54 THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 



age, as can be proved by statistics of longevity. Mr. 

 Forester belonged to the old school of fox-hunters. 

 On hunting mornings he never breakfasted later than 

 4 A.M., and would be in the saddle at 5 A.M. ; then 

 home again to dinner at 3 P.M. 



After dinner, eaten with an appetite which only fox- 

 hunting can procure, the carousals were often long 

 and deep. 



" Hark away ! Hark away! While our spirits are gay, 

 Let us drink to the joys of next meeting day I " 



was his motto. But it must not for a moment be sup- 

 posed that Mr. Forester was what would be termed in 

 these days a drunkard. He only drank after dinner, 

 and not always then, as the following incident will 

 prove. On one occasion Mr. Dansey, Mr. Childe, and 

 Mr. Stubbs were staying with him at Willey, and they 

 had arrived home earlier than usual after their morn- 

 ing's sport. Dinner was served on their arrival, and 

 Mr. Forester proposed an after-dinner run. Needless 

 to say, the proposal was carried nem. con., and Tom 

 Moody was given his instructions. At 3 p.m. they 

 drew for their fox, found him, and hounds accounted 

 for him by moonlight. The run is still spoken of in 

 Shropshire as the Beggarlybrook run. The memory 

 of Mr. Forester has been so often assailed by the 

 cranks who rail at harmless recreation, that it is 

 perhaps necessary to record his public services outside 

 the hunting-field. For many years he represented the 

 borough of Wenlock in the House of Commons, and 

 he was major of the Wenlock Loyal Volunteers, a 



