322 THE SPORT OF KINGS 



and more " fashionable " countries, — and this 

 should not be. It is not necessary that every 

 item of expenditure in connection with the hunt 

 should be paid for by the members, but they should 

 remember that the Master gives a large part of his 

 time to provide them — and, of course, incidentally 

 himself, that must be admitted — with sport, and 

 it is hardly fair that he should be largely fined for 

 so doing. 



There are countless ways by which the field 

 can lighten the burden of the Master, which is 

 sometimes a heavy one, for it must be borne in 

 mind that he has to take every one's abuse at times 

 as well as to pay for the privilege. So the least 

 that those who benefit by his labours can do is to 

 render him some little assistance in the way of 

 keeping the occupiers of land on the right side. 

 And to give these gentlemen their due, it is not a 

 very difficult matter if gone about in the right 

 way. What farmers do not like, and it is scarcely 

 likely that they should look on it with favour, is 

 men coming from a distance for their hunting, 

 then quietly ignoring the district in which they 

 obtain their sport for the remainder of the year. 

 People who can afford to go into a strange 

 country with half a dozen or more hunters, and 

 live there from the first day of November to the 

 last day of March, can surely afford to pay a 

 flying visit some time during the summer. They 

 may be assured that they would meet with a hearty 

 welcome, and they would do more good to the 

 hunting cause than they are aware. A timely 

 inquiry about the young colt or the promising 

 bull or heifer to the non-hunting farmer would 

 meet with appreciation, and a visit to the local 



