CHAPTER XXIII. 



Peter Beckford, in his Thoughts upon Hunting, writing a 

 century and a quarter ago, apologises for his frontispiece in 

 the following words, though why he should have affixed a 

 frontispiece to letters to a friend does not appear : — 



"You will rally me, perhaps, on the choice of my frontis- 

 piece, but why should not hunting admit the patronage of a 

 lady ? The ancients, you know, invoked Diana at setting 

 out on the chase, and sacrificed to her on their return ; is 

 not this enough to show the propriety of my choice ? At 

 all events I assure myself that you will approve her atten- 

 dants, Health and Contentment." 



There would have been no necessity for any such apologia 

 being uttered or written to Mr. Ogden-Hooper, the master 

 of the Tinbury, or Phil Boulter, his huntsman, or George 

 Grant, the huntsman of the Brackley, so vastly have things 

 changed since Beckford's day ; but as these three worthy 

 persons stood in the large kennel paddock at Cranston with 

 Joe Summers in his kennel coat, and twelve couples of 

 young hounds around them, they were one and all im- 

 pressed by the fact that unusual happenings had fallen upon 

 the Cranston country. 



One and all in their turn had dropped hints to Joe Sum- 

 mers, but the old man ignored them, so they gave their 

 minds to the matter in hand and took a general view of the 

 young entry before inspecting its members individually upon 

 the flags. They stood together with observant eyes wander- 

 ing over the moving black, white and tan. There was no 

 mistaking the country gentleman in Mr. Ogden-Hooper, but 

 to the ordinary observer the two huntsmen might have been 



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