206 THE HUNTING FIELD 



many. The man who puts on a scarlet coat advertises to the 

 world that he is going a hunting — nay more, he advertises that 

 he goes so often that it is necessary to have a coat expressly for 

 the purpose. Then come the usual amiable observations that 

 it would be better if he was looking after his business, wondering 

 who attends to things when he is away, and so on. Now the 

 man who goes out in a black coat may be going anywhere, 

 especially if he carries his whipthong in his pocket ; at all 

 events he carries no convicting evidence on his back that he is 

 going to hunt. 



People, instead of saying to him, " Well, you are going a 

 hunting, are you? " in atone that as much as says, "What 

 business have you in a red coat ? " merely inquire " If he is 

 going to see the hounds ? " and it rests with him to admit he 

 is, or say, like Peter Pigskin, that he is going to buy barley for 

 malting, or any other article that comes into his head. 



In addition to these arguments against indiscriminate 

 "scarlet coating," we may adduce another that will perhaps 

 have more weight than the foregoing. Nothing looks better 

 than a well-appointed, well-turned out sportsman ; and nothing 

 looks worse than a badly-turned out one. Things that would 

 pass muster uncommonly well with a black coat, are made 

 dreadfully conspicuous by a red one. There is nothing so 

 offensive to the eye as an ill-cut, ill-coloured, bad cloth'd red 

 coat. The majority of the wearers of them seem to think that 

 the coat being scarlet, is all that is necessary ; hence we some- 

 times see the most antediluvian cuts and the most out-of-the- 

 way fits — coats that look as if they were sent by the Jews in 

 Holywell-street on job for the day. Did ever sportsman, we 

 would ask, see a foxhunter figuring on the stage without a 

 shudder ? Even Widdicomb himself, great and versatile as he 

 is, sank beneath the character at Astley's. Who will ever 

 forget Punch's portrait of him bowing like a man milliner in 

 the saw-dust circle ? Fancy turning half-a-dozen Widdicombs 



