INCIDENTS IN THE FIELD 271 



of mortification. The only alternative for one who is a 

 novice or is indifferent to the very interesting events so 

 happily blended with fox-hunting, is to mingle with 

 the crowd, and when the fox breaks covert to content 

 himself with following a leader or leaders, as the case 

 may be. The fox having got clear of the covert, the 

 hounds having settled down to the scent and being seen 

 scoring away at a racing pace, every man has a chance 

 of riding and exhibiting his prowess ; but here it is 

 absolutely necessary he should pay attention to passing 

 events if he has obtained the enviable position of show- 

 ing himself in the first flight ; just having done so some 

 change may take place ; either the hounds overrun the 

 scent and come to a check, or gain a covert. The hero 

 ambitious of riding fame, if he should have assisted in 

 pressing the hounds beyond the line, sustains a double 

 mortification — firstly from the censure of the master of 

 the hounds, and secondly from the conviction that he 

 has not only defeated his own purpose and interest but 

 also interrupted the sport of his companions by his own 

 inadvertence. 



Towards the conclusion of the last, and about the 

 commencement of the present, century, there were 

 very few regular packs of hounds kept comparatively 

 to what we now have. Each pack ranged over a great 

 extent of country, and they seldom hunted more than 

 three days in the week. There were, no doubt, several 

 scratch packs, or trencher packs as they were termed, 

 which were kept at walks throughout the winter, used 

 for the purpose of hunting fox or hare ; but they could 

 not come under the denomination of regular establish- 

 ments, the chief of which consisted of the Dukes of 

 Rutland and Beaufort's ; those of the Earls Yarborough, 

 Berkeley, Fitzwilliam, Scarborough, Spencer, Stam- 

 ford and Warrington ; Sir R. Pulestone ; Messrs. 

 Meynell, Corbet, Forester, Warde, Childe, Lambton, 

 Poyntz, and Heron. If we add to these about half a 

 dozen packs of minor fame, exclusive of the trencher 

 packs, the total number will not amount to twenty- 



