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Hunting Sketches-Part7_Antony Trollope(1815-1882)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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more shall be spent than they pay. And in this there is a rough



justice, that roughness of justice which pervades our English

institutions. To a master of hounds is given a place of great



influence, and into his hands is confided an authority the

possession of which among his fellow-sportsmen is very pleasant



to him. For this he is expected to pay, and he does pay for it. A

Lord Mayor is, I take it, much in the same category. He has a



salary as Lord Mayor, but if he do not spend more than that on

his office he becomes a byword for stinginess among Lord Mayors



To be Lord Mayor is his whistle, and he pays for it.

For myself, if I found myself called upon to pay for one whistle



or the other, I would sooner be a master of hounds than a Lord

Mayor. The power is certainly more perfect, and the situation, I



think, more splendid. The master of hounds has no aldermen, no

common council, no liverymen. As long as he fairly performs his



part of the compact, he is altogether without control. He is not

unlike the captain of a man-of-war; but, unlike the captain of a



man-of-war, he carries no sailing orders. He is free to go where

he lists, and is hardly expected to tell any one whither he



goeth. He is enveloped in a mystery which, to the young, adds

greatly to his grandeur; and he is one of those who, in spite of



the democratic tenderness of the age, may still be said to go

about as a king among men. No one contradicts him. No one speaks



evil of him to his face; and men tremble when they have whispered

anything of some half-drawn covert, of some unstopped earth, some



fox that should not have escaped, and, looking round, see that

the master is within earshot. He is flattered, too, if that be of



any avail to him. How he is flattered ! What may be done in this

way to Lord Mayors by common councilmen who like Mansion-house



crumbs, I do not know; but kennel crumbs must be very sweet to a

large class of sportsmen. Indeed, they are so sweet that almost



every man will condescend to flatter the master of hounds. And

ladies too, all the pretty girls delight to be spoken to by the



master ! He needs no introduction, but is free to sip all the

sweets that come. Who will not kiss the toe of his boots, or



refuse to be blessed by the sunshine of his smile ?

But there are heavy duties, deep responsibilities, and much true



heart-felt anxiety to stand as makeweight against all these

sweets. The master of hounds, even though he take no part in the



actual work of hunting his own pack, has always his hands full of

work. He is always learning, and always called upon to act on his



knowledge suddenly. A Lord Mayor may sit at the Mansionhouse, I

think, without knowing much of the law. He may do so without



discovery of his ignorance. But the master of hounds who does not

know his business is seen through at once. To say what that



business is would take a paper longer than this, and the precept

writer by no means considers himself equal to such a task. But it



is multifarious, and demands a special intellect for itself. The

master should have an eye like an eagle's, an ear like a thief's,



and a heart like a dog's that can be either soft or ruthless as

occasion may require. How he should love his foxes, and with what



pertinacity he should kill them! How he should rejoice when his

skill has assisted in giving the choice men of his hunt a run



that they can remember for the next six years ! And how heavy

should be his heart within him when he trudges home with them,



weary after a blank day, to the misery of which his incompetency

has, perhaps, contributed ! A master of hounds should be an



anxious man; so anxious that the privilege of talking to pretty

girls should be of little service to him.



One word I will say as to the manners of a master of hounds, and

then I will have done. He should be an urbane man, but not too



urbane; and he should certainly be capable of great austerity. It

used to be said that no captain of a man-of-war could hold his



own without swearing. I will not quite say the same of a master

of hounds, or the old ladies who think hunting to be wicked will



have a handle against me. But I will declare that if any man

could be justified in swearing, it would be a master of hounds.



The troubles of the captain are as nothing to his. The captain

has the ultimate power of the sword, or at any rate of the



fetter, in his hands, while the master has but his own tongue to

trust, his tongue and a certain influence which his position



gives him. The master who can make that influence suffice without

swearing is indeed a great man. Now-a-days swearing is so






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