HUNTING. 91 



because his snow-white breeches are disfigured 

 by just one speck of dirt ; probably it would 

 be unobservable to anybody but himseK, yet 

 he is not the less annoyed. A dapper Httle 

 gentleman, in drab shorts and gaiters, is 

 covertly combing his horse's mane ; and a 

 hoary old fox-hunter, who has just mounted, 

 has drawn over close to the hedge, and extends 

 first one foot and then the other for his servant 

 to remove the blemishes which mounting has 

 put upon his boots. This extreme fastidious- 

 ness is carried by some to an absurd excess. 

 I remember upon one occasion seeing a 

 gentleman actually re-enter his dog-cart and 

 drive sulkily away from the meet because he 

 considered himself too much splashed to join 

 the cavalcade which was moving away to the 

 covert, although he was fully aware that a 

 trot of a few hundred yards upon the muddy 

 road in company with numerous other horses 

 would, under any circumstances, have speedily 

 reduced him to the condition which he was 

 then lamenting. 



A few ladies come upon the scene, and 

 many more gentlemen ; and then comes the 



