236 THE SPORT OF KINGS 



sure enough, going apparently to certain and 

 sudden death, for he was heading straight for 

 hounds, and they saw him. But, like Ney, he 

 was " the bravest of the brave," nothing would 

 turn him from his point, and, giving hounds the 

 slip that time, he set his mask for a fine country. 

 What a rush and a scramble there was as men 

 rattled across the road in their eagerness for a 

 start. 



" Plenty of room in front, gentlemen, and 

 plenty of water, too, to judge by the appearance of 

 some of you." Then men got fairly settled to 

 the work, the merry chase went gladly fleeting 

 away, and, as I turned for home, I quoted the lines 

 of the poet : — 



Go where glory waits ye, 

 And when fame elates ye, 

 Remember me. 



My experiences of hunting on wheels have not 

 been many, but there is one other that I must 

 recall if it is only to point a moral. Many years 

 ago, for my sins, it fell to my lot to drive two 

 ladies to see hounds. The fixture was a fashion- 

 able one, and one, moreover, where carriages were 

 generally plentiful, and I knew every nook and 

 corner of the country as well as the run of the 

 foxes. So I determined to start late so as to avoid 

 the rush of the carriages and enable my fair com- 

 panions to see a fox and as much of the fun as 

 possible. I enjoined upon them the necessity of 

 silence, and they promised faithfully that nothing 

 would induce them to holloa. So we set off gaily 

 enough, and as we got within hail of the first 

 covert I heard that hounds were running, and run- 

 ning hard to boot. Soon I saw a fox pop his head 



