CHAPTER XI 



RIDING TO FOX-HOUNDS 



" T F you want to be near hounds," says an old 



J- friend of mine who, for a Hfetime, has 

 rehgiously practised what he preaches, "the , 



method is simple, and seems only common-sense f 



— keep as close to them as ever you can /" but I 

 think, though, with his undaunted nerve, and i 



extraordinary horsemanship, he seems to find it 

 feasible enough, this plan, for most people, 

 requires considerable management, and no little 

 modification. 



I grant we should never let them slip away 

 from us, and that, in nine cases out of ten, when 

 defeated by what we choose to call "a bad turn " 

 it is our own fault. At the same time there are 

 many occasions on which a man who keeps his 

 eyes open, and knows how to ride, can save his 

 horse to some purpose, by travelling inside the 

 pack, and galloping a hundred yards for their 

 three. 



I say who keeps his eyes open, because, in order 

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