THE FIELD 123 



found that for half the year hunting took first place in 

 every one's mind. By pure accident he found himself 

 living in a community where every one talked about 

 hunting, whilst most of his neighbours followed 

 hounds. He quickly caught the enthusiasm, and went 

 out on foot ; then he thought he would like to ride, so 

 he bought a steady old crock, and was not long in 

 mastering a primary knowledge of riding. But being 

 a somewhat retiring man, and being also particularly 

 anxious not to make a fool of himself, he conceived the 

 idea of going out in the afternoon at first. He would 

 leave home about twelve, trot on to where hounds had 

 met, and try to fall in with them about two o'clock. 

 As he afterwards explained, he thus had the advantage 

 of joining in when the day's work was half over, when 

 horses had settled down, when the field had thinned 

 considerably, and when he was less likely to attract 

 attention than in the morning. 



At first, too, he was content to follow the line of the 

 hunt very quietly, either when they were drawing 

 coverts or hunting a fox, and thus he was able to 

 observe for himself what was taking place, and to watch 

 how others conducted themselves. This line of conduct 

 he pursued for half a season, and then he took the bull 

 by the horns and made his appearance at a meet. 



EQUIPMENT 



Having made his mind easy on the riding question 

 the new beginner should be careful as to the appearance 

 of both himself and his horse. A man who is badly 

 turned out is likely to create an unfavourable impres- 

 sion, and this should be avoided at all costs. It need 



