6 THE SPORT OF KINGS 



information, and it is on Slocum's information he 

 acts. 



Now, Slocum is a sensible man, his opinion is 

 courted on important matters, and it stands to 

 reason that Slocum would not make the sacrifices 

 he does to secure his hunting — and he does make 

 sacrifices — if it were not for the " infinite variety " 

 that there is in the sport which he affects, and of 

 which he is a distinguished ornament. 



For those who go out cub-hunting, who have 

 time and opportunity, and who have so far secured 

 the huntsman's confidence as to receive intimation 

 of the earliest cub-hunting fixtures, the charm of 

 hunting, its interest and its variety, is much 

 increased. To begin with, the man who has such 

 a privilege is a hound man, or he would not be 

 there. The man who merely hunts to ride would 

 never take the trouble to rise a little after mid- 

 night to meet hounds at dawn, and not have a 

 gallop. But to the man who appreciates hounds 

 and their work, and who knows the history of the 

 pack, what pleasure there is in those September 

 mornings ! What a delight in watching how old 

 Druid's progeny are entering to their game, and 

 growing each morning cleverer and cleverer, till 

 they bid fair soon to be nearly as good as their 

 wise old sire himself. And as the season wears on 

 each day brings with it its own peculiar charm. 

 Even from a blank day an observant man can 

 learn something of the denizens of the woods. 

 But the man who stands by the covert side, dis- 

 cussing volubly local gossip, foreign politics, or 

 " the swearing of De Grin," sees none of these 

 things, and to him one blank day only differs 

 from another in the coverts that are drawn. 



