1 60 Tally ho. 



of forty years^ have they ever been in finer form and 

 better fettle than they are at this present moment. 



It is no light or easy thing to fulfil the duties 

 attached to the position of the huntsman of the 

 Queen's Hounds ; on the contrary, it is a task that 

 requires much tact and temper to conduct the sport 

 in a satisfactory manner. Many and oft are the times 

 when he is obliged to see his every effort to show 

 a good run frustrated by the unsportsmanlike conduct 

 of a portion of the field, who ride after the stag and 

 over the hounds with a total disregard of consequences ; 

 and it matters little whether such proceedings origi- 

 nate through the ignorance of the horsemen, or the 

 selfishness of those who, calling themselves sportsmen, 

 will yet override the hounds, and destroy their own 

 sport, as well as that of the rest of the field, who are 

 content to wait with patience until the hounds get 

 well away. 



Of late years the diflSculties of hunting the Queen's 

 have greatly increased. The country is sliced up by 

 railways ; semi-detached villas abound on all sides ; 

 wire-fencing is not unfrequently met with ; and aspa- 

 ragus beds and cucumber frames are often crossed by 

 the stag, instead of verdant meads and purling brooks. 

 It behoves every true sportsman, therefore, to aid the 

 huntsman in his endeavours to show sport, and to 

 mark their sense of the conduct of those reckless or 

 inconsiderate riders who wantonly disregard the rules 

 of fair play in their selfish endeavours to obtain plea- 

 sure for themselves at the cost of that of other and 

 better men. Looking at the prospects of the ensuing 

 season, I think there is every probability of a good 

 time. Goodall seems to have entirely recovered from 



