Then hie to the cover, the dogs are all there, And the horn of the hunter is heard on the air; I've a horn of my own, which in secret I stow, For, oddly enough, they don't like me to blow. We'll go round by that gate, my good sir, if you please, I'm one of your sportsmen who rides at his ease; And I don't care to trouble my courser to jump, For whenever he does I fall off in a lump. Then haste to the meet! The Old Berkeley shall find, If I don't go precisely as fast as the wind, If they'll give my Bucephalus time to take breath, We shall both of us, sometimes, be in at the death! * * * * * [Illustration: A LION IN THE PATH? Oh dear no! Merely the "_first open day_" after a long frost, and a tom-tit has been inconsiderate enough to fly suddenly out of the fence on the way to covert!] * * * * * [Illustration: TRIALS OF A NOVICE _Unsympathetic Bystander._ "Taking 'im back to 'is cab, guv'nor?"] * * * * * [Illustration: HOW THE LAST RUN OF THE WOPSHIRE HOUNDS WAS SPOILT.] * * * * * PROVERBS FOR THE TIMID HUNTSMAN _Dressing_ There's no toe without a corn. If the boot pinches--bear it. _Breakfast_ A snack in time, saves nine. Faint hunger never conquered tough beef-steak. _Mounting_ You can't make a hunter out of a hired hack. The nearer the ground the safer the seat. _In the Field_ Take care of the hounds, but the fence may take care of itself. Too many brooks spoil the sport. One pair of spurs may bring a horse to the water, but twenty will not make him jump. It is the howl that shows the funk. Fools break rails for wise men to go over. Snobs and their saddles are soon parted. _At Luncheon_ A flask in the hand is worth a cask in the vault. Cut your sandwiches according to your stomach. _Coming Home_ The nearer the home, the harder the seat. _Bed-time_ It's a heavy sleep that has no turning. * * * * * [Illustration: REALLY PLEASANT! Six miles from home, horse dead lame, awfully tender feet, and horribly tight boots.] * * * * * [Illustration: "Now, if I jump it, I shall certainly fall off; and if I dismount to open it, I shall never get on again."] * * * * * [Illustration: This is Jones, who thought to slip down by the rail early in the morning, and have a gallop with the fox hounds. On looking out of the window, he finds it is a clear frosty morning. He sees a small boy sliding--actually sliding on the pavement opposite!! and--doesn't he hate that boy--and doesn't he say it is a beastly climate!!] * * * * * [Illustration: NEW SPORTING DICTIONARY OF FAMILIAR LATIN PHRASES. (1) Labour omnia vincit. (Labor overcomes everything.)] [Illustration: (2) Ars est celare artem. "Après vous, mademoiselle!"]