132 THE SPORT OF KINGS 



fortable than the orthodox costume of the chase. 

 Granted for a moment that his argument is a 

 correct one — and it is certainly open to question 

 — would the same gentleman go to a dinner-party 

 in an old smoking -jacket, which is indisputably 

 more comfortable than the regulation evening 

 dress ? 



Then it is due to the Master to appear at the 

 place of meeting. There are some men who are 

 very remiss in this matter. To save themselves 

 half a mile's ride they will ride through coverts 

 on the road to the meet, or they will stop at some 

 covert where they think that a Master will draw 

 or ought to draw. This is the worst of bad form. 

 As they ride through the coverts they seldom take 

 care to be silent. They talk and laugh, and smoke 

 cigars, and clash gates, regardless of the fact that 

 all good foxes lie light, and that whilst they are 

 amusing themselves in this fashion the good fox 

 in the covert, put on the alert by finding his earth 

 stopped, has already taken in the situation, and has 

 carefully made good his escape long ere hounds 

 come to draw the covert. Then when hounds do 

 come, and perhaps own a line here and there, these 

 same men who have done the mischief will dis- 

 course learnedly of hound breeding, and tell you 

 that hounds do not hunt as they did, and that 

 the Master is breeding them on wrong lines. It 

 is always the Master, you will note. Not very 

 long since, at a favourite covert which chanced on 

 that occasion to be the second draw, the Master 

 on arrival found half-a-dozen horsemen riding 

 about in the field next to it chatting away gaily. 

 They had disturbed the covert, they had also 

 annoyed the farmer — a very good fellow, by the 



