CHAPTER IX. 



THE MASTER AND THE DEPUTY- 

 MASTER. 



In this chapter especially, although I have pursued 

 the idea throughout the book, I shall treat the Master 

 of Otter-hounds as being the huntsman of the pack. 

 In some few packs these offices have, I know, been 

 separated, and the Master occupies, like the majority 

 of MM.F.H., a merely ornamental position ** with 

 the right of veto." In one such hunt a peer figures 

 as " Honorary Master," and there are also a Master 

 and a huntsman. But this is an exceptional occur- 

 rence. In most cases the man who takes the position 

 of M.O.H. does so chiefly for the purpose of hunting 

 hounds himself. And rightly so : for in this pleasure 

 — to a true sportsman perhaps the greatest of tem- 

 poral joys — must rest the only compensation for the 

 real hard work, the major and minor worries, the 

 constant strain of efficient supervision, the expendi- 

 ture of time, and perhaps — though it is hardly fair 

 that this should be — of money also, wTiich are 

 found necessary to ensure that his hounds and his 



