The Hunting Year 



Ahr wine," and " spurred the old horse and held 

 him tight " before taking that last fatal plunge 

 into the unknown. There is wagging of heads 

 as one says to another : " Lottery, aye, he 

 jumped sommat like ; no chancing it with him ; 

 he were a horse now " — and though they may 

 differ about what is likely to win the Royal 

 Hunt Cup or the Northumberland Plate — for 

 your keeper puts his half-crown on, on occasion, 

 in spite of a paternal, or shall I say grand- 

 motherly government, all are agreed that there 

 never was a chaser like Lottery, or a jockey 

 like Jim Mason. 



Then dinner is announced, and the company 

 loses all interest in Lottery and Red Deer and 

 the rest, and crowds into the dining-room. The 

 Master, if present, will take the chair. If he is 

 not present the duty devolves upon the hunts- 

 man. A few farmers will probably have been 

 asked and one or two active members of the 

 Hunt may also be present, and one of these will 

 occupy the vice-chair. 



There is no carving at the sideboard on these 



occasions : 



206 



