THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



had received tlic praise of all the army for his excellence in 

 riding.' 



'I hunt with you to-morrow, papa,' said Frank to his 

 father, as soon as he had made his escape from what he called 

 ' Egerton's botheration about Hannibal and Cicero.' 'I hope 

 we shall find as good a buck hare as that which Mr. Gibbon's 

 shepherd soho'd for us the last time we met at the same place.' 

 'Frank,' said Mr. Raby, 'I must now be your tutor, and, in 

 this instance, can do more for you than Mr. Egerton. You 

 liave made use of two terms not used in hare-hunting, and it 

 becomes every person to adapt their language to their subject. 

 A male hare, in hunting, is called a jack hare ; and the word 

 tan-ta-ra, not soJlo, denotes one espied in its form. The terms 

 you have applied are peculiar to coursing.' 



About a mile from the place of meeting Frank overtakes the 

 hounds, and the following interesting colloquy occurs : — 



Huntsman (touching his cap). — ' Good morning. Master 

 Francis; glad to see you out, sir. Rodney looks in high 

 feather ; you'll beat us all to-day.' 



Frank — ' No, Dick ; there is no beating you on old Clod- 

 hopper, with his ugly lop ears. How you set them all the last 

 time, over the Barnsly brook ! ' 



Dick (smiling).—' Well, sir ; but you saw a good deal of 

 the run ; now can you give us any account of it ? for I sadly 

 want to make yoiiy a sportsman. As for Master Raby, it's no 

 use thinking of him : he's so terribly fond of books, flowers, 

 pictures, and such like trumpery that he takes no delight in 

 field sports. Then, again, that tutor does him no good, making 

 him believe that he is to be a great scholard and a parliament 

 man at last. For my part, I don't like those parliament 

 gentlemen. I lived with one once ; and just as the best part 

 of the hunting began — about a month after Christmas, when we 

 had such large fields that I sometimes got a hat full of half- 

 crowns after a good run — away he went to parliament, and away 

 went half my field as well.' 



Frank. — ' I had rather be a master of foxhounds, than 

 member for the county, Dick — would not you ? And, Dick, 

 why does not papa keep foxhounds instead of the harriers ? 

 They tell me that six more horses, and a few more couples of 

 hounds than he now has, would do; and I am sure you could 

 hunt fox as well as you do hare.' 



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