be
expended in looking for a fox. It is suited to punctual, commercial,
military, or political duties. You may read your letters, dictate
replies, breakfast deliberately, order your dinner, and invite a party
to discuss it, and set off to hunt with the Queen's, the Baron's, or any
other stag-hound pack within reach of rail, almost certain of two hours'
galloping, and a return by the train you fixed in the morning.

* * * * *

There are a few hints to which pupils in the art of hunting may do well
to attend.

"Don't go into the field until you can sit a horse over any reasonable
fence. But practice at real fences, for at the leaping-bar only the
rudiments of fencing are to be learned by either man or horse. The
hunting-field is not the place for practising the rudiments of the art.
Buy a perfect hunter; no matter how blemished or how ugly, so that he
has legs, eyes, and wind to carry him and his rider across the country.
It is essential that one of the two should perfectly understand the
business in hand. Have nothing to say to a puller, a rusher, or a
kicker, even if you fancy you are competent; a colt should only be
ridden by a man who is paid to risk his bones. An amateur endangers
himself, his neighbours, and the pack, by attempting rough-riding. The
best plan for a man of moderate means--those who can afford to spend
hundreds on experiments can pick and choose in the best stables--is to
hire a hack hunter; and, if he suits, buy him, to teach you how to go.

"Never take a jump when an open gate or gap is handy, unless the hounds
are going fast. Don't attempt to show in front, unless you feel you can
keep there. Beginners, who try to make a display, even if lucky at
first, are sure to make some horrid blunder. Go slowly at your fences,
except water and wide ditches, and don't pull at the curb when your
horse is rising. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the horse will
be better without your assistance than with it. Don't wear spurs until
you are quite sure that you won't spur at the wrong time. Never lose
your temper with your horse, and never strike him with the whip when
going at a fence; it is almost sure to make him swerve. Pick out the
firmest ground; hold your horse together across ploughed land; if you
want a pilot, choose not a scarlet and cap, but some well-mounted old
farmer, who has not got a horse to sell: if he has, ten to one but he
leads you into grief.

"In goin