Modern foxhunting took shape in the 19th century shortly after Hugo Meynell, the father of the modern English chase, started hunting, and it soon developed into a national upper-class pastime; a character in Oscar Wilde’s play A Woman of No Importance calls it “the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.” The sport often followed wherever the British Empire took root. Traditional procedure is still observed and the proper kit (clothing) worn. A fox hunt is conducted by the master, and, in theory, all who take part in it do so at the master’s invitation, even when they pay for the privilege.
The hounds, generally 20 to 30 couples (matched pairs), are controlled by the huntsman, who may be the master but is generally the senior paid servant of the hunt. Two or three whippers-in assist in reconnaissance and in keeping the hounds together as a pack. Master, huntsman, and whippers-in take precedence over all other riders to hounds. The huntsman controls hounds by voice, his or her calls being known as cheers, and by a horn — a copper tube about 8 inches (20 cm) long that produces two notes of great carrying and penetrating quality.
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