2o8 HISTORY OF THE BRAMHAM MOOR HUNT. 



'Cooper's. " First time I have seen him trot for a fortnight." 

 ' What has been the matter .'' ' " Why, John Bastard was 

 'coming- up, and he drove quietly until we got nearly to 

 'Charing Cross, when a man in a trap tried to pass, Johnny 

 'let go his whip, and the horse has never settled till to-day." 

 'Johnny,' adds Mr. Fox, 'was neat with his whip, and it 

 'often did harm.' A hint this that young coachmen will do 

 well to bear in mind, for when a man can handle his whip 

 well, and it is by no means an every-day accomplishment, 

 he is rather apt to show his capabilities in that line. 



It would be an impertinence to say that in all matters 

 connected with the management of a country Mr. Fox was 

 thoroughly at home, and the management of a country is 

 often a more difficult task than the management of the 

 hounds in the kennel and the field. There are conflicting 

 interests to keep balanced, shooting men and shooting tenants 

 to oblige, and countless other thinp's to do, which call for 

 the exercise of the greatest self-denial. A master of hounds 

 has no bed of roses, even in so sporting a country as the 

 Bramham Moor, and doubtless much of the diplomatic 

 part of the work was irksome to a man of Mr. Fox's 

 straightforward nature. He has been heard to say, when 

 sorely put on, and feeling that he would like to give 

 expression to his thoughts, that the position of a master of 

 foxhounds in these days was nearly as degrading as that of 

 a Member of Parliament. He could, however, and some- 

 times did, hit out rather hardly when a man laid himself 

 particularly open to reproof. 



The following letter shows how masters of hounds are 

 sometimes treated, and also shows that Mr. Pox at least 

 knew how to reply to impertinent suggestions. I, of course, 

 suppress names, date, and locality, as no good purpose could 

 be served by making either public. 



