CHAPTER XXII. 



With the York Packs. 



It was a very curious circumstance that the four followers 

 of the hunt who were drowned were the only ones who 

 habitually wore hunting caps. Before the great Marquis 

 of Waterford was killed when hunting in 1859, hunting 

 caps were the ordinary head-gear in the hunting field. 

 Because he happened to be wearing a cap at the time of 

 his death, the unreasoning dictates of fashion decreed that 

 the ridiculous tall hat should henceforth be worn, perhaps 

 the most unsuitable head-dress that could possibly be 

 devised for the purpose. Always in the way, getting its 

 owner into trouble with boughs and branches, in hedges 

 and coverts, most uncomfortable in a wind, it further 

 generally falsifies its raison d'etre by tumbling off the 

 wearer's head when he gets a fall, though the only 

 supposed good that it possesses is to break the concussion. 

 What does a steeplechase jockey choose for his head 

 covering ? He does not allow sentiment to stand in the 

 way, while certainly most falls out hunting are nothing 

 compared to a roll over when steeplechasing. Instead of 

 a tall hat he puts on a thin silk cap, and it is the rarest 

 thing to hear of a jockey breaking his neck. He breaks 

 almost every other bone that he possesses, but his neck 

 almost always escapes scatheless. As a general rule, when 

 in doubt as to what tackle is the most suitable for any 



