February Fill-dyke 



line at all, even if they should happen to be on 

 the line of a fox, which is by no means always 

 the case. For the too eager field is very apt to 

 drive hounds several fields over the line, and 

 foxes, moreover, under such conditions, are apt 

 to run short. 



Unpleasant, uncomfortable days generally 

 these first open days after a long frost, and it is 

 seldom that anything very brilliant takes place 

 on them. The fine weather sportsman — there 

 are too many of his class nowadays, I fear — is 

 apt to grumble at the bad sport and the flying 

 showers, and take himself off home early in the 

 day. He makes a mistake, for when three or 

 four of the flying showers have cleared the sky, 

 and the sun is westering, it is quite on the cards 

 that there may be at any rate a good hunting run. 



A typical first day after a frost occurs to the 

 memory — one which brings back many pleasant 

 reminiscences of old friends and old scenes and 

 a good horse that carried me well. It was a 

 sloppy morning — the country was as spongy as 

 it well could be, and the outlook not very prom- 

 ising. The field — well there were 300 at the 



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