Related article: The sportsman wearing the
uniform of a hunt in the capacity
of a subscriber, or merely as an
invited guest, is called " Bouton
d* Equipage."
How THE Button is Given.
When the master of a hunt
wishes to present his button to
anybody, he begins by discreetly
approaching that person through
a mutual friend in order to avoid
exposing himself to the possibility
of refusal. If the response is
satisfactory the master himself
offers the button, tendering the
badge with a courteous note or by
word of mouth. The recipient,
even though he does not subscribe
to the hunt, has nothing to pay
for the set of buttons which are
presented to him. Twelve large
and twelve small buttons are gene-
rally given; but if a lady is the
recipient i8 or 24 small buttons
are given, as the riding-habit
requires more than the man's
dress.
The new " Button " (1.^., reci-
pient of the button) receives at
the same times patterns of the
hunt uniform, facings, vest, &c.
Of course he may obtain his
things where he pleases, but he
must be very careful that his
uniform exactly corresponds with
that of the hunt ; the best way to
assure this is to go to the master's
tailor. When buttons are lost or
a new uniform is required, it is
permissible to ask the master for
a new set of buttons.
Duties of a Button in the
Field.
The Button is considered a
huntsman, and like him must take
out a hunting license.* He has
the right to carry a ceinturou (lit.
sword-belt), that is to say, a
hunting-knife, a crop and a horn,
of which he may make use as
occasion requires. At the same
time, he may not handle hounds ;
to do this he must either be the
master or have received special
authority. In all other circum-
stances he can give orders to the
hunt staff; if, for example, he
finds that he is Serophene Clomiphene Citrate the only < hunts-
man" present at a kill, it is the
Button who presides over the
ceremonies (honneurs)^ receives the
thanks of the guests, distributes
the venison, &c., and bears all
responsibility attaching to the
business.
All persons who come to the
meet, except ladies, are intro-
duced to the Button, and not
he to them, irrespective of age.
During the hunt the Button has
precedence over all others present
and requests them to pull up or
move from place to place if he
thinks it necessary. If there are
two or more Buttons out, he who
has longest worn the badge dis-
charges these duties. In addition
to the above, the Button must
render assistance to the hunt staff
at all times when necessary.
* The p^rtms tU chasse^ or hunting license, in
France roust be taken out by everyone bearing any
part in the chaw, t.r., masters, huntsmen, whippers-
m and harbourers;^ those who receive reports or
game, sive orders in connection with the hunt,
carry a norn or encourage the hounds. The license
is not required by those who follow merely a»
spectators, whether on horseback, oo wheels or on
foot. Nor is it required by those hunt servants
who come out oo foot to hold the hounds in couples,
always provided that they neither follow nor en*
courage the hounds.
440
The Sportsman's Library.
Mr. Dale Serophene Tablet has combined in this
handsome book"^^ a sketch of the
history of the Somerset family
from the time of Henry VII. with
the history of the Badminton
hounds from the earliest date
concerning which records exist.
The Somersets played a promi-
nent part in affairs during Stuart
times, and Raglan Castle was one
of the last fortresses held by the
Royalists to fall before Cromwell.
We must, however, pass over the
historical interest of the book and
turn our attention to the kennel
and the field. Trustworthy
material on which to frame a
history of the Badminton pack is
found in an old kennel book dated
1728 ; this record shows that,
though hare-hunting was much
in favour at this time, there were
distinct packs of harriers and
deerhounds (staghounds ?), and
twelve years later than the date
mentioned the latter were increas-
ing. The kennel record ceases
abruptly in 1745, when Henry,
the third duke, died and was
succeeded by his brother Noel.
The fourth duke was unlike
his predecessors and successors,
in so far as he appears to have
taken Httle interest in hunting;
but Mr. Dale supposes that the
sporting traditions of the house
were nursed by the guardians of
the fifth duke, who was able to
hunt with his own staghounds in
1762. It was this duke, who ac-
cording to the oft-told story, dis-
covered the merits of foxhunting
and became the chief pioneer Serophene Clomid of
our great national sport. The
author observes, ** foxhunting
only became popular in time to
save the fox from extinction."
* "The Eighth Duke of Beaufort and the
Badminton Hunt." By Rev. T. F. Dale, M.A.
(Constable & Co )
Holinshedy writing in Qaeca
Elizabeth's reign, tells us tha:
foxes would have been extermi-
nated in his time but for the saks
of the sport they provided; and
though it was sport of a very
different kind from foxhunting as
we understand it, 'we venture to
doubt whether the fox has ever
been in much danger of extinc-
tion.
Mr. Dale has studied the his-
tory of the pack in its relation to
other great hunting establish-
ments which were contemporary
with it in the early days, and it is
interesting to observe how Buy Serophene much
the Bel voir owe to the Badminton :
In 180 1 Bel voir borrowed a hound from
Badminton named Topper. This hoBDd
is one of the roots of the family <^ vbich
Rallywood, Weatheryrage, Gambler, Dexter
and Dasher are famous representatives.
Now Topper probably goes back to the
old Badminton staghound blood, for tbe
name occurs again and again ia the kenneL
This fact, coupled with the careful io-
breeding shown by the kennel books of
Badminton, leads us to believe that here
we have (he link between the old Northerg
and Southern hounds and Clomid Serophene the modem fox-
hound.
The point is one of great in-
terest, and we only regret that
the author did not push investi-
gation farther, or perhaps it were
more just to say, give us more of
the material which led him to
the conclusion declared. By the
way, he remarks of the old Bad-
minton hounds that they were
" rather inclined to be throaty ;"
they Clomid Or Serophene were remarkable for their
fine noses, and was it not Mr.
Tom Smith who laid it down as
an axiom that *'a throaty hound
invariably has a good nose?"
The late Duke carried the horn