Next was run a rollicking race for horses owned by farmers, and others, whose land is hunted over by the Piedmont and Middleburg foxhounds; and last occurred a great comedy event--a mule race, free for all, in which one of the hunting men, in uniform, made such a handsome showing against a rabble of white and colored boys, all of them yelling, all of them beating their long-eared animals with sticks, that he would have won, had he not deliberately pulled his mount and "thrown" the race. The last event was not yet finished when my companion, who had become nervous about his interurban trolley, got into a machine to drive to Bluemont. "Of course," he said as we parted, "we'll miss you to-night." "Oh," I said, "I hope not. I expect to get there." "I don't see how you can make it," said he. "You have a lot of material to gather." "I shall work fast." "Well," said he, trying to speak like the voice of Conscience, "I hope you won't forget your _duty_--that's all." "I proposed this party to-night. It is my duty to be there." "You didn't make any definite engagement," said he, "and, besides, your first duty is to your editors and your readers." Having tossed me this disgusting thought, he departed in a cloud of dust, leaving me sad and alone, but not yet altogether in despair. The last race over, I hastened to Mr. Thomas's house, which, by this time, looked like an old English hunting print come to life, for it was now crowded with pink coats. For most of the technical information contained in this chapter I am indebted to various gentlemen whom I encountered there. In Virginia--which is the oldest fox-hunting State in the Union, the sport having been practised there for nearly two centuries--the words "hunt" or "hunting" never by any chance apply to shooting, but always refer to hunting the fox with horse and hounds. A "hunter" is not a man but a horse; a huntsman is not a member of the hunt but a hunt-servant; the "field" may be the terrain ridden over by the hunt, or it may be the group of riders following the hounds--"hunt followers," "hunting men," and "hunting women." The following items, from "Baily's Hunting Directory," a British annual, give some idea of certain primary formalities and practicalities of hunting: HINTS TO BEGINNERS Buy the best horses you can afford; but remember that a workably sound horse, though blemished or a bit gone in the wind, will give you plenty of fun, if you do not knock him about. Obey the Master's orders without argument; in the field he is supreme. Hold up your hat if you view the fox away; do not halloa. If none of the hunt servants see your uplifted hat, go and tell the nearest of them. Ride fast at water; if hounds clear a brook a horse has a good chance of doing so. Steady your horse and let him take his own pace at big timber.