THE YOUTHFUL BEGINNER. 3 



of hunting had lately come to live in a hunting country, 

 and had sent her boy and girl out hunting (for the first 

 time) in charge of a man who was just as ignorant 

 as the children. His instructions were that he and his 

 charges had on no account to leave the road, and the 

 Master, seeing a big crowd at the meet, and being about 

 to draw a gorse on a hillside below the village, sent a 

 second horseman to direct the crowd to a spot where they 

 were not likely to do any harm. The coachman in 

 charge of the children, when asked to follow on, replied 

 that he had only come to the meet, and was at once 

 going home. The second horseman came on without 

 him ; hounds found in the gorse, and the fox set out on 

 a beautiful line ; but as he rose the hill the forms of 

 the groom and the two children suddenly appeared 

 drawn up (in a lane) on the skyline, and nicely placed 

 about twenty yards apart. The fox turned back, and 

 ran straight into hounds. There was, however, a second 

 fox in the gorse, and he broke a Httle further along the 

 hill, pointing for the crest some quarter of a mile from 

 where the first fox had been headed. It looked as if 

 he would make his point, but just as he reached the lane 

 the three spectral figures again appeared, and the fox 

 dodged back to covert, and resolutely refused to break 

 again. The children went home highly pleased at having 

 seen two foxes, and perfectly ignorant of the fact that they 

 had spoilt the sport ; and their mother, innocently 

 'enough, for a week or so went about telling all her 

 friends how sharp her youngsters had been in having 

 seen two foxes on their first hunting day, while Mrs. B. 's 

 boy (who had doubtless been in his right place with the 

 crowd), though he was fourteen "years old, had "come 

 B 2 



