2 26 THE COMPLETE HORSEMAN 



'' How do, Mr. Johnson ? " He should try to 

 enter into their interests as much as he can. 

 He need not talk farming or cattle breeding to 

 them, — he will probably make a fool of himself 

 if he does, — but he can take an interest in their 

 horses and stock, show himself at the Agricul- 

 tural Shows, and be genial in his relations with 

 them. I am well aware that a good deal of the 

 aloofness that is seen sometimes and which is so 

 much to be regretted is the result of shyness. A 

 man who has not been brought up in a hunting 

 country and amongst hunting men is entering 

 into a new world and it is scarcely to be wondered 

 at that he frequently shows himself at a dis- 

 advantage. It would perhaps be strange if he 

 did not. But I can assure him that if he will 

 make an effort to conquer his shyness he will 

 never regret it. And one of the great advant- 

 ages of hunting is that it brings men in contact 

 who perhaps have only one thing in common, 

 their love of sport. At any rate that may seem 

 to be the case at first. But the ice once broken 

 there are other matters in which they agree and 

 others on which they agree to differ, and they, 

 and, I venture to think, mankind in general 

 benefit from their intercourse. 



A very curious incident came to my notice 

 some years ago. There was a man, a landowner 

 in a small w^ay, with very pronounced opinions 

 and a decided enemy to hunting. His fences 

 were generally full of wire and it was an in- 

 struction to every one to keep off his land. One 



