irO THE HUNTING-FIELD. 



pug having dodged down the other side of the 

 fence^ you would have leaped upon them. Making 

 allowance for your enthusiasm, I roared ' Go 

 along ^ loud enough, as soon as I saw the hounds 

 clear of you ; and after all, though you did not 

 see it. Will shook his head at me for going off, 

 figuratively speaking, without hounds, or at all 

 events somewhat before the entire pack. 



'^ Never," said I, "under any circumstances, if 

 you can help it, ride on the line, that is, behind 

 hounds, unless they are a considerable distance 

 before you; always keep, as I believe a sailor 

 would say, on ' their quarter, ' that is, a little 

 behind and a good deal on one side of them, in 

 ordinary cases down wind ; for, if they turn, you 

 will mostly be a saver of distance by it ; and if, 

 from any circumstance, they are hid from you, 

 your ear will tell you where they are, and what 

 about. Let me give you one bit more of advice, 

 if you really mean to be a fox-hunter. It is some- 

 thing like what T gave to a young friend entering 

 a dragoon regiment : ^ the king has made you 

 an officer, make yourself a soldier.' To you, I 

 say, ^ fortune enables you to be a horseman ; make 

 yourself a sportsman.^ For this you may take my 

 word — such thorough sportsmen as the Dukes of 

 Beaufort or Cleveland would as soon see the man 

 v/ho plays Punch with their hounds, as the man 

 wdio thinks of nothing but himself, his horse, and 



