A HOLIDAY WITH THE WARD 



91 



good-humoured to a degree, tlie Ward field — except with 

 reference to ladies — ignores altogether what elsewhere we 

 denominate, and insist upon, as fia'u — viz. our right of 

 jumping a fence exactly in the order in which we arrive 

 within jumping distance. That this custom does not hold 

 good is very possibly part of the outcome of stag-hunting, 

 and of stag-hunting in its best and fastest form. I am 

 writing for fox-hunters. And I say that for fox-hunting 

 the worst possible school is stag-hunting. What say 

 Masters of Foxhounds ? 



Flying steeds with empty saddles and dangling reins 



Changing subject to the other main factor of the 

 sport, to wit, the horse. I should like to prepare you 

 for a vicissitude which you are certain to encounter oc- 

 casionally — if not frequently — when you elect to throw 

 in your luck with the Ward. This is being parted from 

 your horse, and being left only with the consoling as- 

 surance that he will surely pursue his career for many 

 a mile, with no one having the power, if they had the 

 inclination, to stop him. It is not etiquette in stag-hunt- 

 ing to catch loose horses. How should it be, unless your 

 own is very blown, or there be other occasion for assum- 

 ing a virtue ? As a matter of fact, mv dreams of the 



