounds employ to attain that end. 

 He will by doing this get far greater pleasure 

 out of a run, and will enjoy the riding none 

 the less. 



One of the best features of hunting is that 

 it gives all classes a chance of meeting on terms 

 of practical equality. In the hunting-field all 

 men are equal, with the exception of the master 

 and the huntsman — they should be absolute 

 autocrats. The peer must take a back seat if 

 the butcher with a bold heart can pound him 

 over a big fence. A man's social status is defined 

 by the position he holds when hounds run: if 

 he can get into the front rank of a good run 

 and stay there, he has proved himself the superior 

 of those who are behind. A bad start or loss of 

 nerve is, however, liable to reverse the order of 

 things at any minute, and no one can tell when 

 he may be shorn of all his honours, so that there 



