A PLEASANT ACQUAINTANCE. 213 



merely an oatli, but a volley of tliem if they over- 

 ride liis hounds ; when he does this, they return 

 it, and tell him to his face ^ they are as good as 

 he/ and in half an hour afterwards are as good 

 friends as ever. The gentlemen of the hunt are 

 careful not to expose themselves to this. They 

 are field acquaintances with him, leave their cards 

 at his really princely mansion two or three times 

 in the year, accept his invitation to a fox-hunting 

 dinner during the season, and give him the same 

 in return, at both of which he is about as noisy 

 and a far greater nuisance than when with his 

 hounds. In this truly gentlemanly and enviable 

 Avay he spends his very large fortune, a tolerably 

 illustrative specimen of the justness of repre- 

 senting Fortune as blind. ^^ 



The next morning we were at the fixtm^e, the 

 Master had not arrived. The Huntsman here, 

 instead of keeping by himself and his hounds 

 round him, as was the case with the other pack, 

 was surrounded by several young farmers with 

 whom he was indulging in hilarity anything but 

 respectful to the general field ; his Whips were 

 between him and the cover, watchful that no 

 hounds broke away, and every now and then a 

 rate indicated that some of them showed symptoms 

 of such intention. After keeping the field waiting 

 a considerable time, the Master came up, and, 

 without the slightest expression of apology or 



P 3 



