4 THE HUNTING FIEl.I) 



mistake," as the Duke of Wellington would saj'. It would be 

 not a bit more absurd for a man to punish himself bj' keeping 

 a yacht, who hates sailing and the sight of the sea, than it is 

 for a man to keep a pack of foxhounds who has no ardent 

 predilection for the chase. A qualified liking will not do for 

 a " best fellow under the sun." He must be heart and soul in 

 the sport — a real out-and-outer. Keenness covers a multitude 

 of sins. 



In addition to the sine qua non of keenness, he should 

 possess a host of other qualities. He should have the bold- 

 ness of a lion, the cunning of a fox, the shrewdness of an 

 exciseman, the calculation of a general, the decision of a 

 judge, the purse of Squire Plutus, the regularity of a railway, 

 the punctuality of a time-piece, the liberality of a sailor, the 

 patience of Job, the tact of an M.P., the wiliness of a diplo- 

 matist, the politeness of a lord, the strength of an Hercules, 

 the thirst of a Bacchus, the appetite of a Dando, the digestion 

 of an ostrich, the coolness of a crocodile, the fire-enduring 

 powers of a salamander or of Mons. Chabot, the Fire King, 

 with a slight touch of the eloquence of Cicero, and temper as 

 even as the lines in a copj'-book. Lor bless us, what a 

 combination of qualities ! John Austin, the peripatetic show- 

 man's happy united family in the body of a foxhunter ! 



Money ! money ! money ! like Mr. Wilberforce's reiterated 

 cry of Sugar ! sugar ! sugar ! is, however, perhaps, the most 

 important thing after keenness and temper. Cit}' people, 

 perhaps, would put money first, but that shows they know 

 nothing about foxhunting. A real keen-un will generally get 

 a countr\-, even though he has a soldier's thigh, before John 

 Plutus, who has only his money pots to recommend him.. 

 Money, however, there must be, either from the Master or the 

 field ; happ)', therefore, is the country possessing a Master in 

 the enjoyment of the qualifications we have dotted down, and 

 who is willing and able to pay his " own shot ; '" dearly should 



