THE FROST 229 



whom I allude has so much as seen his bicycle 

 since November ushered in the season of seasons, 

 and I took it as a sign that, with a philosophy 

 which does them infinite credit, our hard riders 

 had accepted the inevitable. 



It looks as if we should have at least a week's 

 frost, but we will hope, at any rate, for signs of a 

 speedy change. Not that a week's frost will be 

 altogether unwelcome to those who have acted on 

 the golden rule, " Gather ye roses whilst ye may," 

 since that early morning in August which entailed 

 such a looking up of button-hooks, and such 

 mighty efforts to get things ship-shape, and have 

 never missed an available opportunity of hunting. 

 Well, the frost has come, and we have an oppor- 

 tunity of comparing notes with our friends in other 

 countries. And we have something to talk about, 

 those of us who have hunted as we ought to do 

 since Christmas. For it was after Christmas Day 

 that the sport began, and although we have not 

 had the run of the season every day, we have had 

 an exceptional lot of good gallops during the three 

 weeks. So for a day or two there will be plenty 

 of occupation for our spare time in talking over 

 the minute details of the sport we have enjoyed. 

 There are, of course, arrears of work to be got 

 through, for most men have correspondents whom 

 they are apt to neglect during a busy hunting 

 season. There are other business calls, too, upon 

 hunting men, and work has to be attended to 

 which has been postponed from time to time 

 because Lord B. met at Hedley-on-the-Hill, the 

 X. at Compton Osiers, or the Y. at Dingley Dell. 

 This way of getting through a frost is so obvious 

 that I will not dwell upon it, and for a moment 



