RIDING TO FOX-HOUNDS 



driving eagerly on, drawn to a line at either end 

 by the pace, harden your heart, and thank your 

 stars. It is all right, you may lay odds, you are 

 in for a really good thing ! 



I suppose I need hardly observe that the laws 

 of fox-hunting forbid you to follow hounds by the 

 very obvious process of galloping in their track. 

 Nothing makes them so wild, to use the proper 

 term, as "riding on their line " ; and should you 

 be ignorant enough to attempt it, you are pretty 

 sure to be told where you are driving them, and 

 desired to go there yourself ! 



No ; you must keep one side or the other, but 

 do not, if you can help it, let the nature of the 

 obstacles to be encountered bias your choice. 

 Ride for ground as far as possible when the 

 foothold is good ; the fences will take care of 

 themselves ; but let no advantages of sound turf, 

 nor even open gates, tempt you to stray more than 

 a couple of hundred yards from the pack. At that 

 distance a bad turn can be remedied, and a good 

 one gives you leisure to pull back into a trot. 

 Remember, too, that it is the nature of a fox, and 

 we are now speaking of fox-hunting, to travel 

 down wind ; therefore, as a general rule, keep to 

 leeward of the hounds. Every bend they make 

 ought to be in your favour ; but, on the other hand, 

 should they chance to turn up wind, they will 

 begin to run very hard, and this is a good reason 

 N 175 



