The Hunting Year 



judge so in very plain language, accusing him 

 of favouritism, and telling him that on that 

 account he would take care that hounds never 

 found a fox in his covert again. Whether he 

 ever interfered with foxes or not is more than I 

 can say. Probably he did not, and that when 

 his covert was drawn blank as it was a time or 

 two, it might be owing to natural causes over 

 which he had no control. But he was very 

 bitter for some time, and took some talking 

 round. Indeed, perhaps the decision of other 

 judges opened his eyes to the real merits of his 

 horse. 



The hunting of a May fox is a very different 

 thing from the killing of one, as I have already 

 said, but I have more than once seen hounds run 

 as hard in May as I have seen them run in 

 December. 



One curious incident of May hunting is worth 

 relating. It was before my time, but I was told 

 by those who took part in it. It happened more 

 than sixty years ago and is now a forgotten inci- 

 dent, though I believe it made some stir in the 



country at the time. A gentleman made a com- 



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