PHOXIMITY TO THE HOUNDS. 115 



Solomon be laid at your door ; for depend npon 

 it, the man who kills a favourite hound is never 

 forgiven or forgotten by the Master or huntsman, 

 who, although they may say little, tJiink a good 

 deal about that individual who has the misfortune 

 to destroy or seriously damage one of their pets ; 

 and not without cause, seeing that a good fox- 

 hound cannot be replaced by money. It is mar- 

 vellous how hounds thread their way through two 

 or three hundred horsemen without accident, and 

 how they escape being ridden over at fences by a 

 lot of madcaps, who seem to think it is the hounds' 

 business to get out of their way, instead of their 

 avoiding them. 



Well, we are now streaming away, and if you 

 feel incompetent to mark out a line for yourself, 

 take the huntsman for your pilot ; go loith him, 

 not after him, on the offside from the pack, but as 

 he is a man of great consequence don't ride too 

 near him. This brings me, at once, on debateable 

 ground — how near to the hounds any stranger has 

 a right to ride. We hear, very commonly, of men 

 riding alongside of the leading couples ; now, it is 

 quite clear that no man, save huntsman or Master, 

 has either any cause or any right to be in such 

 near proximity. What would be thought of spec- 

 tators on a cricket ground rushing in, knocking 



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