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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Hunting Sketches + +Author: Anthony Trollope + +Release Date: July 26, 2008 [EBook #814] +Last Updated: February 7, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HUNTING SKETCHES *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + HUNTING SKETCHES + </h1> + <h2> + by Anthony Trollope + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> THE MAN WHO HUNTS AND DOESN'T LIKE IT. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THE MAN WHO HUNTS AND DOES LIKE IT. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> THE LADY WHO RIDES TO HOUNDS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> THE HUNTING FARMER. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> THE MAN WHO HUNTS AND NEVER JUMPS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> THE HUNTING PARSON. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> THE MASTER OF HOUNDS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> HOW TO RIDE TO HOUNDS </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + THE MAN WHO HUNTS AND DOESN'T LIKE IT. + </h2> + <p> + It seems to be odd, at first sight, that there should be any such men as + these; but their name and number is legion. If we were to deduct from the + hunting-crowd farmers, and others who hunt because hunting is brought to + their door, of the remainder we should find that the "men who don't like + it" have the preponderance. It is pretty much the same, I think, with all + amusements. How many men go to balls, to races, to the theatre, how many + women to concerts and races, simply because it is the thing to do? They + have perhaps, a vague idea that they may ultimately find some joy in the + pastime; but, though they do the thing constantly, they never like it. Of + all such men, the hunting men are perhaps the most to be pitied. + </p> + <p> + They are easily recognized by any one who cares to scrutinize the men + around him in the hunting field. It is not to be supposed that all those + who, in common parlance, do not ride, are to be included among the number + of hunting men who don't like it. Many a man who sticks constantly to the + roads and lines of gates, who, from principle, never looks at a fence, is + much attached to hunting. Some of those who have borne great names as + Nimrods in our hunting annals would as life have led a forlorn-hope as put + a horse at a flight of hurdles. But they, too, are known; and though the + nature of their delight is a mystery to straight-going men, it is manifest + enough, that they do like it. Their theory of hunting is at any rate + plain. They have an acknowledged system, and know what they are doing. But + the men who don't like it, have no system, and never know distinctly what + is their own aim. During some portion of their career they commonly try to + ride hard, and sometimes for a while they will succeed. In short spurts, + while the cherry-brandy prevails, they often have small successes; but + even with the assistance of a spur in the head they never like it. + </p> + <p> + Dear old John Leech! What an eye he had for the man who hunts and doesn't + like it! But for such, as a pictorial chronicler of the hunting field he + would have had no fame. Briggs, I fancy, in his way did like it. Briggs + was a full-blooded, up-apt, awkward, sanguine man, who was able to like + anything, from gin and water upwards. But with how many a wretched + companion of Briggs' are we not familiar? men as to whom any girl of + eighteen would swear from the form of his visage and the carriage of his + legs as he sits on his horse that he was seeking honour where honour was + not to be found, and looking for pleasure in places where no pleasure lay + for him. + </p> + <p> + But the man who hunts and doesn't like it, has his moments of + gratification, and finds a source of pride in his penance. In the summer, + hunting does much for him. He does not usually take much personal care of + his horses, as he is probably a town man and his horses are summered by a + keeper of hunting stables; but he talks of them. He talks of them freely, + and the keeper of the hunting stables is occasionally forced to write to + him. And he can run down to look at his nags, and spend a few hours eating + bad mutton chops, walking about the yards and paddocks, and, bleeding + halfcrowns through the nose. In all this there is a delight which offers + some compensation for his winter misery to our friend who hunts and + doesn't like it. + </p> + <p> + He finds it pleasant to talk of his horses especially to young women, with + whom, perhaps, the ascertained fact of his winter employment does give him + some credit. It is still something to be a hunting man even yet, though + the multiplicity of railways and the existing plethora of money has so + increased the number of sportsmen, that to keep a nag or two near some + well-known station, is nearly as common as to die. But the delight of + these martyrs is at the highest in the presence of their tailors; or, + higher still, perhaps, in that of their bootmakers. The hunting man does + receive some honour from him who makes his breeches; and, with a + well-balanced sense of justice, the tailor's foreman is, I think, more + patient, more admiring, more demonstrative in his assurances, more ready + with his bit of chalk, when handling the knee of the man who doesn't like + the work, than he ever is with the customer who comes to him simply + because he wants some clothes fit for the saddle. The judicious + conciliating tradesman knows that compensation should be given, and he + helps to give it. But the visits to the bootmaker are better still. The + tailor persists in telling his customer how his breeches should be made, + and after what fashion they should be worn; but the bootmaker will take + his orders meekly. If not ruffled by paltry objections as to the fit of + the foot, he will accede to any amount of instructions as to the legs and + tops. And then a new pair of top boots is a pretty toy; Costly, perhaps, + if needed only as a toy, but very pretty, and more decorative in a + gentleman's dressing-room than any other kind of garment. And top boots, + when multiplied in such a locality, when seen in a phalanx tell such + pleasant lies on their owner's behalf. While your breeches are as dumb in + their retirement as though you had not paid for them, your conspicuous + boots are eloquent with a thousand tongues! There is pleasure found, no + doubt, in this. + </p> + <p> + As the season draws nigh the delights become vague, and still more vague; + but, nevertheless, there are delights. Getting up at six o'clock in + November to go down to Bletchley by an early train is not in itself + pleasant, but on the opening morning, on the few first opening mornings, + there is a promise about the thing which invigorates and encourages the + early riser. He means to like it this year if he can. He has still some + undefined notion that his period of pleasure will now come. He has not, as + yet, accepted the adverse verdict which his own nature has given against + him in this matter of hunting, and he gets into his early tub with acme + glow of satisfaction. And afterwards it is nice to find himself bright + with mahogany tops, buff-tinted breeches, and a pink coat. The ordinary + habiliments of an English gentleman are so sombre that his own eye is + gratified, and he feels that he has placed himself in the vanguard of + society by thus shining in his apparel. And he will ride this year! He is + fixed to that purpose. He will ride straight; and, if possible, he will + like it. + </p> + <p> + But the Ethiop cannot change his skin, nor can any man add a cubit to his + stature. He doesn't like it, and all around him in the field know how it + is with him; he himself knows how it is with others like himself, and he + congregates with his brethren. The period of his penance has come upon + him. He has to pay the price of those pleasant interviews with his + tradesmen. He has to expiate the false boasts made to his female cousins. + That row of boots cannot be made to shine in his chamber for nothing. The + hounds have found, and the fox is away. Men are fastening on their + flat-topped hats and feeling themselves in their stirrups. Horses are hot + for the run, and the moment for liking it has come, if only it were + possible! + </p> + <p> + But at moments such as these something has to be done. The man who doesn't + like it, let him dislike it ever so much, cannot check his horse and + simply ride back to the hunting stables. He understands that were he to do + that, he must throw up his cap at once and resign. Nor can he trot easily + along the roads with the fat old country gentleman who is out on his rough + cob, and who, looking up to the wind and remembering the position of + adjacent coverts, will give a good guess as to the direction in which the + field will move. No; he must make an effort. The time of his penance has + come, and the penance must be borne. There is a spark of pluck about him, + though unfortunately he has brought it to bear in a wrong direction. The + blood still runs at his heart, and he resolves that he will ride, if only + he could tell which way. + </p> + <p> + The stout gentleman on the cob has taken the road to the left with a few + companions; but our friend knows that the stout gentleman has a little + game of his own which will not be suitable for one who intends to ride. + Then the crowd in front has divided itself. Those to the right rush down a + hill towards a brook with a ford. One or two, men whom he hates with an + intensity of envy, have jumped the brook, and have settled to their work. + Twenty or thirty others are hustling themselves through the water. The + time for a judicious start on that side is already gone. But others, a + crowd of others, are facing the big ploughed field immediately before + them. That is the straightest riding, and with them he goes. Why has the + scent lain so hot over the up-turned heavy ground? Why do they go so fast + at this the very first blush of the morning? Fortune is always against + him, and the horse is pulling him through the mud as though the brute + meant to drag his arm out of the socket. At the first fence, as he is + steadying himself, a butcher passes him roughly in the jump and nearly + takes away the side of his top boot. He is knocked half out of his saddle, + and in that condition scrambles through. When he has regained his + equilibrium he sees the happy butcher going into the field beyond. He + means to curse the butcher when he catches him, but the butcher is safe. A + field and a half before him he still sees the tail hounds, and renews his + effort. He has meant to like it to-day, and he will. So he rides at the + next fence boldly, where the butcher has left his mark, and does it pretty + well, with a slight struggle. Why is it that he can never get over a ditch + without some struggle in his saddle, some scramble with his horse? Why + does he curse the poor animal so constantly, unless it be that he cannot + catch the butcher? Now he rushes at a gate which others have opened for + him, but rushes too late and catches his leg. Mad with pain, he nearly + gives it up, but the spark of pluck is still there, and with throbbing + knee he perseveres. How he hates it! It is all detestable now. He cannot + hold his horse because of his gloves, and he cannot get them off. The + sympathetic beast knows that his master is unhappy, and makes himself + unhappy and troublesome in consequence. Our friend is still going, riding + wildly, but still keeping a grain of caution for his fences. He has not + been down yet, but has barely saved himself more than once. The ploughs + are very deep, and his horse, though still boring at him, pants heavily. + Oh, that there might come a check, or that the brute of a fox might + happily go to ground! But no! The ruck of the hunt is far away from him in + front, and the game is running steadily straight for some well known + though still distant protection. But the man who doesn't like it still + sees a red coat before him, and perseveres in chasing the wearer of it. + The solitary red coat becomes distant, and still more distant from him, + but he goes on while he can yet keep the line in which that red coat has + ridden. He must hurry himself, however, or he will be lost to humanity, + and will be alone. He must hurry himself, but his horse now desires to + hurry no more. So he puts his spurs to the brute savagely, and then at + some little fence, some ignoble ditch, they come down together in the mud, + and the question of any further effort is saved for the rider. When he + arises the red coat is out of sight, and his own horse is half across the + field before him. In such a position, is it possible that a man should + like it? + </p> + <p> + About four o'clock in the afternoon, when the other men are coming in, he + turns up at the hunting stables, and nobody asks him any questions. He may + have been doing fairly well for what anybody knows, and, as he says + nothing of himself, his disgrace is at any rate hidden. Why should he tell + that he had been nearly an hour on foot trying to catch his horse, that he + had sat himself down on a bank and almost cried, and that he had drained + his flask to the last drop before one o'clock? No one need know the extent + of his miseries. And no one does know how great is the misery endured by + those who hunt regularly, and who do not like it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MAN WHO HUNTS AND DOES LIKE IT. + </h2> + <p> + The man who hunts and does like it is an object of keen envy to the man + who hunts and doesn't; but he, too, has his own miseries, and I am not + prepared to say that they are always less aggravating than those endured + by his less ambitious brother in the field. He, too, when he comes to make + up his account, when he brings his hunting to book and inquires whether + his whistle has been worth its price, is driven to declare that vanity and + vexation of spirit have been the prevailing characteristics of his hunting + life. On how many evenings has he returned contented with his sport? How + many days has he declared to have been utterly wasted? How often have + frost and snow, drought and rain, wind and sunshine, impeded his plans? + for to a hunting man frost, snow, drought, rain, wind and sunshine, will + all come amiss. Then, when the one run of the season comes, he is not + there! He has been idle and has taken a liberty with the day; or he has + followed other gods and gone with strange hounds. With sore ears and + bitter heart he hears the exaggerated boastings of his comrades, and + almost swears that he will have no more of it. At the end of the season he + tells himself that the season's amusement has cost him five hundred + pounds; that he has had one good day, three days that were not bad, and + that all the rest have been vanity and vexation of spirit. After all, it + may be a question whether the man who hunts and doesn't like it does not + have the best of it. + </p> + <p> + When we consider what is endured by the hunting man the wonder is that any + man should like it. In the old days of Squire Western, and in the old days + too since the time of Squire Western, the old days of thirty years since, + the hunting man had his hunting near to him. He was a country gentleman + who considered himself to be energetic if he went out twice a week, and in + doing this he rarely left his house earlier for that purpose than he would + leave it for others. At certain periods of the year he would, perhaps, be + out before dawn; but then the general habits of his life conduced to early + rising; and his distances were short. If he kept a couple of horses for + the purpose he was well mounted, and these horses were available for other + uses. He rode out and home, jogging slowly along the roads, and was a + martyr to no ambition. All that has been changed now. The man who hunts + and likes it, either takes a small hurting seat away from the comforts of + his own home, or he locates himself miserably at an inn, or he undergoes + the purgatory of daily journeys up and down from London, doing that for + his hunting which no consideration of money-making would induce him to do + for his business. His hunting requires from him everything, his time, his + money, his social hours, his rest, his sweet morning sleep; nay, his very + dinners have to be sacrificed to this Moloch! + </p> + <p> + Let us follow him on an ordinary day. His groom comes to his bed-chamber + at seven o'clock, and tells him that it has frozen during the night. If he + be a London man, using the train for his hunting, he knows nothing of the + frost, and does not learn whether the day be practicable or not till he + finds himself down in the country. But we will suppose our friend to be + located in some hunting district, and accordingly his groom visits him + with tidings. "Is it freezing now?" he asks from under the bedclothes. And + even the man who does like it at such moments almost wishes that the + answer should be plainly in the affirmative. Then swiftly again to the + arms of Morpheus he might take himself, and ruffle his temper no further + on that morning! He desires, at any rate, a decisive answer. To be or not + to be as regards that day's hurting is what he now wants to know. But that + is exactly what the groom cannot tell him. "It's just a thin crust of + frost, sir, and the s'mometer is a standing at the pint." That is the + answer which the man makes, and on that he has to come to a decision! For + half an hour he lies doubting while his water is getting cold, and then + sends for his man again. The thermometer is still standing at the point, + but the man has tried the crust with his heel and found it to be very + thin. The man who hunts and likes it scorns his ease, and resolves that he + will at any rate persevere. He tumbles into his tub, and a little before + nine comes out to his breakfast, still doubting sorely whether or no the + day "will do." There he, perhaps, meets one or two others like himself, + and learns that the men who hunt and don't like it are still warm in their + beds. On such mornings as these, and such mornings are very many, the men + who hunt and do not like it certainly have the best of it. The man who + hunts and does like it takes himself out to some kitchen-garden or + neighbouring paddock, and kicks at the ground himself. Certainly there is + a crust, a very manifest crust. Though he puts up in the country, he has + to go sixteen miles to the meet, and has no means of knowing whether or no + the hounds will go out. "Jorrocks always goes if there's a chance," says + one fellow, speaking of the master. "I don't know," says our friend; "he's + a deal slower at it than he used to be. For my part, I wish Jorrocks would + go; he's getting too old." Then he bolts a mutton chop and a couple of + eggs hurriedly, and submits himself to be carried off in the trap. + </p> + <p> + Though he is half an hour late at the meet, no hounds have as yet come, + and he begins to curse his luck. A non-hunting day, a day that turns out + to be no day for hunting purposes, begun in this way, is of all days the + most melancholy. What is a man to do with himself who has put himself into + his boots and breeches, and who then finds himself, by one o'clock, landed + back at his starting-point without employment? Who under such + circumstances can apply himself to any salutary employment? Cigars and + stable-talk are all that remain to him; and it is well for him if he can + refrain from the additional excitement of brandy and water. + </p> + <p> + But on the present occasion we will not presume that our friend has fallen + into so deep a bathos of misfortune. At twelve o'clock Tom appears, with + the hounds following slowly at his heels; and a dozen men, angry with + impatience, fly at him with assurances that there has been no sign of + frost since ten o'clock. "Ain't there?" says Tom; "you look at the north + sides of the banks, and see how you'd like it." Some one makes an uncivil + remark as to the north sides of the banks, and wants to know when old + Jorrocks is coming. "The squire'll be here time enough," says Tom. And + then there takes place that slow walking up and down of the hounds, which + on such mornings always continues for half an hour. Let him who envies the + condition of the man who hunts and likes it, remember that a cold thaw is + going on, that our friend is already sulky with waiting, that to ride up + and down for an hour and a half at a walking pace on such a morning is not + an exhilarating pastime, and he will understand that the hunting man + himself may have doubts as to the wisdom of his course of action. + </p> + <p> + But at last Jorrocks is there, and the hounds trot off to cover. So dull + has been everything on this morning that even that is something, and men + begin to make themselves happier in the warmth of the movement. The hounds + go into covert, and a period of excitement is commenced. Our friend who + likes hunting remarks to his neighbour that the ground is rideable. His + neighbour who doesn't like it quite so well says that he doesn't know. + They remain standing close together on a forest ride for twenty minutes, + but conversation doesn't go beyond that. The man who doesn't like it has + lit a cigar, but the man who does like it never lights a cigar when hounds + are drawing. + </p> + <p> + And now the welcome music is heard, and a fox has been found. Mr. + Jorrocks, gallopping along the ride with many oaths, implores those around + him to hold their tongues and remain quiet. Why he should trouble himself + to do this, as he knows that no one will obey his orders, it is difficult + to surmise. Or why men should stand still in the middle of a large wood + when they expect a fox to break, because Mr. Jorrocks swears at them, is + also not to be understood. Our friend pays no attention to Mr. Jorrocks, + but makes for the end of the ride, going with ears erect, and listening to + the distant hounds as they turn upon the turning fox. As they turn, he + returns; and, splashing through the mud of the now softened ground, + through narrow tracks, with the boughs in his face, listening always, now + hoping, now despairing, speaking to no one, but following and followed, he + makes his way backwards and forwards through the wood, till at last, weary + with wishing and working, he rests himself in some open spot, and begins + to eat his luncheon. It is now past two, and it would puzzle him to say + what pleasure he has as yet had out of his day's amusement. + </p> + <p> + But now, while the flask is yet at his mouth, he hears from some distant + corner a sound that tells him that the fox is away. He ought to have + persevered, and then he would have been near them. As it is, all that + labour of riding has been in vain, and he has before him the double task + of finding the line of the hounds and of catching them when he has found + it. He has a crowd of men around him; but he knows enough of hunting to be + aware that the men who are wrong at such moments are always more numerous + than they who are right. He has to choose for himself, and chooses + quickly, dashing down a ride to the right, while a host of those who know + that he is one of them who like it, follow closely at his heels, too + closely, as he finds at the first fence out of the woods, when one of his + young admirers almost jumps on the top of him. "Do you want to get into my + pocket, sir?" he says, angrily. The young admirer is snubbed, and, turning + away, attempts to make a line for himself. + </p> + <p> + But though he has been followed, he has great doubt as to his own course. + To hesitate is to be lost, so he goes on, on rapidly, looking as he clears + every fence for the spot at which he is to clear the next; but he is by no + means certain of his course. Though he has admirers at his heels who + credit him implicitly, his mind is racked by an agony of ignorance. He has + got badly away, and the hounds are running well, and it is going to be a + good thing; and he will not see it. He has not been in for anything good + this year, and now this is his luck! His eye travels round over the + horizon as he is gallopping, and though he sees men here and there, he can + catch no sign of a hound; nor can he catch the form of any man who would + probably be with them. But he perseveres, choosing his points as he goes, + till the tail of his followers becomes thinner and thinner. He comes out + upon a road, and makes the pace as good as he can along the soft edge of + it. He sniffs at the wind, knowing that the fox, going at such a pace as + this, must run with it. He tells himself from outward signs where he is, + and uses his dead knowledge to direct him. He scorns to ask a question as + he passes countrymen in his course, but he would give five guineas to know + exactly where the hounds are at that moment. He has been at it now forty + minutes, and is in despair. His gallant nag rolls a little under him, and + he knows that he has been going too fast. And for what; for what? What + good has it all done him? What good will it do him, though he should kill + the beast? He curses between his teeth, and everything is vanity and + vexation of spirit. + </p> + <p> + "They've just run into him at Boxall Springs, Mr. Jones," says a farmer + whom he passes on the road. Boxall Springs is only a quarter of a mile + before him, but he wonders how the farmer has come to know all about it. + But on reaching Boxall Springs he finds that the farmer was right, and + that Tom is already breaking up the fox. "Very good thing, Mr. Jones," + says the squire in good humour. Our friend mutters something between his + teeth and rides away in dudgeon from the triumphant master. On his road + home he hears all about it from everybody. It seems to him that he alone + of all those who are anybody has missed the run, the run of the season! + "And killed him in the open as you may say," says Smith, who has already + twice boasted in Jones's hearing that he had seen every turn the hounds + had made. "It wasn't in the open," says Jones, reduced in his anger to + diminish as far as may be the triumph of his rival. + </p> + <p> + Such is the fate, the too frequent fate of the man who hunts and does like + it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE LADY WHO RIDES TO HOUNDS. + </h2> + <p> + Among those who hunt there are two classes of hunting people who always + like it, and these people are hunting parsons and hunting ladies. That it + should be so is natural enough. In the life and habits of parsons and + ladies there is much that is antagonistic to hunting, and they who + suppress this antagonism do so because they are Nimrods at heart. But the + riding of these horsemen under difficulties, horsemen and horsewomen, + leaves a strong impression on the casual observer of hunting; for to such + an one it seems that the hardest riding is forthcoming exactly where no + hard riding should be expected. On the present occasion I will, if you + please, confine myself to the lady who rides to hounds, and will begin + with an assertion, which will not be contradicted, that the number of such + ladies is very much on the increase. + </p> + <p> + Women who ride, as a rule, ride better than men. They, the women, have + always been instructed; whereas men have usually come to ride without any + instruction. They are put upon ponies when they are all boys, and put + themselves upon their fathers' horses as they become hobbledehoys: and + thus they obtain the power of sticking on to the animal while he gallops + and jumps, and even while he kicks and shies; and, so progressing, they + achieve an amount of horsemanship which answers the purposes of life. But + they do not acquire the art of riding with exactness, as women do, and + rarely have such hands as a woman has on a horse's mouth. The consequence + of this is that women fall less often than men, and the field is not often + thrown into the horror which would arise were a lady known to be in a + ditch with a horse lying on her. + </p> + <p> + I own that I like to see three or four ladies out in a field, and I like + it the better if I am happy enough to count one or more of them among my + own acquaintances. Their presence tends to take off from hunting that + character of horseyness, of both fast horseyness and slow horseyness, + which has become, not unnaturally, attached to it, and to bring it within + the category of gentle sports. There used to prevail an idea that the + hunting man was of necessity loud and rough, given to strong drinks, ill + adapted for the poetries of life, and perhaps a little prone to make money + out of his softer friend. It may now be said that this idea is going out + of vogue, and that hunting men are supposed to have that same feeling with + regard to their horses, the same and no more, which ladies have for their + carriage or soldiers for their swords. Horses are valued simply for the + services that they can render, and are only valued highly when they are + known to be good servants. That a man may hunt without drinking or + swearing, and may possess a nag or two without any propensity to sell it + or them for double their value, is now beginning to be understood. The + oftener that women are to be seen "out," the more will such improved + feelings prevail as to hunting, and the pleasanter will be the field to + men who are not horsey, but who may nevertheless be good horsemen. + </p> + <p> + There are two classes of women who ride to hounds, or, rather, among many + possible classifications, there are two to which I will now call + attention. There is the lady who rides, and demands assistance; and there + is the lady who rides, and demands none. Each always, I may say always, + receives all the assistance that she may require; but the difference + between the two, to the men who ride with them, is very great. It will, of + course, be understood that, as to both these samples of female Nimrods, I + speak of ladies who really ride, not of those who grace the coverts with, + and disappear under the auspices of, their papas or their grooms when the + work begins. + </p> + <p> + The lady who rides and demands assistance in truth becomes a nuisance + before the run is over, let her beauty be ever so transcendent, her + horsemanship ever-so-perfect, and her battery of general feminine + artillery ever so powerful. She is like the American woman, who is always + wanting your place in a railway carriage, and demanding it, too, without + the slightest idea of paying you for it with thanks; whose study it is to + treat you as though she ignored your existence while she is appropriating + your services. The hunting lady who demands assistance is very particular + about her gates, requiring that aid shall be given to her with instant + speed, but that the man who gives it shall never allow himself to be + hurried as he renders it. And she soon becomes reproachful, oh, so soon! + It is marvellous to watch the manner in which a hunting lady will become + exacting, troublesome, and at last imperious, deceived and spoilt by the + attention which she receives. She teaches herself to think at last that a + man is a brute who does not ride as though he were riding as her servant, + and that it becomes her to assume indignation if every motion around her + is not made with some reference to her safety, to her comfort, or to her + success. I have seen women look as Furies look, and heard them speak as + Furies are supposed to speak, because men before them could not bury + themselves and their horses out of their way at a moment's notice, or + because some pulling animal would still assert himself while they were + there, and not sink into submission and dog-like obedience for their + behoof. + </p> + <p> + I have now before my eyes one who was pretty, brave, and a good + horse-woman; but how men did hate her! When you were in a line with her + there was no shaking her off. Indeed, you were like enough to be shaken + off yourself, and to be rid of her after that fashion. But while you were + with her you never escaped her at a single fence, and always felt that you + were held to be trespassing against her in some manner. I shall never + forget her voice, "Pray, take care of that gate." And yet it was a pretty + voice, and elsewhere she was not given to domineering more than is common + to pretty women in general; but she had been taught badly from the + beginning, and she was a pest. It was the same at every gap. "Might I ask + you not to come too near me?" And yet it was impossible to escape her. Men + could not ride wide of her, for she would not ride wide of them. She had + always some male escort with her, who did not ride as she rode, and + consequently, as she chose to have the advantage of an escort, of various + escorts, she was always in the company of some who did not feel as much + joy in the presence of a pretty young woman as men should do under all + circumstances. "Might I ask you not to come too near me?" If she could + only have heard the remarks to which this constant little request of hers + gave rise. She is now the mother of children, and her hunting days are + gone, and probably she never makes that little request. Doubtless that + look, made up partly of offence and partly of female dignity, no longer + clouds her brow. But I fancy that they who knew her of old in the hunting + field never approach her now without fancying that they hear those + reproachful words, and see that powerful look of injured feminine + weakness. + </p> + <p> + But there is the hunting lady who rides hard and never asks for + assistance. Perhaps I may be allowed to explain to embryo Dianas, to the + growing huntresses of the present age, that she who rides and makes no + demand receives attention as close as is ever given to her more imperious + sister. And how welcome she is! What a grace she lends to the day's sport! + How pleasant it is to see her in her pride of place, achieving her mastery + over the difficulties in her way by her own wit, as all men, and all women + also, must really do who intend to ride to hounds; and doing it all + without any sign that the difficulties are too great for her! + </p> + <p> + The lady who rides like this is in truth seldom in the way. I have heard + men declare that they would never wish to see a side-saddle in the field + because women are troublesome, and because they must be treated with + attention let the press of the moment be ever so instant. From this I + dissent altogether. The small amount of courtesy that is needed is more + than atoned for by the grace of her presence, and in fact produces no more + impediment in the hunting-field than in other scenes of life. But in the + hunting-field, as in other scenes, let assistance never be demanded by a + woman. If the lady finds that she cannot keep a place in the first flight + without such demands on the patience of those around her, let her + acknowledge to herself that the attempt is not in her line, and that it + should be abandoned. If it be the ambition of a hunting lady to ride + straight, and women have very much of this ambition, let her use her eyes + but never her voice; and let her ever have a smile for those who help her + in her little difficulties. Let her never ask any one "to take care of + that gate," or look as though she expected the profane crowd to keep aloof + from her. So shall she win the hearts of those around her, and go safely + through brake and brier, over ditch and dyke, and meet with a score of + knights around her who will be willing and able to give her eager aid + should the chance of any moment require it. + </p> + <p> + There are two accusations which the more demure portion of the world is + apt to advance against hunting ladies, or, as I should better say, against + hunting as an amusement for ladies. It leads to flirting, they say, to + flirting of a sort which mothers would not approve; and it leads to fast + habits, to ways and thoughts which are of the horse horsey, and of the + stable, strongly tinged with the rack and manger. The first of these + accusations is, I think, simply made in ignorance. As girls are brought up + among us now-a-days, they may all flirt, if they have a mind to do so; and + opportunities for flirting are much better and much more commodious in the + ball-room, in the drawing-room, or in the park, than they are in the + hunting-field. Nor is the work in hand of a nature to create flirting + tendencies, as, it must be admitted, is the nature of the work in hand + when the floors are waxed and the fiddles are going. And this error has + sprung from, or forms part of, another, which is wonderfully common among + non-hunting folk. It is very widely thought by many, who do not, as a + rule, put themselves in opposition to the amusements of the world, that + hunting in itself is a wicked thing; that hunting men are fast, given to + unclean living and bad ways of life; that they usually go to bed drunk, + and that they go about the world roaring hunting cries, and disturbing the + peace of the innocent generally. With such men, who could wish that wife, + sister, or daughter should associate? But I venture to say that this + opinion, which I believe to be common, is erroneous, and that men who hunt + are not more iniquitous than men who go out fishing, or play dominoes, or + dig in their gardens. Maxima debetur pueris reverentia, and still more to + damsels; but if boys and girls will never go where they will hear more to + injure them than they will usually do amidst the ordinary conversation of + a hunting field, the maxima reverentia will have been attained. + </p> + <p> + As to that other charge, let it be at once admitted that the young lady + who has become of the horse horsey has made a fearful, almost a fatal + mistake. And so also has the young man who falls into the same error. I + hardly know to which such phase of character may be most injurious. It is + a pernicious vice, that of succumbing to the beast that carries you, and + making yourself, as it were, his servant, instead of keeping him ever as + yours. I will not deny that I have known a lady to fall into this vice + from hunting; but so also have I known ladies to marry their music-masters + and to fall in love with their footmen. But not on that account are we to + have no music-masters and no footmen. + </p> + <p> + Let the hunting lady, however, avoid any touch of this blemish, + remembering that no man ever likes a woman to know as much about a horse + as he thinks he knows himself. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE HUNTING FARMER. + </h2> + <p> + Few hunting men calculate how much they owe to the hunting farmer, or + recognize the fact that hunting farmers contribute more than any other + class of sportsmen towards the maintenance of the sport. It is hardly too + much to say that hunting would be impossible if farmers did not hunt. If + they were inimical to hunting, and men so closely concerned must be + friends or enemies, there would be no foxes left alive; and no fox, if + alive, could be kept above ground. Fences would be impracticable, and + damages would be ruinous; and any attempt to maintain the institution of + hunting would be a long warfare in which the opposing farmer would + certainly be the ultimate conqueror. What right has the hunting man who + goes down from London, or across from Manchester, to ride over the ground + which he treats as if it were his own, and to which he thinks that free + access is his undoubted privilege? Few men, I fancy, reflect that they + have no such right, and no such privilege, or recollect that the very + scene and area of their exercise, the land that makes hunting possible to + them, is contributed by the farmer. Let any one remember with what + tenacity the exclusive right of entering upon their small territories is + clutched and maintained by all cultivators in other countries; let him + remember the enclosures of France, the vine and olive terraces of Tuscany, + or the narrowly-watched fields of Lombardy; the little meadows of + Switzerland on which no stranger's foot is allowed to come, or the Dutch + pastures, divided by dykes, and made safe from all intrusions. Let him + talk to the American farmer of English hunting, and explain to that + independent, but somewhat prosaic husbandman, that in England two or three + hundred men claim the right of access to every man's land during the whole + period of the winter months! Then, when he thinks of this, will he realize + to himself what it is that the English farmer contributes to hunting in + England? The French countryman cannot be made to understand it. You cannot + induce him to believe that if he held land in England, looking to make his + rent from tender young grass-fields and patches of sprouting corn, he + would be powerless to keep out intruders, if those intruders came in the + shape of a rushing squadron of cavalry, and called themselves a hunt. To + him, in accordance with his existing ideas, rural life under such + circumstances would be impossible. A small pan of charcoal, and an + honourable death-bed, would give him relief after his first experience of + such an invasion. + </p> + <p> + Nor would the English farmer put up with the invasion, if the English + farmer were not himself a hunting man. Many farmers, doubtless, do not + hunt, and they bear it, with more or less grace; but they are inured to it + from their infancy, because it is in accordance with the habits and + pleasures of their own race. Now and again, in every hunt, some man comes + up, who is, indeed, more frequently a small proprietor new to the glories + of ownership, than a tenant farmer, who determines to vindicate his rights + and oppose the field. He puts up a wire-fence round his domain, thus + fortifying himself, as it were, in his citadel, and defies the world + around him. It is wonderful how great is the annoyance which one such man + may give, and how thoroughly he may destroy the comfort of the coverts in + his neighbourhood. But, strong as such an one is in his fortress, there + are still the means of fighting him. The farmers around him, if they be + hunting men, make the place too hot to hold him. To them he is a thing + accursed, a man to be spoken of with all evil language, as one who desires + to get more out of his land than Providence, that is, than an English + Providence, has intended. Their own wheat is exposed, and it is abominable + to them that the wheat of another man should be more sacred than theirs. + </p> + <p> + All this is not sufficiently remembered by some of us when the period of + the year comes which is trying to the farmer's heart, when the young + clover is growing, and the barley has been just sown. Farmers, as a rule, + do not think very much of their wheat. When such riding is practicable, of + course they like to see men take the headlands and furrows; but their + hearts are not broken by the tracks of horses across their wheat-fields. I + doubt, indeed, whether wheat is ever much injured by such usage. But let + the thoughtful rider avoid the new-sown barley; and, above all things, let + him give a wide berth to the new-laid meadows of artificial grasses. They + are never large, and may always be shunned. To them the poaching of + numerous horses is absolute destruction. The surface of such enclosures + should be as smooth as a billiard-table, so that no water may lie in + holes; and, moreover, any young plant cut by a horse's foot is trodden out + of existence. Farmers do see even this done, and live through it without + open warfare; but they should not be put to such trials of temper or + pocket too often. + </p> + <p> + And now for my friend the hunting farmer in person, the sportsman whom I + always regard as the most indispensable adjunct to the field, to whom I + tender my spare cigar with the most perfect expression of my good will. + His dress is nearly always the same. He wears a thick black coat, dark + brown breeches, and top boots, very white in colour, or of a very dark + mahogany, according to his taste. The hunting farmer of the old school + generally rides in a chimney-pot hat; but, in this particular, the younger + brethren of the plough are leaving their old habits, and running into + caps, net hats, and other innovations which, I own, are somewhat + distasteful to me. And there is, too, the ostentatious farmer, who rides + in scarlet, signifying thereby that he subscribes his ten or fifteen + guineas to the hunt fund. But here, in this paper, it is not of him I + speak. He is a man who is so much less the farmer, in that he is the more + an ordinary man of the ordinary world. The farmer whom we have now before + us shall wear the old black coat, and the old black hat, and the white top + boots, rather daubed in their whiteness; and he shall be the genuine + farmer of the old school. + </p> + <p> + My friend is generally a modest man in the field, seldom much given to + talking unless he be first addressed; and then he prefers that you shall + take upon yourself the chief burden of the conversation. But on certain + hunting subjects he has his opinion, indeed, a very strong opinion, and if + you can drive him from that, your eloquence must be very great. He is very + urgent about special coverts, and even as to special foxes; and you will + often find smouldering in his bosom, if you dive deep enough to search for + it, a half-smothered fire of indignation against the master because the + country has, according to our friend's views, been drawn amiss. In such + matters the farmer is generally right; but he is slow to communicate his + ideas, and does not recognize the fact that other men have not the same + opportunities for observation which belong to him. A master, however, who + understands his business will generally consult a farmer; and he will + seldom, I think, or perhaps never, consult any one else. + </p> + <p> + Always shake hands with your friend the farmer. It puts him at his ease + with you, and he will tell you more willingly after that ceremony what are + his ideas about the wind, and what may be expected of the day. His day's + hunting is to him a solemn thing, and he gives to it all his serious + thought. If any man can predicate anything of the run of a fox, it is the + farmer. + </p> + <p> + I had almost said that if any one knew anything of scent, it is the + farmer; but of scent I believe that not even the farmer knows anything. + But he knows very much as to the lie of the country, and should my gentle + reader by chance have taken a glass or two of wine above ordinary over + night, the effect of which will possibly be a temporary distaste to + straight riding, no one's knowledge as to the line of the lanes is so + serviceable as that of the farmer. + </p> + <p> + As to riding, there is the ambitious farmer and the unambitious farmer; + the farmer who rides hard, that is, ostensibly hard, and the farmer who is + simply content to know where the hounds are, and to follow them at a + distance which shall maintain him in that knowledge. The ambitious farmer + is not the hunting farmer in his normal condition; he is either one who + has an eye to selling his horse, and, riding with that view, loses for the + time his position as farmer; or he is some exceptional tiller of the soil + who probably is dangerously addicted to hunting as another man is addicted + to drinking; and you may surmise respecting him that things will not go + well with him after a year or two. The friend of my heart is the farmer + who rides, but rides without sputtering; who never makes a show of it, but + still is always there; who feels it to be no disgrace to avoid a run of + fences when his knowledge tells him that this may be done without danger + of his losing his place. Such an one always sees a run to the end. Let the + pace have been what it may, he is up in time to see the crowd of hounds + hustling for their prey, and to take part in the buzz of satisfaction + which the prosperity of the run has occasioned. But the farmer never kills + his horse, and seldom rides him even to distress. He is not to be seen + loosing his girths, or looking at the beast's flanks, or examining his + legs to ascertain what mischances may have occurred. He takes it all + easily, as men always take matters of business in which they are quite at + home. At the end of the run he sits mounted as quietly as he did at the + meet, and has none of that appearance of having done something wonderful, + which on such occasions is so very strong in the faces of the younger + portion of the pink brigade. To the farmer his day's hunting is very + pleasant, and by habit is even very necessary; but it comes in its turn + like market-day, and produces no extraordinary excitement. He does not + rejoice over an hour and ten minutes with a kill in the open, as he + rejoices when he has returned to Parliament the candidate who is pledged + to repeal of the malt-tax; for the farmer of whom we are speaking now, + though he rides with constancy, does not ride with enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + O fortunati sua si bona norint farmers of England! Who in the town is the + farmer's equal? What is the position which his brother, his uncle, his + cousin holds? He is a shopkeeper, who never has a holiday, and does not + know what to do with it when it comes to him; to whom the fresh air of + heaven is a stranger; who lives among sugars and oils, and the dust of + shoddy, and the size of new clothing. Should such an one take to hunting + once a week, even after years of toil, men would point their fingers at + him and whisper among themselves that he was as good as ruined. His + friends would tell him of his wife and children; and, indeed, would tell + him truly, for his customers would fly from him. But nobody grudges the + farmer his day's sport! No one thinks that he is cruel to his children and + unjust to his wife because he keeps a nag for his amusement, and can find + a couple of days in the week to go among his friends. And with what + advantages he does this! A farmer will do as much with one horse, will see + as much hunting, as an outside member of the hunt will do with four, and, + indeed, often more. He is his own head-groom, and has no scruple about + bringing his horse out twice a week. He asks no livery-stable keeper what + his beast can do, but tries the powers of the animal himself, and keeps in + his breast a correct record. When the man from London, having taken all he + can out of his first horse, has ridden his second to a stand-still, the + farmer trots up on his stout, compact cob, without a sign of distress. He + knows that the condition of a hunter and a greyhound should not be the + same, and that his horse, to be in good working health, should carry + nearly all the hard flesh that he can put upon him. How such an one must + laugh in his sleeve at the five hunters of the young swell who, after all, + is brought to grief in the middle of the season, because he has got + nothing to ride! A farmer's horse is never lame, never unfit to go, never + throws out curbs, never breaks down before or behind. Like his master, he + is never showy. He does not paw, and prance, and arch his neck, and bid + the world admire his beauties; but, like his master, he is useful; and + when he is wanted, he can always do his work. + </p> + <p> + O fortunatus nimium agricola, who has one horse, and that a good one, in + the middle of a hunting country! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MAN WHO HUNTS AND NEVER JUMPS. + </h2> + <p> + The British public who do not hunt believe too much in the jumping of + those who do. It is thought by many among the laity that the hunting man + is always in the air, making clear flights over five-barred gates, + six-foot walls, and double posts and rails, at none of which would the + average hunting man any more think of riding than he would at a small + house. We used to hear much of the Galway Blazers, and it was supposed + that in County Galway a stiff-built wall six feet high was the sort of + thing that you customarily met from field to field when hunting in that + comfortable county. Such little impediments were the ordinary food of a + real Blazer, who was supposed to add another foot of stonework and a sod + of turf when desirous of making himself conspicuous in his moments of + splendid ambition. Twenty years ago I rode in Galway now and then, and I + found the six-foot walls all shorn of their glory, and that men whose + necks were of any value were very anxious to have some preliminary + knowledge of the nature of the fabric, whether for instance it might be + solid or built of loose stones, before they trusted themselves to an + encounter with a wall of four feet and a half. And here, in England, + history, that nursing mother of fiction, has given hunting men honours + which they here never fairly earned. The traditional five-barred gate is, + as a rule, used by hunting men as it was intended to be used by the world + at large; that is to say, they open it; and the double posts and rails + which look so very pretty in the sporting pictures, are thought to be very + ugly things whenever an idea of riding at them presents itself. It is well + that mothers should know, mothers full of fear for their boys who are + beginning, that the necessary jumping of the hunting field is not after + all of so very tremendous a nature; and it may be well also to explain to + them and to others that many men hunt with great satisfaction to + themselves who never by any chance commit themselves to the peril of a + jump, either big or little. + </p> + <p> + And there is much excellent good sense in the mode of riding adopted by + such gentlemen. Some men ride for hunting, some for jumping, and some for + exercise; some, no doubt, for all three of these things. Given a man with + a desire for the latter, no taste for the second, and some partiality for + the first, and he cannot do better than ride in the manner I am + describing. He may be sure that he will not find himself alone; and he may + be sure also that he will incur none of that ridicule which the + non-hunting man is disposed to think must be attached to such a pursuit. + But the man who hunts and never jumps, who deliberately makes up his mind + that he will amuse himself after that fashion, must always remember his + resolve, and be true to the conduct which he has laid down for himself. He + must jump not at all. He must not jump a little, when some spurt or spirit + may move him, or he will infallibly find himself in trouble. There was an + old Duke of Beaufort who was a keen and practical sportsman, a master of + hounds, and a known Nimrod on the face of the earth; but he was a man who + hunted and never jumped. His experience was perfect, and he was always + true to his resolution. Nothing ever tempted him to cross the smallest + fence. He used to say of a neighbour of his, who was not so constant, + "Jones is an ass. Look at him now. There he is, and he can't get out. + Jones doesn't like jumping, but he jumps a little, and I see him pounded + every day. I never jump at all, and I'm always free to go where I like." + The Duke was certainly right, and Jones was certainly wrong. To get into a + field, and then to have no way of getting out of it, is very + uncomfortable. As long as you are on the road you have a way open before + you to every spot on the world's surface, open, or capable of being + opened; or even if incapable of being opened, not positively detrimental + to you as long as you are on the right side. But that feeling of a prison + under the open air is very terrible, and is rendered almost agonizing by + the prisoner's consciousness that his position is the result of his own + imprudent temerity, of an audacity which falls short of any efficacious + purpose. When hounds are running, the hunting man should always, at any + rate, be able to ride on, to ride in some direction, even though it be in + a wrong direction. He can then flatter himself that he is riding wide and + making a line for himself. But to be entrapped into a field without any + power of getting out of it; to see the red backs of the forward men + becoming smaller and smaller in the distance, till the last speck + disappears over some hedge; to see the fence before you and know that it + is too much for you; to ride round and round in an agony of despair which + is by no means mute, and at last to give sixpence to some boy to conduct + you back into the road; that is wretched: that is real unhappiness. I am, + therefore, very persistent in my advice to the man who purposes to hunt + without jumping. Let him not jump at all. To jump, but only to jump a + little, is fatal. Let him think of Jones. + </p> + <p> + The man who hunts and doesn't jump, presuming him not to be a duke or any + man greatly established as a Nimrod in the hunting world, generally comes + out in a black coat and a hat, so that he may not be specially conspicuous + in his deviations from the line of the running. He began his hunting + probably in search of exercise, but has gradually come to add a peculiar + amusement to that pursuit; and of a certain phase of hunting he at last + learns more than most of those who ride closest to the hounds. He becomes + wonderfully skillful in surmising the line which a fox may probably take, + and in keeping himself upon roads parallel to the ruck of the horsemen. He + is studious of the wind, and knows to a point of the compass whence it is + blowing. He is intimately conversant with every covert in the country; + and, beyond this, is acquainted with every earth in which foxes have had + their nurseries, or are likely to locate them. He remembers the drains on + the different farms in which the hunted animal may possible take refuge, + and has a memory even for rabbit-holes. His eye becomes accustomed to + distinguish the form of a moving horseman over half-a-dozen fields; and + let him see but a cap of any leading man, and he will know which way to + turn himself. His knowledge of the country is correct to a marvel. While + the man who rides straight is altogether ignorant of his whereabouts, and + will not even distinguish the woods through which he has ridden scores of + times, the man who rides and never jumps always knows where he is with the + utmost accuracy. Where parish is divided from parish and farm from farm, + has been a study to him; and he has learned the purpose and bearing of + every lane. He is never thrown out, and knows the nearest way from every + point to point. If there be a line of gates across from one road to + another he will use them, but he will commit himself to a line of gates on + the land of no farmer who uses padlocks. + </p> + <p> + As he trots along the road, occasionally breaking into a gallop when he + perceives from some sign known to him that the hunt is turning from him, + he is generally accompanied by two or three unfortunates who have lost + their way and have straggled from the hounds; and to them he is a guide, + philosopher, and friend. He is good-natured for the moment, and patronizes + the lost ones. He informs them that they are at last in the right way, and + consoles them by assurances that they have lost nothing. + </p> + <p> + "The fox broke, you know, from the sharp corner of Granby-wood," he says; + "the only spot that the crowd had left for him. I saw him come out, + standing on the bridge in the road. Then he ran up-wind as far as Green's + barn." "Of course he did," says one of the unfortunates who thinks he + remembers something of a barn in the early part of the performance. "I was + with the three or four first as far as that." "There were twenty men + before the hounds there," says our man of the road, who is not without a + grain of sarcasm, and can use it when he is strong on his own ground. + "Well, he turned there, and ran back very near the corner; but he was + headed by a sheep-dog, luckily, and went to the left across the brook." + "Ah, that's where I lost them," says one unfortunate. "I was with them + miles beyond that," says another. "There were five or six men rode the + brook," continues our philosopher, who names the four or five, not + mentioning the unfortunate who had spoken last as having been among the + number. "Well; then he went across by Ashby Grange, and tried the drain at + the back of the farmyard, but Bootle had had it stopped. A fox got in + there one day last March, and Bootle always stops it since that. So he had + to go on, and he crossed the turnpike close by Ashby Church. I saw him + cross, and the hounds were then full five minutes behind him. He went + through Frolic Wood, but he didn't hang a minute, and right up the + pastures to Morley Hall." "That's where I was thrown out," says the + unfortunate who had boasted before, and who is still disposed to boast a + little. But our philosopher assures him that he has not in truth been near + Morley Hall; and when the unfortunate one makes an attempt to argue, puts + him down thoroughly. "All I can say is, you couldn't have been there and + be here too at this moment. Morley Hall is a mile and a half to our right, + and now they're coming round to the Linney. He'll go into the little wood + there, and as there isn't as much as a nutshell open for him, they'll kill + him there. It'll have been a tidy little thing, but not very fast. I've + hardly been out of a trot yet, but we may as well move on now." Then he + breaks into an easy canter by the side of the road, while the + unfortunates, who have been rolling among the heavy-ploughed ground in the + early part of the day, make vain efforts to ride by his side. They keep + him, however, in sight, and are comforted; for he is a man with a + character, and knows what he is about. He will never be utterly lost, and + as long as they can remain in his company they will not be subjected to + that dreadful feeling of absolute failure which comes upon an + inexperienced sportsman when he finds himself quite alone, and does not + know which way to turn himself. + </p> + <p> + A man will not learn to ride after this fashion in a day, nor yet in a + year. Of all fashions of hunting it requires, perhaps, the most patience, + the keenest observation, the strongest memory, and the greatest efforts of + intellect. But the power, when achieved, has its triumph; it has its + respect, and it has its admirers. Our friend, while he was guiding the + unfortunates on the road, knew his position, and rode for a while as + though he were a chief of men. He was the chief of men there. He was doing + what he knew how to do, and was not failing. He had made no boasts which + stern facts would afterwards disprove. And when he rode up slowly to the + wood-side, having from a distance heard the huntsman's whoop that told him + of the fox's fate, he found that he had been right in every particular. No + one at that moment knows the line they have all ridden as well as he knows + it. But now, among the crowd, when men are turning their horses' heads to + the wind, and loud questions are being asked, and false answers are being + given, and the ambitious men are congratulating themselves on their deeds, + he sits by listening in sardonic silence. "Twelve miles of ground !" he + says to himself, repeating the words of some valiant youngster; "if it's + eight, I'll eat it." And then when he hears, for he is all ear as well as + all eye, when he hears a slight boast from one of his late unfortunate + companions, a first small blast of the trumpet which will become loud anon + if it be not checked, he smiles inwardly, and moralizes on the weakness of + human nature. But the man who never jumps is not usually of a benevolent + nature, and it is almost certain that he will make up a little story + against the boaster. + </p> + <p> + Such is the amusement of the man who rides and never jumps. Attached to + every hunt there will be always one or two such men. Their evidence is + generally reliable; their knowledge of the country is not to be doubted; + they seldom come to any severe trouble; and have usually made for + themselves a very wide circle of hunting acquaintances by whom they are + quietly respected. But I think that men regard them as they do the + chaplain on board a man-of-war, or as they would regard a herald on a + field of battle. When men are assembled for fighting, the man who + notoriously does not fight must feel himself to be somewhat lower than his + brethren around him, and must be so esteemed by others. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE HUNTING PARSON. + </h2> + <p> + I feel some difficulty in dealing with the character I am now about to + describe. The world at large is very prone to condemn the hunting parson, + regarding him as a man who is false to his profession; and, for myself, I + am not prepared to say that the world is wrong. Had my pastors and + masters, my father and mother, together with the other outward + circumstances of my early life, made a clergyman of me, I think that I + should not have hunted, or at least, I hope that I might have abstained; + and yet, for the life of me, I cannot see the reason against it, or tell + any man why a clergyman should not ride to hounds. In discussing the + subject, and I often do discuss it, the argument against the practice + which is finally adopted, the argument which is intended to be conclusive, + simply amounts to this, that a parish clergyman who does his duty cannot + find the time. But that argument might be used with much more truth + against other men of business, against those to whose hunting the world + takes no exception. Indeed, of all men, the ordinary parish clergyman, is, + perhaps, the least liable to such censure. He lives in the country, and + can hunt cheaper and with less sacrifice of time than other men. His + professional occupation does not absorb all his hours, and he is too often + an idle man, whether he hunt or whether he do not. Nor is it desirable + that any man should work always and never play. I think it is certainly + the fact that a clergyman may hunt twice a week with less objection in + regard to his time than any other man who has to earn his bread by his + profession. Indeed, this is so manifestly the case, that I am sure that + the argument in question, though it is the one which is always intended to + be conclusive, does not in the least convey the objection which is really + felt. The truth is, that a large and most respectable section of the world + still regards hunting as wicked. It is supposed to be like the Cider + Cellars or the Haymarket at twelve o'clock at night. The old ladies know + that the young men go to these wicked places, and hope that no great harm + is done; but it would be dreadful to think that clergymen should so + degrade themselves. Now I wish I could make the old ladies understand that + hunting is not wicked. + </p> + <p> + But although that expressed plea as to the want of time really amounts to + nothing, and although the unexpressed feeling of old ladies as to the + wickedness of hunting does not in truth amount to much, I will not say + that there is no other impediment in the way of a hunting parson. Indeed, + there have come up of late years so many impediments in the way of any + amusement on the part of clergymen, that we must almost presume them to be + divested at their consecration of all human attributes except hunger and + thirst. In my younger days, and I am not as yet very old, an elderly + clergyman might play his rubber of whist whilst his younger reverend + brother was dancing a quadrille; and they might do this without any risk + of a rebuke from a bishop, or any probability that their neighbours would + look askance at them. Such recreations are now unclerical in the highest + degree, or if not in the highest, they are only one degree less so than + hunting. The theatre was especially a respectable clerical resource, and + we may still occasionally see heads of colleges in the stalls, or perhaps + a dean, or some rector, unambitious of further promotion. But should a + young curate show himself in the pit, he would be but a lost sheep of the + house of Israel. And latterly there went forth, at any rate in one + diocese, a firman against cricket! Novels, too, are forbidden; though the + fact that they may be enjoyed in solitude saves the clergy from absolute + ignorance as to that branch of our national literature. All this is hard + upon men who, let them struggle as they may to love the asceticisms of a + religious life, are only men; and it has a strong tendency to keep out of + the Church that very class, the younger sons of country gentlemen, whom + all Churchmen should wish to see enter it. Young men who think of the + matter when the time for taking orders is coming near, do not feel + themselves qualified to rival St. Paul in their lives; and they who have + not thought of it find themselves to be cruelly used when they are + expected to make the attempt. + </p> + <p> + But of all the amusements which a layman may follow and a clergyman may + not, hunting is thought to be by much the worst. There is a savour of + wickedness about it in the eyes of the old ladies which almost takes it + out of their list of innocent amusements even for laymen. By the term old + ladies it will be understood, perhaps, that I do not allude simply to + matrons and spinsters who may be over the age of sixty, but to that most + respectable portion of the world which has taught itself to abhor the + pomps and vanities. Pomps and vanities are undoubtedly bad, and should be + abhorred; but it behooves those who thus take upon themselves the duties + of censors to be sure that the practices abhorred are in truth real pomps + and actual vanities, not pomps and vanities of the imagination. Now as to + hunting, I maintain that it is of itself the most innocent amusement + going, and that it has none of that Cider-Cellar flavour with which the + old ladies think that it is so savoury. Hunting is done by a crowd; but + men who meet together to do wicked things meet in small parties. Men + cannot gamble in the hunting-field, and drinking there is more difficult + than in almost any other scene of life. Anonyma, as we were told the other + day, may show herself; but if so, she rides alone. The young man must be a + brazen sinner, too far gone for hunting to hurt him, who will ride with + Anonyma in the field. I know no vice which hunting either produces or + renders probable, except the vice of extravagance; and to that, if a man + be that way given, every pursuit in life will equally lead him A seat for + a Metropolitan borough, or a love of ortolans, or a taste even for new + boots will ruin a man who puts himself in the way of ruin. The same may be + said of hunting, the same and no more. + </p> + <p> + But not the less is the general feeling very strong against the hunting + parson; and not the less will it remain so in spite of anything that I may + say. Under these circumstances our friend the hunting parson usually rides + as though he were more or less under a cloud. The cloud is not to be seen + in a melancholy brow or a shamed demeanour; for the hunting parson will + have lived down those feelings, and is generally too forcible a man to + allow himself to be subjected to such annoyances; nor is the cloud to be + found in any gentle tardiness of his motions, or an attempt at suppressed + riding; for the hunting parson generally rides hard. Unless he loved + hunting much he would not be there. But the cloud is to be perceived and + heard in the manner in which he speaks of himself and his own doings. He + is never natural in his self-talk as is any other man. He either flies at + his own cloth at once, marring some false apology for his presence, + telling you that he is there just to see the hounds, and hinting to you + his own knowledge that he has no business to ride after them; or else he + drops his profession altogether, and speaks to you in a tone which makes + you feel that you would not dare to speak to him about his parish. You can + talk to the banker about his banking, the brewer about his brewing, the + farmer about his barley, or the landlord about his land; but to a hunting + parson of this latter class, you may not say a word about his church. + </p> + <p> + There are three modes in which a hunting parson may dress himself for + hunting, the variations having reference solely to the nether man. As + regards the upper man there can never be a difference. A chimney-pot hat, + a white neckerchief, somewhat broad in its folds and strong with plentiful + starch, a stout black coat, cut rather shorter than is common with + clergymen, and a modest, darksome waistcoat that shall attract no + attention, these are all matters of course. But the observer, if he will + allow his eye to descend below these upper garments, will perceive that + the clergyman may be comfortable and bold in breeches, or he may be + uncomfortable and semi-decorous in black trowsers. And there is another + mode of dress open to him, which I can assure my readers is not an unknown + costume, a tertium quid, by which semi-decorum and comfort are combined. + The hunting breeches are put on first, and the black trowsers are drawn + over them. + </p> + <p> + But in whatever garb the hunting parson may ride, he almost invariably + rides well, and always enjoys the sport. If he did not, what would tempt + him to run counter, as he does, to his bishop and the old ladies? And + though, when the hounds are first dashing out of covert, and when the + sputtering is beginning and the eager impetuosity of the young is driving + men three at a time into the same gap, when that wild excitement of a fox + just away is at its height, and ordinary sportsmen are rushing for places, + though at these moments the hunting parson may be able to restrain + himself, and to declare by his momentary tranquillity that he is only + there to see the hounds, he will ever be found, seeing the hounds also, + when many of that eager crowd have lagged behind, altogether out of sight + of the last tail of them. He will drop into the running, as it were out of + the clouds, when the select few have settled down steadily to their steady + work; and the select few will never look upon him as one who, after that, + is likely to fall out of their number. He goes on certainly to the kill, + and then retires a little out of the circle, as though he had trotted in + at that spot from his ordinary parochial occupations, just to see the + hounds. + </p> + <p> + For myself I own that I like the hunting parson. I generally find him to + be about the pleasantest man in the field, with the most to say for + himself, whether the talk be of hunting, of politics, of literature, or of + the country. He is never a hunting man unalloyed, unadulterated, and + unmixed, a class of man which is perhaps of all classes the most tedious + and heavy in hand. The tallow-chandler who can talk only of candles, or + the barrister who can talk only of his briefs, is very bad; but the + hunting man who can talk only of his runs, is, I think, worse even than + the unadulterated tallow-chandler, or the barrister unmixed. Let me pause + for a moment here to beg young sportsmen not to fall into this terrible + mistake. Such bores in the field are, alas, too common; but the hunting + parson never sins after that fashion. Though a keen sportsman, he is + something else besides a sportsman, and for that reason, if for no other, + is always a welcome addition to the crowd. + </p> + <p> + But still I must confess at the end of this paper, as I hinted also at the + beginning of it, that the hunting parson seems to have made a mistake. He + is kicking against the pricks, and running counter to that section of the + world which should be his section. He is making himself to stink in the + nostrils of his bishop, and is becoming a stumbling-block, and a rock of + offence to his brethren. It is bootless for him to argue, as I have here + argued, that his amusement is in itself innocent, and that some open-air + recreation is necessary to him. Grant him that the bishops and old ladies + are wrong and that he is right in principle, and still he will not be + justified. Whatever may be our walk in life, no man can walk well who does + not walk with the esteem of his fellows. Now those little walks by the + covert sides, those pleasant little walks of which I am writing, are not, + unfortunately, held to be estimable, or good for themselves, by English + clergymen in general. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MASTER OF HOUNDS. + </h2> + <p> + The master of hounds best known by modern description is the master of the + Jorrocks type. Now, as I take it, this is not the type best known by + English sportsmen, nor do the Jorrocks ana, good though they be, give any + fair picture of such a master of hounds as ordinarily presides over the + hunt in English counties. Mr. Jorrocks comes into a hunt when no one else + can be found to undertake the work; when, in want of any one better, the + subscribers hire his services as those of an upper servant; when, in fact, + the hunt is at a low ebb, and is struggling for existence. Mr. Jorrocks + with his carpet-bag then makes his appearance, driving the hardest bargain + that he can, purposing to do the country at the lowest possible figure, + followed by a short train of most undesirable nags, with reference to + which the wonder is that Mr. Jorrocks should be able to induce any hunting + servant to trust his neck to their custody. Mr. Jorrocks knows his work, + and is generally a most laborious man. Hunting is his profession, but it + is one by which he can barely exist. He hopes to sell a horse or two + during the season, and in this way adds something of the trade of a dealer + to his other trade. But his office is thankless, ill-paid, closely + watched, and subject to all manner of indignities. Men suspect him, and + the best of those who ride with him will hardly treat him as their equal. + He is accepted as a disagreeable necessity, and is dismissed as soon as + the country can do better for itself. Any hunt that has subjected itself + to Mr. Jorrocks knows that it is in disgrace, and will pass its itinerant + master on to some other district as soon as it can suit itself with a + proper master of the good old English sort. + </p> + <p> + It is of such a master as this, a master of the good old English sort, and + not of an itinerant contractor for hunting, that I here intend to speak. + Such a master is usually an old resident in the county which he hunts; one + of those country noblemen or gentlemen whose parks are the glory of our + English landscape, and whose names are to be found in the pages of our + county records; or if not that, he is one who, with a view to hunting, has + brought his family and fortune into a new district, and has found a ready + place as a country gentleman among new neighbours. It has been said that + no one should become a member of Parliament unless he be a man of fortune. + I hold such a rule to be much more true with reference to a master of + hounds. For his own sake this should be so, and much more so for the sake + of those over whom he has to preside. It is a position in which no man can + be popular without wealth, and it is a position which no man should seek + to fill unless he be prepared to spend his money for the gratification of + others. It has been said of masters of hounds that they must always have + their hands in their pockets, and must always have a guinea to find there; + and nothing can be truer than this if successful hunting is to be + expected. Men have hunted countries, doubtless, on economical principles, + and the sport has been carried on from year to year; but under such + circumstances it is ever dwindling and becoming frightfully less. The + foxes disappear, and when found almost instantly sink below ground. + Distant coverts, which are ever the best because less frequently drawn, + are deserted, for distance of course adds greatly to expense. The farmers + round the centre of the county become sullen, and those beyond are + indifferent; and so, from bad to worse, the famine goes on till the hunt + has perished of atrophy. Grease to the wheels, plentiful grease to the + wheels, is needed in all machinery; but I know of no machinery in which + everrunning grease is so necessary as in the machinery of hunting. + </p> + <p> + Of such masters as I am now describing there are two sorts, of which, + however, the one is going rapidly and, I think, happily out of fashion. + There is the master of hounds who takes a subscription, and the master who + takes none. Of the latter class of sportsman, of the imperial head of a + country who looks upon the coverts of all his neighbours as being almost + his own property, there are, I believe, but few left. Nor is such + imperialism fitted for the present age. In the days of old of which we + read so often, the days of Squire Western, when fox-hunting was still + young among us, this was the fashion in which all hunts were maintained. + Any country gentleman who liked the sport kept a small pack of hounds, and + rode over his own lands or the lands of such of his neighbours as had no + similar establishments of their own. We never hear of Squire Western that + he hunted the county, or that he went far afield to his meets. His tenants + joined him, and by degrees men came to his hunt from greater distances + around him. As the necessity for space increased, increasing from increase + of hunting ambition, the richer and more ambitious squires began to + undertake the management of wider areas, and so our hunting districts were + formed. But with such extension of area there came, of course, necessity + of extended expenditure, and so the fashion of subscription lists arose. + There have remained some few great Nimrods who have chosen to be + magnanimous and to pay for everything, despising the contributions of + their followers. Such a one was the late Earl Fitzhardinge, and after such + manner in, as I believe, the Berkeley hunt still conducted. But it need + hardly be explained, that as hunting is now conducted in England, such a + system is neither fair nor palatable. It is not fair that so great a cost + for the amusement of other men should fall upon any one man's pocket; nor + is it palatable to others that such unlimited power should be placed in + any one man's hands. The ordinary master of subscription hounds is no + doubt autocratic, but he is not autocratic with all the power of tyranny + which belongs to the despot who rules without taxation. I doubt whether + any master of a subscription pack would advertise his meets for eleven, + with an understanding that the hounds were never to move till twelve, when + he intended to be present in person. Such was the case with Lord + Fitzhardinge, and I do not know that it was generally thought that he + carried his power too far. And I think, too, that gentlemen feel that they + ride with more pleasure when they themselves contribute to the cost of + their own amusement. + </p> + <p> + Our master of hounds shall be a country gentleman who takes a + subscription, and who therefore, on becoming autocratic, makes himself + answerable to certain general rules for the management of his autocracy. + He shall hunt not less, let us say, than three days a week; but though not + less, it will be expected probably that he will hunt oftener. That is, he + will advertise three days and throw a byeday in for the benefit of his own + immediate neighbourhood; and these byedays, it must be known, are the + cream of hunting, for there is no crowd, and the foxes break sooner and + run straighter. And he will be punctual to his time, giving quarter to + none and asking none himself. He will draw fairly through the day, and + indulge no caprices as to coverts. The laws, indeed, are never written, + but they exist and are understood; and when they be too recklessly + disobeyed, the master of hounds falls from his high place and retires into + private life, generally with a broken heart. In the hunting field, as in + all other communities, republics, and governments, the power of the purse + is everything. As long as that be retained, the despotism of the master is + tempered and his rule will be beneficent. + </p> + <p> + Five hundred pounds a day is about the sum which a master should demand + for hunting an average country, that is, so many times five hundred pounds + a year as he may hunt days in the week. If four days a week be required of + him, two thousand a year will be little enough. But as a rule, I think + masters are generally supposed to charge only for the advertised days, and + to give the byedays out of their own pocket. Nor must it be thought that + the money so subscribed will leave the master free of expense. As I have + said before, he should be a rich man. Whatever be the subscription paid to + him, he must go beyond it, very much beyond it, or there will grow up + against him a feeling that he is mean, and that feeling will rob him of + all his comfort. Hunting men in England wish to pay for their own + amusement; but they desire that more shall be spent than they pay. And in + this there is a rough justice, that roughness of justice which pervades + our English institutions. To a master of hounds is given a place of great + influence, and into his hands is confided an authority the possession of + which among his fellow-sportsmen is very pleasant to him. For this he is + expected to pay, and he does pay for it. A Lord Mayor is, I take it, much + in the same category. He has a salary as Lord Mayor, but if he do not + spend more than that on his office he becomes a byword for stinginess + among Lord Mayors To be Lord Mayor is his whistle, and he pays for it. + </p> + <p> + For myself, if I found myself called upon to pay for one whistle or the + other, I would sooner be a master of hounds than a Lord Mayor. The power + is certainly more perfect, and the situation, I think, more splendid. The + master of hounds has no aldermen, no common council, no liverymen. As long + as he fairly performs his part of the compact, he is altogether without + control. He is not unlike the captain of a man-of-war; but, unlike the + captain of a man-of-war, he carries no sailing orders. He is free to go + where he lists, and is hardly expected to tell any one whither he goeth. + He is enveloped in a mystery which, to the young, adds greatly to his + grandeur; and he is one of those who, in spite of the democratic + tenderness of the age, may still be said to go about as a king among men. + No one contradicts him. No one speaks evil of him to his face; and men + tremble when they have whispered anything of some half-drawn covert, of + some unstopped earth, some fox that should not have escaped, and, looking + round, see that the master is within earshot. He is flattered, too, if + that be of any avail to him. How he is flattered! What may be done in this + way to Lord Mayors by common councilmen who like Mansion-house crumbs, I + do not know; but kennel crumbs must be very sweet to a large class of + sportsmen. Indeed, they are so sweet that almost every man will condescend + to flatter the master of hounds. And ladies too, all the pretty girls + delight to be spoken to by the master! He needs no introduction, but is + free to sip all the sweets that come. Who will not kiss the toe of his + boots, or refuse to be blessed by the sunshine of his smile? + </p> + <p> + But there are heavy duties, deep responsibilities, and much true + heart-felt anxiety to stand as makeweight against all these sweets. The + master of hounds, even though he take no part in the actual work of + hunting his own pack, has always his hands full of work. He is always + learning, and always called upon to act on his knowledge suddenly. A Lord + Mayor may sit at the Mansionhouse, I think, without knowing much of the + law. He may do so without discovery of his ignorance. But the master of + hounds who does not know his business is seen through at once. To say what + that business is would take a paper longer than this, and the precept + writer by no means considers himself equal to such a task. But it is + multifarious, and demands a special intellect for itself. The master + should have an eye like an eagle's, an ear like a thief's, and a heart + like a dog's that can be either soft or ruthless as occasion may require. + How he should love his foxes, and with what pertinacity he should kill + them! How he should rejoice when his skill has assisted in giving the + choice men of his hunt a run that they can remember for the next six + years! And how heavy should be his heart within him when he trudges home + with them, weary after a blank day, to the misery of which his + incompetency has, perhaps, contributed! A master of hounds should be an + anxious man; so anxious that the privilege of talking to pretty girls + should be of little service to him. + </p> + <p> + One word I will say as to the manners of a master of hounds, and then I + will have done. He should be an urbane man, but not too urbane; and he + should certainly be capable of great austerity. It used to be said that no + captain of a man-of-war could hold his own without swearing. I will not + quite say the same of a master of hounds, or the old ladies who think + hunting to be wicked will have a handle against me. But I will declare + that if any man could be justified in swearing, it would be a master of + hounds. The troubles of the captain are as nothing to his. The captain has + the ultimate power of the sword, or at any rate of the fetter, in his + hands, while the master has but his own tongue to trust, his tongue and a + certain influence which his position gives him. The master who can make + that influence suffice without swearing is indeed a great man. Now-a-days + swearing is so distasteful to the world at large, that great efforts are + made to rule without it, and some such efforts are successful; but any man + who has hunted for the last twenty years will bear me out in saying that + hard words in a master's mouth used to be considered indispensable. Now + and then a little irony is tried. "I wonder, sir, how much you'd take to + go home?" I once heard a master ask of a red-coated stranger who was + certainly more often among the hounds than he need have been. "Nothing on + earth, sir, while you carry on as you are doing just at present," said the + stranger. The master accepted the compliment, and the stranger sinned no + more. + </p> + <p> + There are some positions among mankind which are so peculiarly blessed + that the owners of them seem to have been specially selected by Providence + for happiness on earth in a degree sufficient to raise the malice and envy + of all the world around. An English country gentleman with ten thousand a + year must have been so selected. Members of Parliament with seats for + counties have been exalted after the same unjust fashion. Popular masters + of old-established hunts sin against their fellows in the same way. But + when it comes to a man to fill up all these positions in England, envy and + malice must be dead in the land if he be left alive to enjoy their + fruition. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + HOW TO RIDE TO HOUNDS + </h2> + <p> + Now attend me, Diana and the Nymphs, Pan, Orion, and the Satyrs, for I + have a task in hand which may hardly be accomplished without some divine + aid. And the lesson I would teach is one as to which even gods must + differ, and no two men will ever hold exactly the same opinion. Indeed, no + written lesson, no spoken words, no lectures, be they ever so often + repeated, will teach any man to ride to hounds. The art must come of + nature and of experience; and Orion, were he here, could only tell the + tyro of some few blunders which he may avoid, or give him a hint or two as + to the manner in which he should begin. + </p> + <p> + Let it be understood that I am speaking of fox-hunting, and let the young + beginner always remember that in hunting the fox a pack of hounds is + needed. The huntsman, with his servants, and all the scarlet-coated + horsemen in the field, can do nothing towards the end for which they are + assembled without hounds. He who as yet knows nothing of hunting will + imagine that I am laughing at him in saying this; but, after a while, he + will know how needful it is to bear in mind the caution I here give him, + and will see how frequently men seem to forget that a fox cannot be hunted + without hounds. A fox is seen to break from the covert, and men ride after + it; the first man, probably, being some cunning sinner, who would fain get + off alone if it were possible, and steal a march upon the field. But in + this case one knave makes many fools; and men will rush, and ride along + the track of the game, as though they could hunt it, and will destroy the + scent before the hounds are on it, following, in their ignorance, the + footsteps of the cunning sinner. Let me beg my young friend not to be + found among this odious crowd of marplots. His business is to ride to + hounds; and let him do so from the beginning of the run, persevering + through it all, taking no mean advantages, and allowing himself to be + betrayed into as few mistakes as possible; but let him not begin before + the beginning. If he could know all that is inside the breast of that mean + man who commenced the scurry, the cunning man who desires to steal a + march, my young friend would not wish to emulate him. With nine-tenths of + the men who flutter away after this ill fashion there is no design of + their own in their so riding. They simply wish to get away, and in their + impatience forget the little fact that a pack of hounds is necessary for + the hunting of a fox. + </p> + <p> + I have found myself compelled to begin with this preliminary caution, as + all riding to hounds hangs on the fact in question. Men cannot ride to + hounds if the hounds be not there. They may ride one after another, and + that, indeed, suffices for many a keen sportsman; but I am now addressing + the youth who is ambitious of riding to hounds. But though I have thus + begun, striking first at the very root of the matter, I must go back with + my pupil into the covert before I carry him on through the run. In riding + to hounds there is much to do before the straight work commences. Indeed, + the straight work is, for the man, the easiest work, or the work, I should + say, which may be done with the least previous knowledge. Then the horse, + with his qualities, comes into play; and if he be up to his business in + skill, condition, and bottom, a man may go well by simply keeping with + others who go well also. Straight riding, however, is the exception and + not the rule. It comes sometimes, and is the cream of hunting when it does + come; but it does not come as often as the enthusiastic beginner will have + taught himself to expect. + </p> + <p> + But now we will go back to the covert, and into the covert if it be a + large one. I will speak of three kinds of coverts, the gorse, the wood, + and the forest. There are others, but none other so distinct as to require + reference. As regards the gorse covert, which of all is the most + delightful, you, my disciple, need only be careful to keep in the crowd + when it is being drawn. You must understand that if the plantation which + you see before you, and which is the fox's home and homestead, be + surrounded, the owner of it will never leave it. A fox will run back from + a child among a pack of hounds, so much more terrible is to him the human + race even than the canine. The object of all men of course is that the fox + shall go, and from a gorse covert of five acres he must go very quickly or + die among the hounds. It will not be long before he starts if there be + space left for him to creep out, as he will hope, unobserved. Unobserved + he will not be, for the accustomed eye of some whip or servant will have + seen him from a corner. But if stray horsemen roaming round the gorse give + him no room for such hope, he will not go. All which is so plainly + intelligible, that you, my friend, will not fail to understand why you are + required to remain with the crowd. And with simple gorse coverts there is + no strong temptation to move about. They are drawn quickly, and though + there be a scramble for places when the fox has broken, the whole thing is + in so small a compass that there is no difficulty in getting away with the + hounds. In finding your right place, and keeping it when it is found, you + may have difficulty; but in going away from a gorse the field will be open + for you, and when the hounds are well out and upon the scent, then + remember your Latin; Occupet extremum scabies. + </p> + <p> + But for one fox found in a gorse you will, in ordinary countries, see five + found in woods; and as to the place and conduct of a hunting man while + woods are being drawn, there is room for much doubt. I presume that you + intend to ride one horse throughout the day, and that you wish to see all + the hunting that may come in your way. This being so, it will be your + study to economize your animal's power, and to keep him fresh for the run + when it comes. You will hardly assist your object in this respect by + seeing the wood drawn, and galloping up and down the rides as the fox + crosses and recrosses from one side of it to another. Such rides are deep + with mud, and become deeper as the work goes on; and foxes are very + obstinate, running, if the covert be thick, often for an hour together + without an attempt at breaking, and being driven back when they do attempt + by the horsemen whom they see on all sides of them. It is very possible to + continue at this work, seeing the hounds hunt, with your ears rather than + your eyes, till your nag has nearly done his day's work. He will still + carry you perhaps throughout a good run, but he will not do so with that + elasticity which you will love; and then, after that, the journey home is, + it is occasionally something almost too frightful to be contemplated. You + can, therefore, if it so please you, station yourself with other patient + long-suffering, mindful men at some corner, or at some central point + amidst the rides, biding your time, consoling yourself with cigars, and + not swearing at the vile perfidious, unfoxlike fox more frequently than + you can help. For the fox on such occasions will be abused with all the + calumnious epithets which the ingenuity of angry men can devise, because + he is exercising that ingenuity the possession of which on his part is the + foundation of fox-hunting. There you will remain, nursing your horse, + listening to chaff, and hoping. But even when the fox does go, your + difficulties may be but beginning. + </p> + <p> + It is possible he may have gone on your side of the wood; but much more + probable that he should have taken the other. He loves not that crowd that + has been abusing him, and steals away from some silent distant corner. + You, who are a beginner, hear nothing of his going; and when you rush off, + as you will do with others, you will hardly know at first why the rush is + made. But some one with older eyes and more experienced ears has seen + signs and heard sounds, and knows that the fox is away. Then, my friend, + you have your place to win, and it may be that the distance shall be too + great to allow of your winning it. Nothing but experience will guide you + safely through these difficulties. + </p> + <p> + In drawing forests or woodlands your course is much clearer. There is no + question, then, of standing still and waiting with patience, tobacco, and + chaff for the coming start. The area to be drawn is too large to admit of + waiting, and your only duty is to stay as close to the hounds as your ears + and eyes will permit, remembering always that your ears should serve you + much more often than your eyes. And in woodland hunting that which you + thus see and hear is likely to be your amusement for the day. There is + "ample room and verge enough" to run a fox down without any visit to the + open country, and by degrees, as a true love of hunting comes upon you in + place of a love of riding, you will learn to think that a day among the + woodlands is a day not badly spent. At first, when after an hour and a + half the fox has been hunted to his death, or has succeeded in finding + some friendly hole, you will be wondering when the fun is going to begin. + Ah me! how often have I gone through all the fun, have seen the fun + finished, and then have wondered when it was going to begin; and that, + too, in other things besides hunting! + </p> + <p> + But at present the fun shall not be finished, and we will go back to the + wood from which the fox is just breaking. You, my pupil, shall have been + patient, and your patience shall be rewarded by a good start. On the + present occasion I will give you the exquisite delight of knowing that you + are there, at the spot, as the hounds come out of the covert. Your + success, or want of success, throughout the run will depend on the way in + which you may now select to go over the three or four first fields. It is + not difficult to keep with hounds if you can get well away with them, and + be with them when they settle to their running. In a long and fast run + your horse may, of course, fail you. That must depend on his power and his + condition. But, presuming your horse to be able to go, keeping with hounds + is not difficult when you are once free from the thick throng of the + riders. And that thick throng soon makes itself thin. The difficulty is in + the start, and you will almost be offended when I suggest to you what + those difficulties are, and suggest also that such as they are even they + may overcome you. You have to choose your line of riding. Do not let your + horse choose it for you instead of choosing it for yourself. He will + probably make such attempts, and it is not at all improbable that you + should let him have his way. Your horse will be as anxious to go as you + are, but his anxiety will carry him after some other special horse on + which he has fixed his eyes. The rider of that horse may not be the guide + that you would select. But some human guide you must select. Not at first + will you, not at first does any man, choose for himself with serene + precision of confident judgment the line which he will take. You will be + flurried, anxious, self-diffident, conscious of your own ignorance, and + desirous of a leader. Many of those men who are with you will have objects + at heart very different from your object. Some will ride for certain + points, thinking that they can foretell the run of the fox. They may be + right; but you, in your new ambition, are not solicitous to ride away to + some other covert because the fox may, perchance, be going there. Some are + thinking of the roads. Others are remembering that brook which is before + them, and riding wide for a ford. With none such, as I presume, do you + wish to place yourself. Let the hounds be your mark; and if, as may often + be the case, you cannot see them, then see the huntsman; or, if you cannot + see him, follow, at any rate, some one who does. If you can even do this + as a beginner, you will not do badly. + </p> + <p> + But, whenever it be possible, let the hounds themselves be your mark, and + endeavour to remember that the leading hounds are those which should guide + you. A single hound who turns when he is heading the pack should teach you + to turn also. Of all the hounds you see there in the open, probably not + one-third are hunting. The others are doing as you do, following where + their guides lead them. It is for you to follow the real guide, and not + the followers, if only you can keep the real guide in view. To keep the + whole pack in view and to ride among them is easy enough when the scent is + slack and the pace is slow. At such times let me counsel you to retire + somewhat from the crowd, giving place to those eager men who are breaking + the huntsman's heart. When the hounds have come nearer to their fox, and + the pace is again good, then they will retire and make room for you. + </p> + <p> + Not behind hounds, but alongside of them, if only you can achieve such + position, it should be your honour and glory to place yourself; and you + should go so far wide of them as in no way to impede them or disturb them, + or even to remind them of your presence. If thus you live with them, + turning as they turn, but never turning among them, keeping your distance, + but losing no yard, and can do this for seven miles over a grass country + in forty-five minutes, then you can ride to hounds better than nineteen + men out of every twenty that you have seen at the meet, and will have + enjoyed the keenest pleasure that hunting, or perhaps, I may say, that any + other amusement, can give you. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hunting Sketches, by Anthony Trollope + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HUNTING SKETCHES *** + +***** This file should be named 814-h.htm or 814-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/1/814/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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