LETTER XXL 



We are recommended by Beckford never to take out 

 hounds on very bad or stormy days. The advice is 

 good, but the misfortune is that in these times we cannot 

 follow it. Were any master of foxhounds at liberty to 

 consult his own individual opinion, or the welfare of his 

 hounds, he would not, from choice, make his appearance 

 at the covert side upon certain days which preclude al- 

 most the possibility of sport, independently of their un- 

 favourable influence upon his hounds. In these times 

 of rapid transit from place to place, many take advan- 

 tage of the railroad to convey themselves and horses long 

 distances to a favourite fixture, with a good pack of 

 hounds. Others select the fixed day as a day of recrea- 

 tion from business. Others, again, invite their friends to 

 their houses, in the expectation of their having a day's 

 sport with the foxhounds. For these and other reasons 

 the master is considering the convenience and amuse- 

 ment of the public, without reference or regard to his 

 own judgment or private feelings on the subject. In 

 short, whether keeping hounds solely at his own expense, 

 or as managing a subscription pack, the master is con- 

 sidered in the light of a servant of the public. Such is 

 the transition which has taken place since the days of 



Beckford. 



Q 



