IN THE HUNTING-FIELD. 219 



yourself, a good bit in advance, in order that you may not 

 in any wise be taken unprepared. 



Give a glance over your hunting-gear also, lest anything 

 should be astray. It is not at the last moment that such 

 things ought ever to be looked to. See that your gloves 

 are in good order, and your riding-breeches perfectly whole 

 — for, remember, there is a great and constant strain on this 

 particular garment, and it will in consequence stand in 

 frequent need of repairs. Make certain also that your skirt 

 is neatly brushed, your hat in perfection, and your whip 

 and spur in perfect readiness for use. 



Having made these preparations, you must turn your 

 thoughts from necessaries to possible contingencies, and 

 hold yourself in readiness for such. Procure a small, tidy 

 valise, and in it place a complete change of warm clothing. 

 You can dispense with fashionable and costly articles, and 

 put in merely such things as will prove convenient in the 

 possible event of your being either dyked, or subjected to 

 such a wetting from above as would render it unsafe for 

 you to proceed homewards in your riding-habit. Of course, 

 I am now surmising that you either drive or rail to the 

 hunt, and return the same way. 



If you ride a hack to covert, or jog your hunter at 

 an easy pace, you will not only find it impossible to carry 

 a change of clothing, but you will not have any need 

 of such, because nobody ever catches cold, even from wet 

 clothes, so long as motion and circulation are kept up ; 

 but if you have a long drive homewards after a hard and 

 exciting day, or a journey (even a short one) to perform by 



