32 PRECEPT AND PEACTTCE. 



assumed the character of the hunting man? A 

 season or two hence he will prohably attempt this. 

 But in his early career he had not seen hunting men 

 where they are unmistakeably such — that is, at the 

 cover-side. He had probably seen hundreds in their 

 ordinary costume and bearing as gentlemen. But he 

 would have said, had any conspicuous character been 

 pointed out to him, " What ! is that gentleman in the 

 plain black frock and grey trousers, riding the 



little brown horse, Lord , Sir , or Mr. , 



that I have heard of as a leading man with the 

 Quom ? " Doubtless, he expected to see some indi- 

 cations of his celebrity in the field brought forward 

 in Rotten Row. He had no idea that any man could 

 forego, much less avoid, the being ostensible. Thus 

 I hope I have accounted for the conduct of some 

 very young and very inexperienced ones making 

 themselves ridiculous, without meaning it as any im- 

 peachment on their good sense in other particulars. 



Our hero was now in a rather unpleasant dilemma. 

 To drop at once his military or racing assumptions 

 of style, whatever it may have been, required some 



