76 THE BEST OF THE FUN 



And he has Hkewise equipped himself with a pulling 

 horse and a very inadequate bridle. Between the lot he 

 shortly found himself in a state of heat and distress 

 bordering upon apoplexy. There was nothing for it but 

 to pull up at once and get rid of some of the encum- 

 bering garments. Accordingly he brought the bay mare 

 abruptly to a standstill by putting her head straight at a 

 hovel wall. Off went the mackintosh-apron, to be 

 twisted deftly round the breastplate. With the rain- 

 drenched covert coat he was not so successful. It 

 clung to his arms as if glued to them ; and do what he 

 would he could get it no further than his elbows. The bay 

 mare of course took advantage of the opportunity to set her- 

 self going again in pursuit of hounds. And this she did at 

 best pace while her rider sat pinioned by his elbows, in a 

 plight little better than Mazeppa's ! How it ended I can- 

 not tell you : for they were soon a mile away. But it is 

 said that a rent covert coat was picked up a mile or so 

 further on ; and I know that Mazeppa II. means to hunt 

 again to-morrow, though very silent and reserved as to 

 the incident in question. 



CHAPTER XII 



A DART FROM WINWICK WARREN 



Lord Spencer has consented to retain the Mastership of 

 the Pytchley. Comment on the gratifying announcement 

 would be altogether superfluous. Had he vacated the 

 post, there was no one to fill it adequately — though of 

 course an acceptable stop gap (I can think of no other 

 words to express blameless inadequacy) would speedily 

 have been forthcoming. We are grateful to Lord Spencer, 

 not merely for continuing to hold an office that has been, 

 as it were, the natural prerogative of his family for gener- 

 ations, but for consenting, at whatever inconvenience and 

 labour to himself, still to carry on the multiplied duties 

 and responsibilities that accompany the mastership of a 

 country so popular and so accessible as the Pytchley. 



