92 The Hunting Countries of England. 



description ; and you can verify on tlie road home what 

 you have seen during the day. There are few hunts- 

 men but are glad of a sympathetic interest in their 

 favourites ; and there are few who will not cheerfully 

 assist it. We may not all be imbued with such an 

 interest, or care to cultivate it. But there are many of 

 us who do ; and to whom it represents a considerable 

 part of the pleasure we derive from foxhunting. 

 Masters of foxhounds and huntservants are naturally 

 those who take the deepest interest in the subject of 

 hounds. But there is no reason that it should be con- 

 fined entirely to them — though it is undeniable that 

 there are some very few of either class who not only 

 deny the possibility of its existence elsewhere^ but 

 would prefer its remaining unrecognised and unen- 

 couraged except among themselves. So rare, however, 

 are the instances of individual jealousy attempting to 

 guard the study of hounds as if it were a branch of 

 the Eleusinian mysteries, that they fortunately stand 

 out only as exceptions to prove a strongly marked rule 

 of unselfishness and good feeling. 



It is, of course, with a field of moderate dimensions 

 that most opportunity is given to the looker-on of 

 seeing what hounds are doing, and how they do it. 

 And the Hambledon field is at no time a large one — 

 gauged by comparison with what is to be seen with 

 many other packs at a distance from Hampshire. 



The kennels are at Droxford, some three or four 

 miles north of Bishops Waltham. ^Ir. Walter Long, 

 who carries the horn himself, is the son of Mr. W. 

 Jervis - Long, of Preshaw House, who hunted the 

 country previously for twelve seasons. He has had 



