CRITICISMS OF HIS FOLLOWERS 151 



attempting to jump them, is their pet diversion. To 

 close a gate, so that Hve-stock may not stray over the 

 country, is beyond their power of thought. Unwit- 

 tingly, perhaps, but none the'less surely, these men are 

 worse enemies to hunting than the so-called humani- 

 tarian faddists, whose ravings against sport are pub- 

 lished in the columns of fifth-rate newspapers. Not 

 only are they a constant thorn in the side of the Master, 

 but they are the bugbears of the regular followers of 

 hounds, who strive their utmost to cause as little 

 damage as possible to the land over which they ride. 

 From the standpoint of the conscientious hunting-man 

 they deserve the most unmitigated abuse which it is 

 possible for them to receive from the lips of a Master 

 of Hounds. 



We must remember, however, that in these days the 

 numerical strength of Fields is so large, that it is an 

 impossibility for a Master during his first season to 

 distinguish between the old members of the Hunt and 

 the peripatetic sinners, who break all the recognised 

 rules of hunting, who wear the outward garb of 

 gentility in the shape of a pink coat, and who arouse 

 the ire of the farmers by their ignorance and super- 

 cilious behaviour. It has been an oft-discussed ques- 

 tion, whether an old and respected member of the 

 Hunt should not be allowed to usurp for the moment 

 the power of the Master, and publicly rebuke a delin- 

 quent whom he has caught hi flagrante delicto. Per- 

 sonally, I am opposed to any usurpation of the 

 authority of a Master or of a Hunt Secretary. In the 

 first place, my experience is that Masters of Hounds 



