THE WAR AND THE FINAL TRIUMPH. 85 



been with only seven couples of old hounds in the kennels ? But 

 some wonderfully good runs were provided, and I remember after 

 one good day returning an hour and three-quarters late for lock- 

 up. F. M. G. Glyn, the Master, was a good runner, and beagling 

 became very popular. Only three hares were killed in all, two 

 of them on one day. The first of these was killed in the boys' 

 part of Mr. Marten's house, to the immense delight of the owner. 

 Another hare was killed in a garden close to Chalvey Grove, and 

 I remember an old woman trying to sweep hounds away with a 

 broomstick. 



Here I will give the personal reminiscences of T. C. Barnett- 

 Barker, Master in the season 1919-20, which will bring us right 

 up to date, and will describe better than any words of mine the 

 final triumph of hunting at Eton and the situation of beagling 

 to-day. 



'' During my first two years at Eton (1915 and 1916) I was 

 a Lower Boy. To a Lower Boy beagling is generally forbidden, 

 and consequently only rumours reached me about the beagles. 

 Once or twice I was fagged to kennels, but I only took a furtive 

 glance at the hounds. 



*' My third year, when the customary notice came round 

 asking for the names of prospective beaglers, I decided to make 

 the experiment. This decision was not made without a feeling 

 of misgiving, as I thought it more a sport for my elders and 

 betters, because in those days all the ' celebrities ' beagled, or so 

 it seemed to me at the time. Some of my friends took me to 

 the first meet, and I remember being haunted by the childish yet 

 awful idea that I might do something wrong. However, one 

 soon learnt there was not much time for doing wrong, the only, 

 necessity being to try to keep up with hounds 



" Vaguely I remember struggling and inwardly praying for a 

 check. When at last I did catch up, it was generally time to go 

 home, unless one wished to violate the laws of lock-up. As yet 

 I was not one of those ' bravos ' who cared little for their tutors 

 and lock-up, yet inwardly admiring them and longing to be one 

 of them. And so it was that with persistent regularity I used 

 to reach my house just as the lock-up bells broke out. 



**The after-sensations of a day's beagling are hard to 

 describe, but all who beagle with a true heart know the infinite 

 joy of sitting in a comfortable armchair by a warm fire just 

 * thinking it over.' 



** Before the end of my first season I had made friends with 

 the kennel huntsman, of whom more hereafter, and even began 

 to criticise inwardly the Master and whips, so conceited was L 



