CHAPTER XXI. 



THE HUNTING SEASON. 



WHEN this morning dawned great was the stir in the 

 kennels and stables of the three hundred and forty- 

 two packs of stag and fox hounds, harriers and 

 beagles, that hunt over the wide expanse of the 

 United Kingdom; for it is on the first day of No- 

 vember that the hunting season commences in earnest. 

 Notwithstanding the wave of depression that is pass- 

 ing over the agriculturists of the country, it is satis- 

 factory to note that there is no reduction in the number 

 of packs of hounds. Changes there have been, but 

 the total remains precisely the same as that given in 

 our columns three years since. The national sport, 

 fortunately, is too deep-rooted to be affected by what, 

 it may be hoped, is only a temporary run of ill-fortune, 

 due in a measure to the wretched seasons of the past 

 three years, but more to the world- wide competition 

 of foreign countries. If landlord and tenant will pull 

 together, doubtless matters will be adjusted, and we 

 shall see the British farmer "up in the stirrups" once 

 again. 



Prospects of sport were never more promising, and 

 from all quarters I hear that foxes are plentiful. During 



