Farmers and City Men 227 



the same ring, under the same conditions, wins or loses. 

 It is no infrequent sight to see the King, as I saw him at the 

 Royal Agricultural Show at York, go into an enclosure 

 where fifty shepherds and farmers stand holding as many 

 rams for his inspection, nor find it beneath his dignity to 

 shake hands with tenant-farmers, to give a smile and a nod 

 to a lad who has his hands full keeping a refractory ram in 

 position, or a "thank you" to some old weather-beaten 

 shepherd who holds a sheep while the King parts the 

 wool to inspect the quality. It is said, and I can well be- 

 lieve, that His Royal Highness, as he was till recently, never 

 looked so much a man as the day he placed himself on a 

 level with the humblest competitors in the contest for 

 prizes, and walked among them afterward, not as a prince, 

 but as a farmer. One need not marvel at his great popu- 

 larity, or seek long to discover what makes him one of the 

 best-liked men in England. It is because the instincts of 

 true sportsmanship direct every act 



Lastly, I might add that the talented author of " Poems in 

 Pink" agrees with me on this score of snobbishness, for he 

 writes : 



Leave us the chase, where, in harmony blending, 



Men of all classes ride on to the end. 

 Men become brothers, each brother contending ; 



Every true sportsman is counted a friend. 



