The Washington herald., 1912-04-21

at the check. Among the best men"
Is woman, perhaps forty years old,
and her daughter. girl Z eighteen They
| slip to the ground and readjust their sad.
die girths as the master and servants.
once again on foot, manoeuvre the hounds
about the edges of creek. A man prof
fers flask and both women take az
observation OF the sun"
! Il must see him, I must" cries ths
woman almost with sob, and with one
accord We swing wide to get the benefit Of
a panel Of fence where the two top rails
are down. The woman who must see
fox is first through, but when we reach
the top Of the rising ground before rs we
see notA4IoG. And then all at once the
wood haI- mile away becomes vocal with
babel of hound music and we hear the
shouts of the huntsmen and the cracking
OF their eurrIng whips We advance at a
trot and come ultimately single file
through the close wood to a clearing. The
hounds are quiet now, but standing to one
side of them appears the young girl who
rode straighter than Dick or Tom. She
has the fox brush and one of the Whips IL
advancing toward her mother with the
pate. Tom and Dick win each get a pad
and 50 will those two Of US who were next
up.
And then the girls mother gives way
to a torrent Of tears.
II never saw him at all, I never saw
him for a moment" she cries. "Oh, why
was / ever born"
And now for the death of the oldes,
and most treasured fiction of all the fc-
tions-the pink tea. ..
Every one knows, of course, that the
red coat Of the hunting field is called a
pink coat always. Very well
We'll we've killed Invent we?' says
Dick the young farmer, suppose we 20
over to mothers. a piece down the road,
and have her draw US a dish of tea"
The Pink Tea:
And so We all go, VI. F. H. and his ser.
wants in pink, the rest of US in tweed On
khaki and all of US dirty and bedraggIed.
We arrive at Dicks mothers, disposs
ourselves in her kitchen and she fetches
out thick slices of bread, a pie and an
earthen teapot full of tea.
When Dick FIRST allowed he'd 20 fox
ehasin'," she informs US, 81 was minded
to take the cat O. nine tails to him. But
that was ten years ago, and if 1 wasn't 50
old I'd go out with 'em myself now"
And she would be quite as welcome as
Dick is, for she probably rides almost as
well, having Joined the army of natural
riders" shortly after she left her cradle.
At all events, she is hostess at pink tea;
for the pink tea is perhaps the Oldest ira
dition of hunting and is the most informal
party in the world. Whoever lives near
est the spot where the fox is killed or the
spot where the master takes of his hounds
is its logical and inevitable host. 1t iS'a
pity to have to destroy q still living
theory to the effect that pink tea is
gathering Of feeble minded pedestrians
who want to be very fashionable, but
facts are facts
A last word concerning the pink coat
:. Except at drag hunts, which are occasions
jof formality, it is rarely worn in this coun-
try except by the master and servants
1T, however, is on its way into general
favor and in a few years - doubt will Be
as generally seen in the hunting field here
as abroad. A favorits story among hunt.
ling men on Long Island is told of Judgs
John Graham, of jericho.
He went abroad a few years ago and
came home with beautiful pink coat in
his trunk. A few days after his return
he was host at a pink tea. Among his
guests was an EngliShman. Judge Graham
was showing the Englishman through his
house when his guest espied the pink
garment in a wardrobe.
But look here, you," he said, what
have you got it for? They wouldn't LEI
me wear mine this morning, you know"
Il only wear it for one thing" explained
the Judge. When want to stick nots
in the bank put it on and ride over thers
and they haven't the courage to refuse me
the money"
Three days later. when the Englishman
suddenly comprehended, he nearly fell of
his horse.
a.aasaasaasaaNHSaaaH NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.