MH. W. \A'HITLEY ^' ME. H. \\'HITLEY 299 



the hunting-field a man leams discipline and self- 

 restraint, his perceptions are quickened, his physical 

 powers developed, his endurance hardened and his 

 courage put to the test. Habits of observation and 

 self-rehance, resource in difficulties and determina- 

 tion in surmounting obstacles are acquired there as 

 they are nowhere else. Valuable attributes, these, 

 for the soldier, more especially for him who, but for 

 field sports, would be a stranger to toil or hardship 

 of any sort. Not only so, but in these days when 

 roads are made too dangerous to ride upon, it is fair 

 to say that outside the hunting community the art 

 of riding and the knowledge of horsekeeping has died 

 out among the people. The South Devon has trained 

 its share of those who are now defending the Empire 

 in the greatest war of all time. It is up to the ladies 

 of the hunt and those men who are past the fighting 

 age to keep ahve an institution that has survived 

 many wars, great and small, and many other difficulties 

 that have threatened it from time to time during an 

 existence of over a hundred vears. 



