The Master and the Deputy-Master. 89 



pay for his sport, whether he be the lessee of a 

 deer forest or a Birmingham working-man angler : 

 the age of free fox-hunting, as of free golf, is 

 past. Every man who subscribes to an Otter-hunt 

 or submits to be capped has a right to follow the 

 hounds : and provision is made for all in nearly 

 every hunt by a sliding scale of subscriptions, 

 ranging from half a guinea upwards, the larger 

 sums entitling to such privileges as the receipt of 

 cards of the fixtures, the right to wear badges, hunt 

 buttons, or the uniform, or to eligibility for holding 

 office and having a voice in the conduct of the hunt. 

 But although much may be forgiven to the 

 M.O.H. of the ''right sort" who shows sport, 

 there are many additional qualities necessary to him 

 if he is to be a really popular Master. Tact, 

 temper, manners, and that indefinable gift bon- 

 homie should be his. He should reserve his snubs 

 for those whom the hunt would really be better 

 without, and administer them with much discretion. 

 To the well-meaning but ignorant he must listen 

 with as much patience and apparent deference as 

 to the oldest and most trusted member of the hunt. 

 At the meet he will hear from many lips stories of 

 the local prevalence of Otters : extraordinary stories 

 they will prove too. One lady will tell him that 

 her brothers, fishing a favourite pool on the previous 

 day, were occupied for hours in stoning off a large 



