There was a lady with melting eyes, many children, and a long sealskin, and she availed herself of the excuse of seeing the hounds to rejoin a young man in whom she was interested.  There was an old sportsman of seventy winters, as hale and as hearty as an oak, standing on the door-step, and he made John promise to come over and see him.  The girls strolled about in groups.  As usual young men were lacking.  Looking at his watch, the huntsman pressed the sides of his horse, and rode to draw the covers at the end of the park.  The ladies followed to see the start, although the mud was inches deep under foot.  “Hu in, hu in,” cried the huntsman.  The whips trotted round cracking their long whips.  Not a sound was heard.  Suddenly there was a whimper, “Hark to Woodland,” cried the huntsman.  The hounds rallied to the point, but nothing came of it.  Apparently the old bitch was at fault.  The huntsman muttered something inaudible.  But some few hundred yards further on, in an outlying clump where no one would expect to find, a fox broke clean away.

The country is as flat as a smooth sea.  Chanctonbury Ring stands up like a mighty cliff on a northern shore; its crown of trees is grim.  The abrupt ascents of Toddington Mount bear away to the left, and tide-like the fields flow up into the great gulf between.

“He’s making for the furze, but he’ll never reach them; he got no start, and the ground is heavy.”

Then the watchers saw the horsemen making their way up the chalky roads cut in the precipitous side of the downs.  Rain began to fall, umbrellas were put up, and all hurried home to lunch.

“Now John, try and make yourself agreeable, go over and talk to some of the young ladies.  Why do you dress yourself in that way?  Have you no other coat?  You look like a young priest.  Look at that young man over there! how nicely dressed he is!  I wish you would let your moustache grow; it would improve you immensely.”  With these and similar remarks whispered to him, Mrs Norton continued to exasperate her son until the servants announced that lunch was ready.  “Take in Mrs So-and-so,” she said to John, who would fain have escaped from the melting glances of the lady in the long sealskin.  He offered her his arm with an air of resignation, and set to work valiantly to carve a huge turkey.

As soon as the servants had cleared away after one set another came, and although the meet was a small one, John took six ladies in to lunch.  About half-past three the men adjourned to the billiard-room to smoke.  The girls, mighty in numbers, followed, and, with their arms round each other’s waists, and interlacing fingers, they grouped themselves about the room.  Two huntsmen returned dripping wet, and much to his annoyance, John had to furnish them with a change of clothes.  There was tea in the drawing-room about five o’clock, and soon after the visitors began to take their leave.