THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 89 



It is in many countries absolutely imperative that 

 the field should be massed together when certain small 

 coverts are drawn, but nowadays there are many people 

 hunting who will not, or cannot, see the importance of 

 this point ; and thus it often happens that when hounds 

 leave a meet to draw a certain covert, certain people 

 will go to the covert by some pet way of their own, 

 instead of following on behind hounds. Others, again, 

 will dawdle at the meet, or arrive late, and, following 

 on, find the field drawn up in one place, in reaching 

 which they stand a fair chance of heading a fox. Later 

 in the day, too, when a morning of sport has been got 

 through, the careless ones will wander all over the 

 country, and even when going home will often succeed 

 in getting where they are at all events likely to head a 

 fox. 



This sort of thing frequently occurs, whereas it was 

 practically unknown when foxhunting was followed 

 with a greater general knowledge than now exists. To 

 give an example of what we mean, one day last season 

 a certain pack of hounds hunted a fox most of the 

 morning at a slow pace, and finally killed him about 

 two o'clock. Only one covert had been drawn, and 

 hounds were some five miles from the gorse which was 

 next on the list. The master decided to go to this 

 gorse, and after the obsequies were over the order was 

 given, and about half of the field sought the high road 

 to begin their homeward journey, while hounds and 

 the rest of the field proceeded towards the gorse by an 

 occupation road. 



Half an hour's quick trotting, and the gorse was in 

 full view on the slope of a hill nearly a mile away, but 

 glimpses of scarlet were also in view, and it was plain 

 enough that some of the field who had been left behind 



