120 FOX-HUNTING 



responsibilities which pertain thereto. There are 

 pleasures in being Master even when a profes- 

 sional huntsman is employed ; but whether they 

 are or are not outbalanced by the duties is a 

 question that can only be answered by those who 

 have been in office. 



I am quite certain that nothing I could say would 

 deter a really keen man from taking a pack of 

 hounds if the opportunity occurred ; but, if I 

 make the man who has only a moderate desire 

 for the chase think twice before accepting a 

 mastership, I shall have done something for the 

 interest of the sport. 



One of the Master's most unpleasant duties is 

 to decide in time of frost whether it is or is not fit 

 to hunt. My advice to the young Master is that 

 he should decide the question himself, and should 

 on no account consult his field. I may, perhaps, 

 make an exception of some old and tried member 

 of the hunt who can be depended upon to give an 

 opinion that is not influenced by his own personal 

 wishes. As a rule, those who turn up at a meet 

 in frosty weather all want to see hounds find a 

 fox, but they intend to please themselves about 

 following them afterwards. With the hunt servants 



