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ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS BY THE 
revel only in a forty minutes’ run on the grass without a check, 
or those who prefer the more protracted delight of seeing hounds 
unravel yard by yard the intricacies of the line, the breast of almost 
every British subject is permeated by an enthusiastic adoration of 
the greatest of our British sports. I have known men who have 
never bestridden a horse and who are ignorant of the A B C of 
“venerie,” who yet take the greatest interest in the hunt, and offer 
it the most continuous and liberal support, and I have met but one 
man in my life who had the hardihood to avow that he disliked 
hunting, and we could hardly count him, as he was a banker, and 
considered the pursuit of wealth more exciting and absorbing than 
that of the fox. Nobody but those who are behind the scenes know 
the amount of damage, direct and indirect, which in some places 
the fox-hunter's best friend, the agriculturist, has to tolerate, and 
the greatest care should be taken by all sportsmen to avoid un¬ 
necessary riding over fields and fences, and the greatest liberality 
should be displayed in the satisfaction of such reasonable claims for 
damage as he may proffer. It is sometimes said that were hunting 
to be discontinued the farmer would be a loser, and when one takes 
into consideration the number of hunting establishments maintained, 
it is true that there is a very extensive market for the requisite 
hay, straw, oats, peas, and beans, in fact the stock-in-trade of the 
agriculturist, but even were hunting to be disestablished, there still 
would be an outlet for agricultural produce. I do not consider that 
this is the main cause for which the farmer extends his sympathy 
and support to fox-hunting. I hold rather that as an Englishman 
it is his pride and pleasure to countenance an English pastime, and 
even where he does not take an active part in the sport himself, 
he looks with a favouring eye on those who do. 
In considering the fox and his attributes one must of necessity 
deal with the adjuncts and accessories of the venatic drama in 
which he plays the leading part, and here I must plead guilty to 
being an enthusiast, and as such can hardly expect that your 
opinions are entirely in agreement with my own, but enthusiasm is 
not detrimental to character, and where it exists is certain to make 
itself felt in all and every pursuit and duty of life. It is at all 
events of greater value than its converse, which may best be 
described by the French terms “ insouciance ” and “ laisser aller” 
which it must be confessed are not characteristics of the busy, 
bustling Briton. But whence comes that enthusiasm which in this 
matter is displayed from the cradle to the grave ? Why is it that 
