The Master of Hounds 



ness of a lord, the strength of a Hercules, the 

 thirst of a Bacchus, the appetite of a Dando, a 

 slight touch of Cicero's eloquence ; even more so 

 when the field overrides badly, and a temper as 

 even as the lines of a copybook. So says ^' The 

 Analysis of the Hunting Field." 



Lor' bless us, what a combination of qualities ! 

 An M.P. is generally supposed to have a ticklish, 

 uphill game to play. The M.F.H. has just as 

 difficult a one. He has to keep his soft-sawder 

 pot boiling all the year round, healing real or 

 imaginary wounds, both of his field and the 

 farmer's as to poultry and damage. Possessing, 

 as our model M.F.H. is supposed to, the patience 

 of Job, and the tact of an M.P., he can only 

 be written down as ^^ the best fellow under the 

 sun." They must have these same qualities, and 

 may have very different ways of showing them. 

 About the keenness there must be ''■ no mistake," 

 as the great Duke of Wellington would have 

 said. A qualified liking would not do for a 

 "best fellow under the sun." He must be a 

 real out and outer. Keenness covers a multitude 

 of sins. City people, perhaps, would put money 

 first, but that shows they know nothing of fox- 

 hunting. Wealth, birth, keenness, all combined, 

 won't do unless he has the sincere desire to 

 please, and the desire not to hurt any one's feel- 

 ings unnecessarily. Making too much of a busi- 



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