ould find much greater fun in seeing rats killed
in a barn, and derive from the sight a much higher sense of
satisfaction. Condemned, probably, to stand about in the cold, unwilling
witnesses of what they heartily detest, they spend the time in giving
vent to their annoyance and contempt.... Finally, fox-digging, in the
sense we refer to, is a crying enormity, a disgrace to a noble sport,
and should be put down as rigorously as vivisection."

Tearing a poor fox to pieces is a sight which very few women would care
to watch, except those manly ones who take a delight in killing wild
animals themselves. Such persons would be able to look unmoved at a
bullock being pole axed, without losing a particle of their appetite for
a cut off his sirloin.

COMING HOME.

We are accustomed to associate hunting with pleasant runs; but there are
days when covert after covert is drawn blank and a fox not found until
late. Sometimes, but very rarely, we have an entirely blank day. A lady
with only one hunter out should use her own judgment about participating
in a late run. A great deal would depend on the distance the animal has
travelled and the length of the journey home. Some people ignorantly
imagine that a hunter should be kept out until he has had a run, unless
the day proves entirely blank, however tired he may be. If it is
necessary for people who stay out all day to ride second horses, it is
equally important that the one-horse lady should know when her mount has
had enough. It is always a safe plan for her to retire at the "change of
horses"; for there is no pleasure in continuing to hunt on a tired
animal, and there is certainly danger in so doing. Old-time sportsmen
were content with one horse a day. "Scrutator" tells us that in the time
of Mr. Meynell "it was not the fashion to have second horses in the
field." If I may express an opinion, I think that many ladies are
inclined to regard horses as machines, and expect too much from them.
This is probably due to that unfortunate saying "as strong as a horse,"
estimating the standard of mechanical power as "horse power," and so
forth. I have no doubt that our domestic cat would dislike the person
who said that cats have nine lives. A horse is, in reality, by no means
as strong as many of us imagine, and his legs are a continual source of
anxiety. Ladies who hunt should get a veterinary book, preferably
_Veterinary Notes for Horse-owners_, and when they have read it through,