THE END OF A LONG REIGN. 203 



that all good things came in threes. As such the 

 triple alliance seemed like the noble shamrock 

 which they had heard was worn by her Majesty 

 in her bonnet." He then spoke in detail of the 

 beautiful workmanship of the address, and said 

 that he noted with great appreciation the intro- 

 duction of the hounds and terrier, and last, but 

 not least, the joining link between them — the fox. 

 " The fox was a noble fellow. He had done them 

 all good, and they might depend upon it that 

 there was no animal in England which did more 

 good in his little generation than their noble 

 friend the fox. He was the gentleman they took 

 such care to preserve, and he was the gentleman 

 that he himself as M.F.H. had done his very best 

 to destroy, and it was through the help of those 

 present that he had been in a measure successful." 

 Mr Guest assured them that he valued the address 

 as a work of art, but he valued it yet more as a 

 proof of the good feeling and friendship that ex- 

 isted towards him. It showed him that he had at 

 least secured more friends than enemies during 

 the time that he had hunted the country. He 

 looked back upon the past sixteen years with the 

 greatest possible satisfaction, for he might say — 

 and he defied any one to contradict him — that he 

 had not made a single enemy among the farming 

 class. It was unfortunately impossible for any 

 man to be in his position without unintentionally 

 treading on some one's toes occasionally, but he 

 had tried to rub along in the straightest and most 



