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.

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