88 THE COMPLETE FOXHUNTER 



be in similar case. If he knows that the master is 

 careless and indifferent about a slight fall of snow or 

 a few degrees of frost he will turn out on most un- 

 suitable mornings, while if he knows that the master 

 is extremely cautious it is good odds that he will be 

 able to anticipate the master's decision when there is 

 just a doubt about hunting. But the man who hunts 

 with the ears and eyes of his understanding partially 

 closed will be drawn to the stables and trot on to the 

 meet if the sun is shining and there is no snow on 

 the ground, quite oblivious of the fact that there has 

 been a dozen degrees of frost overnight. 



Again, the knowing man will know the shortest way 

 to a meet, and the best way home from wherever 

 hounds leave off, while the slow-witted one is never 

 sure of his road in the morning, and often quite at a loss 

 to know where he is when the sport of the day is over. 



We have slightly deviated from the point at issue, for 

 in truth it is of little consequence to a master of hounds 

 whether individual members of his field are quick or 

 slow to learn the ins and outs of the sport. What is 

 certain is that in the average hunting field there are 

 many men and women who were not brought up to hunt- 

 ing, and that, no matter how sharp a small minority of 

 these may be, the rank and file take more looking after 

 than did the members of any particular hunt — say fifty 

 years ago. The master's duties are therefore more 

 formidable than they once were, because of the twofold 

 combination of a larger and a more ignorant field. The 

 increased numbers tend to the field being much more 

 scattered than it ought to be, and the ignorance chiefly 

 takes the form of pressing to the front at wrong times, 

 and is most certainly the greatest difficulty which the 

 modern master of hounds has to contend with. 



