IN THE HUNTING-FIELD. 225 



endangered by second and third-class riders. By-and-by, 

 when you have gained the knowledge and experience 

 which getting up from the ranks will assuredly bring you, 

 there will be an extra pleasure in finding yourself not 

 only holding first place in the most difficult runs, but in 

 knowing that you are qualified to hold it, and are justified 

 in declining to yield it up to others who may not have won 

 their spurs. 



If, however, you desire to render yourself thoroughly ob-. 

 noxious to everybody, you can set about it in this way. 

 Select for your mount something that is both fidgetty and 

 showy, yet utterly " incapable." Whenever you attempt a 

 fence keep your horse at it, whether you have any chance 

 of getting over or not, to the exclusion of half the field. 

 When you get on fair ground, gallop madly forward and 

 override the hounds, if you chance by a " fluke " to get 

 near enough to them to do so. When there is a check, 

 and the pack fails in hitting off the scent at once, slash at 

 the nearest of them with your hunting-whip, and tell the 

 animal playfully that it is " a naughty dog not to hunt 

 better." Always make a point of crowding at gaps and 

 gateways, when hounds and field are struggling to get 

 through. Never fail to effect an intimate acquaintance 

 with the master, and be sure to call the huntsman, when 

 speaking of him, "Bill Simmonds " or "Jim Brown," al- 

 though " Simmonds " or " Brown " maybe quite enough for 

 other people. Always follow this last-mentioned functionary 

 into covert, and speak to him all the time that he is 

 anxiously watching his hounds. Should you happen to 



Q. 



