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.