277 053 
 
 r , 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
THOUGHTS 
 
 HUNTING 
 
THOUGHTS 
 
 ON 
 
 HUNTING, 
 
 i 
 
 IN A SERIES OF FAMILIAR LETTERS 
 TO A FRIEND. 
 
 BY PETER BECKFORD, ESQ. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 A CHAPTER ON COURSING. 
 
 SI QUID NOVISTI RECTIUS ISTIS, 
 CANDIDUS IMPKBTI : SI NON, HIS UTBRE MECUM. 
 
 Hor. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 COWIE, JOLLAND, & CO., 31, POULTRY. 
 1840. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 Printed by Maurice & Co., Fenchurch-street. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN the Preface to a former edition of Beck- 
 ford's Thoughts, it is observed that " no work 
 on the subject of Hunting had been published 
 before its appearance, except an anonymous 
 publication in 1733. " This apology cannot 
 be made for the present edition, for within 
 the last twenty years we have had, besides 
 Magazines and other periodicals devoted ex- 
 clusively to the sportsman, numerous works 
 on this, as well as every other branch of Field 
 Sports, many of which are written by authors 
 of established reputation, and great experience 
 in the subjects on which they treat. Beckford, 
 notwithstanding, holds the same position which 
 he has occupied for upwards of forty years. 
 He has always been considered by the sporting 
 world an unquestionable authority on every 
 A 2 
 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 thing relating to Hunting, and the first writers 
 of the day on the subject, have acknowledged 
 their obligations to his pages. In the words 
 of the author of British Field Sporis, " he 
 has so well described our present practice of 
 hunting, and given such solid and rational ad- 
 vice on the subject, that his treatise has, from 
 the day of its publication, become a general 
 text-book." 
 
 This edition is published in a more convenient 
 form, and at a considerably less price than any 
 former one, with a view of giving a more ex- 
 tended circulation to a work, which indepen- 
 dently of its value in the eyes of the sportsman, 
 has always been perused with pleasure by all 
 classes of readers. 
 
 The publishers have only further to add, that 
 in order to make the work still more complete, 
 a chapter on COURSING has been appended, 
 comprising the rules and laws relating to 
 that sport. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 THE subject introduced Hunting recommended, not 
 as an entertaining exercise only, but also as a whole- 
 some one Cervantes, and the Spectator, their opi- 
 nion of hunting For whom these letters are in- 
 tended page I 15 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 The kennel described in all its parts . . . 16 27 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Of hounds in general Hounds of the middle size re- 
 commended A perfect hound described Skirters 
 disapproved of Some objections to a large pack 
 
 2836 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Of feeding hounds, and managing them in the kennel 
 Of the feeder . 3753 
 
Vlll CONTEXTS. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Of breeding- hounds, and naming them Of the treat- 
 ment of the whelps, when first taken into the ken- 
 nel Of rounding them, and spaying bitches Of 
 the number necessary to keep up the stock A list 
 of names 54 73 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Of coupling young hounds, and breaking them from 
 sheep Of the entering them 74 84 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 The same subject continued Different methods of en- 
 tering young fox -hounds described Entering them 
 at the marten cat recommended Entering them 
 at hare censured 85 106 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Of diseases and their remedies A curious prescription 
 for the cure of the mange, either in man or beast 
 Observations on madness 107 121 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Of the huntsman and whipper-in Observations on 
 scent . 122132 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Hare-hunting described in all its parts Of the kind 
 of hound best suited to that diversion Of the best 
 method of hunting them Of the trail in the morn- 
 ing Of hare-finders A particular method of hare- 
 hunting related Curious advice about dressing a 
 hare 133146 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 Hare-hunting continued The many shifts which a 
 hare makes described A hint to such sportsmen 
 as continue talking when their hounds are at 
 fault Chopping hares censured ; directions how 
 to prevent it Of the harmony of a pack A hint 
 to such sportsmen as ride over their hounds 
 
 147155 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Of a hare- warren The hares how caught Best me- 
 thod of turning them out How a hare may be made 
 to run straight Time to leave off hare-hunting Of 
 stag-hunting at Turin 156 161 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 The description of a fox-chase attempted . 162 17 2 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Remarks on the foregoing letter When an early hour 
 is recommended Some observations on the drawing 
 of hounds A gentleman's extraordinary knowledge 
 of hunting 173 183 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Remarks on letter xiu continued Some directions to 
 the huntsman and whipper-in Of style in killing a 
 fox Of changing" from one fox to another Rules to 
 be observed when this happens Some observations 
 on the casting of hounds Riding too close upon them 
 censured 184 194 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Remarks on letter xm still continued Of halloos 
 Some remarkable instances of them When a fox 
 ought not to be given up When is the best time to 
 eat him . 195202 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 A digression in favour of fox-hunting View halloos, 
 when too frequently given, censured Of stopping the 
 tail hounds, and throwing them in at head Of skir- 
 ters, when they do hurt When foxes are in too great 
 plenty how to disperse them A Frenchman's opinion 
 of a fox-chase 203213 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 When an excellent whipper-in may be of more use than 
 an excellent huntsman Duty of a whipper-in Of 
 steadiness Of hounds that kill sheep A curious 
 letter from a huntsman : 214231 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 How a huntsman should draw his hounds . 232 250 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 How he should cast his hounds What constitutes a 
 perfect huntsman 251 2/0 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 A hare-hunter an improper huntsman to a pack of 
 fox-hounds The harrier and the fox-hound, in 
 what they materially differ Much encouragement to 
 hounds on bad scenting days objected to 271 282 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Blood necessary to a pack of fox-hounds The likeliest 
 method to procure it Of accidents that happen 
 in fox-hunting Of the proper time to leave off 
 fox-hunting A wanton destruction of foxes cen- 
 sured An extraordinary character of a huntsman 
 
 283300 
 
 LETTER XXIJI. 
 
 Bag-foxes, some objections to them A fox-court 
 recommended Directions how cubs should be treat- 
 ed Some caution necessary in buying foxes Of 
 digging foxes Badgers objected to A method to 
 stink an earth How badgers may be caught Of 
 terriers Of destroying foxes A remarkable instance 
 of the lex talionis , 301316 
 
ll CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Subject concluded Some observations concerning the 
 in an age me nt of a hunter Some hunting objected 
 to Virgil, Horace, Pliny, their opinion of a country 
 life Hunting not so dangerous us it is thought to be 
 Some curious quotations from other authors A 
 hunting song .......... 317 336 
 
 On coursing Its antiquity Object of the sportsman 
 Coursing meetings Extraordinary courses Rules 
 and laws of coursing ....... 337 344 
 
THOUGHTS ON HUNTING. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Bristol Hot- Wells, March 20, 1779. 
 You could not have chosen, my friend, a bet- 
 ter time than the present, to remind me of my 
 promise to send you my Thoughts on Hunting; 
 for the accident which brought me hither is likely 
 to detain me some time, nor have I any longer an 
 excuse for not obeying your commands. Indeed 
 I have hitherto excused myself, in hopes some 
 publication or other on that subject might have 
 rendered these Letters unnecessary ; but as no- 
 thing of the kind has appeared, notwithstanding 
 it is so much wanted, I am myself at this time 
 sufficiently idle to undertake the task, nor shall 
 1 think it a trifling subject to write on, if you 
 think it a necessary one : I wish the experience 
 I have had of that diversion may enable me to 
 answer the many questions you are pleased to 
 make concerning it. 
 
2 PREFERENCE FOR PROSE. 
 
 Knowing your partiality to rhyme, I could 
 wish to send you my thoughts in verse ; but as 
 this would take me longer time, without answer- 
 ing your purpose better, I must beg you to 
 accept them in humble prose, in my opinion 
 better suited to the subject. Didactic essays 
 should be as little clogged as possible ; they 
 should proceed regularly and clearly ; should 
 be easily written, and as easily understood, hav- 
 ing less to do with words than things. The 
 game of crambo is out of fashion, to the no 
 small prejudice of the rhyming tribe; and be- 
 fore I could find a rhyme to porringer, I should 
 hope to finish a great part of these Letters. I 
 shall therefore, without further delay, proceed 
 upon them ; this however I must desire to be 
 first understood between us, that when, to save 
 trouble to us both, I say a thing is, without 
 tacking a salvo to the tail of it, such as, in my 
 opinion, to the best of my judgment, &c. &c. 
 you shall not call my humility in question, as 
 the assertion is not meant to be mathematically 
 certain. When I have any better authority than 
 my own, such as Somervile for instance, (who, by 
 the by, is the only one, I believe, who has writ- 
 ten on this subject to be understood,) I shall take 
 the liberty of giving it you in his own words, to 
 save you the trouble of turning to him. 
 
THEORY OF HUNTING. 3 
 
 You may remember, perhaps, when we were 
 hunting together at Turin, and the hounds had 
 lost the stag, and the piqueurs (still more in fault 
 than they) knew not which way to try, the king 
 bid them ask Milord Anglois ; nor is it to be 
 wondered at if an Englishman should be thought 
 to understand the art of hunting, when the 
 hounds this country produces are universally 
 allowed to be the best in the whole world, 
 from which I think this inference may be drawn, 
 that although every man who follows this diver- 
 sion may not understand it, yet that it is extra- 
 ordinary of the many that do, that one only of 
 any note should have written on the subject. It 
 is rather unfortunate for me that the ingenious 
 sportsman should have preferred writing an ele- 
 gant poem to an useful lesson ; since if he had 
 pleased, he might easily have saved me the trou- 
 ble of writing these Letters. Is it not strange 
 that in a country where the press is in one con- 
 tinued labour with opinions of almost every kind, 
 from the most serious and instructive to the most 
 ridiculous and trifling ; a country, besides, so fa- 
 mous for the best hounds, and the best horses to 
 follow them, whose authors sometimes hunt, and 
 whose sportsmen sometimes write, that only the 
 practical part of hunting should be understood ? 
 B 2 
 
SILENCE OF AUTHORS 
 
 There is, however, no doubt but that the practi- 
 cal part of it would be improved, were theory 
 to accompany it. 
 
 France, Germany, and Italy, are also silent, 
 I believe, on this subject, though each of these 
 countries has had its sportsmen. Foxes, it is 
 true, they never hunt, and hares but seldom ; 
 yet the stag and wild boar in France and in Ger- 
 many are still pursued with the utmost splendour 
 and magnificence. In Italy, I believe there has 
 been no hunting since the death of the Duke of 
 Parma : he was very fond of it, and I apprehend 
 all hunting in that country ceased with him. 
 The only sportsmen now remaining are gentle- 
 men in green coats, who, taking their couteaux 
 de chasse along with them, walk into the fields 
 to catch small birds, which they call andar a la 
 caccia, or in plain English going a hunting: 
 yet it has not been so with horsemanship ; that 
 has been treated scientifically by all in Italy 
 by Pignatelli, in Germany by Isenbourg, 
 and in France by La Gueriniere : nor are the 
 useful lessons of the Duke of Newcastle confined 
 to this country only; they are both read and 
 practised every where ; nor is he the only noble 
 lord who has written on the subject. While on 
 hunting all are silent ; and were it not for the 
 
ON THIS SUBJECT. O 
 
 muse of Somervile, which has so judiciously and 
 so sweetly sung, the dog, that useful, that honest, 
 that faithful, that disinterested, that entertaining 
 animal, would be suffered to pass unnoticed and 
 undistinguished. 
 
 A Northern court once, indeed, did honour 
 this animal with a particular mark of appro- 
 bation and respect ; but the fidelity of the dog 
 has since given place to the sagacity of the ele- 
 phant.* Naturalists, it is true, have included 
 dogs in the specific descriptions they have given 
 us of animals. Authors may have written on 
 hunting, and booksellers may know many, that 
 to sportsmen are unknown ; but I again repeat 
 that I know not any writer, ancient or modern, 
 from the time of Nimrod to the present day (one 
 only excepted) who has given any useful infor- 
 mation to a sportsman.-f- 
 
 It may be objected, that the hunting of a pack 
 of hounds depends on the huntsman ; and that 
 the huntsman, generally speaking, is an illiterate 
 fellow, who seldom can either read or write ; 
 this cannot well be denied. I must therefore 
 
 * Vide Mr. Pope's Letter to Mr. Cromwell. 
 
 t Many French authors have given rules for hunting the 
 hare and stag ; to make this passage less exceptionable, 
 therefore, it maybe better perhaps, instead of sportsmen, to 
 read fox -hunter. 
 
O QUALITIES NECESSARY 
 
 observe that it is impossible the business of a 
 kennel should go on as it ought, unless the mas- 
 ter himself knows something of it ; for there 
 must be an understanding somewhere ; nor can 
 any gentleman enjoy this noble diversion in per- 
 fection without it. 
 
 It is the opinion of a great sportsman, that it 
 is as'difficult to find a perfect huntsman as a good 
 prime-minister. Without taking upon me to 
 determine what requisites may be necessary to 
 form a good prime-minister, I will describe some 
 of those which are essentially necessary towards 
 making a perfect huntsman ; qualities which, I 
 will venture to say, would not disgrace more 
 brilliant situations : such as a clear head, nice 
 observation, quick apprehension, undaunted cou- 
 rage, strength of constitution, activity of body, 
 a good ear, and a good voice. 
 
 There is not any one of those branches of 
 knowledge commonly dignified with the title of 
 arts, which has not its rudiments or principles, 
 through which a competent knowledge, if not 
 perfection, may be obtained : whereas hunting, 
 the sole business of some, and the amusement of 
 the greatest part of the youth of this kingdom, 
 seems left alone to chance. Its pursuit puts us 
 both to greater expense and greater inconvenience 
 
FOR A HUNTSMAN. 7 
 
 than any thing besides, and yet we trust our 
 diversion in it to the sole guidance of a hunts- 
 man : we follow just as he chooses to lead us; 
 and we suffer the success or disappointment of 
 the chase to depend solely on the judgment of a 
 fellow, who is frequently a greater brute than 
 the creature on which he rides. I would not be 
 understood to mean by this, that a huntsman 
 should be a scholar, or that every gentleman 
 should hunt his own hounds. A huntsman need 
 not be a man of letters ; but give me leave to 
 say, that had he the best understanding, he 
 would frequently find opportunities of exer- 
 cising it, and intricacies which might put it to 
 the test. You will say, perhaps, there is some- 
 thing too laborious in the occupation of a hunts- 
 man for a gentleman to take it upon himself; 
 you may also think that it is beneath him : I 
 agree with you in both ; yet I hope he may 
 have leave to understand it. If he follows the 
 diversion, it is a sign of his liking it ; and if 
 he likes it, surely it is some disgrace to him to 
 be ignorant of it. 
 
 I find it will not be necessary to say much to 
 recommend a diversion to you,* which you so 
 
 * Since the above was written, hunting has undergone 
 a severe censure, (vide Monthly Review for September, 
 
8 ANTIQUITY OF HUNTING. 
 
 professedly admire ; it would be needless there- 
 fore to enumerate the heroes of antiquity who 
 were taught the art of hunting, or the many 
 great men, among whom was the famous Galen, 
 who join in recommending it. I shall, however, 
 remind you that your beloved hero, Henry the 
 Fourth of France, made it his chief amusement, 
 and his very love-letters, strange as it may 
 appear, are full of little else ; and that one of 
 the greatest ministers this country ever produ- 
 ced was so fond of this diversion, that the first 
 letter he opened, as I have been told, was gene- 
 rally that of his huntsman. In most countries, 
 from the earliest times, hunting has been a prin- 
 cipal occupation of the people, either for use or 
 amusement, and many princes have made it their 
 
 1781); nor will any thing satisfy the critic less than its 
 total abolition. He recommends feats of agility to be prac- 
 tised arid exhibited instead of it. Whether the amendment 
 proposed by the learned gentleman be desirable or not, I 
 shall forbear to determine ; taking the liberty, however, to 
 remind him, that as hunting hath stood its ground from the 
 earliest times, been encouraged and approved by the best 
 authorities, and practised by the greatest men, it cannot 
 now be supposed either to dread criticism, or to need sup- 
 port. Hunting originates in Nature itself; and it is in 
 perfect correspondence with this law of Nature, that the 
 several animals are provided with necessary means of attack 
 and defence. 
 
ITS ADVANTAGES. 9 
 
 chief delight ; a circumstance which occasioned 
 the following bon mot. Louis the Fifteenth was 
 so passionately fond of this diversion, that it 
 occupied him entirely ; the King of Prussia, 
 who never hunts, gives up a great deal of his 
 time to music, and plays himself on the flute : a 
 German, last war, meeting a Frenchman, asked 
 him very impertinently, "Si son maitre chassoit 
 toujours ?" " Oui, oui? replied the other ; " il 
 ne joue jamais de la flute" The reply was ex- 
 cellent, but it would have been as well, perhaps, 
 for mankind, if that great man had never been 
 otherwise employed. Hunting is the soul of a 
 country life: it gives health to the body, and 
 content to the mind ; and is one of the few plea- 
 sures we can enjoy in society, without prejudice 
 either to ourselves or our friends. 
 
 The Spectator has drawn with infinite humour 
 the character of a man who passes his whole life 
 in pursuit of trifles ; and I have no doubt other 
 Will Wimbles might still be found. I hope, 
 however, he did not think they were confined to 
 the country only. Triflers there are of every 
 denomination. Are we not all triflers ? and are 
 we not told that all is vanity ? The Spectator, 
 without doubt, felt great compassion for Mr. 
 Wimble ; yet Mr. Wimble might not have been 
 B 3 
 
10 RECOMMENDED BY THE SPECTATOR. 
 
 a proper object of it ; since it is more than pro- 
 bable he was a happy man, if the employing of 
 his time in obliging others and pleasing himself 
 can be thought to have made him so. Whether 
 vanity misleads us or not in the choice of our 
 pursuits, the pleasures or advantages which re- 
 sult from them will best determine. I fear the 
 occupation of few gentlemen will allow of nice 
 scrutiny ; occupations therefore that amuse, and 
 are at the same time innocent, that promote 
 exercise and conduce to health, though they 
 may appear trifles in the eyes of others, certain- 
 ly are not so to those who enjoy them : of this 
 number I think I may reckon hunting ; and I 
 am particularly glad the same author furnishes 
 a quotation in support of it : u For my own 
 part,' 1 says this elegant writer, " I intend to hunt 
 twice a-week during my stay with Sir Roger; 
 and shall prescribe the moderate use of this 
 exercise to all my country friends, as the best 
 physic for mending a bad constitution, and pre- 
 serving a good one. 11 The inimitable Cervantes 
 also makes honourable mention of this diversion : 
 he makes Sancho say, " Mercy on me, what plea- 
 sure can you find, any of ye all, in killing a poor 
 beast that never meant any harm ? " that the 
 Duke may reply, " You are mistaken, Sancho ; 
 
CHARACTERIZED BY CERVANTES. 11 
 
 hunting wild beasts is the most proper exercise 
 for knights and princes ; for in the chase of a 
 stout noble beast may be represented the whole 
 art of war, stratagems, policy, and ambuscades, 
 with all other devices usually practised to over- 
 come an enemy with safety. Here we are expo- 
 sed to the extremities of heat and cold; ease 
 and laziness can have no room in this diversion : 
 by this we are inured to toil and hardship ; our 
 limbs are strengthened, our joints made supple, 
 and our whole body hale and active : in short, 
 it is an exercise that may be beneficial to many, 
 and can be prejudicial to none." Small indeed 
 is the number of those who, in the course of 
 five thousand years, have employed themselves 
 in the advancement of useful knowledge. Man- 
 kind have been blessed with but one Titus, that 
 we know of; and it is to be feared he has had 
 but few imitators. Days and years fly away, 
 without any account taken of them ; and how 
 many may reasonably be supposed to pass with- 
 out affording even amusement to others, or 
 satisfaction to ourselves? Much more, I think, 
 may be said in favour of the Wimbles ; but it 
 must be confessed, that the man who spends his 
 whole time in trifles, passes it contemptibly, 
 compared with those who are employed in re- 
 
12 CHIEF OBJECT IN 
 
 searches after knowledge useful to mankind, or 
 in professions useful to the state. 
 
 I am glad to find you approve of the plan I 
 propose to observe in the course of these Letters, 
 in which it shall be my endeavour to omit no- 
 thing that may be necessary for you to know ; 
 at least, as far as my own observation and ex- 
 perience will give me leave. The experience I 
 have had may be of use to you at present ; 
 others perhaps hereafter may write more judi- 
 ciously and more fully on the subject. You 
 know it is my interest to wish they would. 
 The few who have written on hunting refer you 
 to their predecessors for great part of the infor- 
 mation you might expect from them ; and who 
 their predecessors were I have yet to learn. 
 Even Somervile is less copious than I could 
 wish, and has purposely omitted what .is not to 
 be found elsewhere ; I mean receipts for the 
 cure of such diseases as hounds are subject to. 
 He holds such information cheap, and beneath 
 his lofty muse. Prose has no excuse, and you 
 may depend on every information I can give 
 The familiar manner in which my thoughts will 
 be conveyed to you in these Letters will suffici- 
 ently evince the intention of the author. They 
 are written with no other design than to be of 
 
WRITING, THESE LETTERS. 13 
 
 use to sportsmen. Were my aim to amuse, I 
 would not endeavour to instruct. A song might 
 suit the purpose better than an essay. To im- 
 prove health by promoting exercise ; to excite 
 gentlemen who are fond of hunting to obtain the 
 knowledge necessary to enjoy it in perfection ; 
 and to lessen the punishments which are too 
 often inflicted on an animal so friendly to man, 
 are the chief ends intended by the following 
 Letters. 
 
 I shall not pretend to lay down rules which 
 are to be equally good jn every country ; I shall 
 think myself sufficiently justified in recommend- 
 ing such as have been tried with success in the 
 countries where I have generally hunted. As 
 almost every country has a different dialect, you 
 will also excuse, I hope, any terms that may not 
 be current with you : I will take the best care 
 I can that their number shall be few. I need 
 not, I think, advise you not to adopt too easily 
 the opinions of other men. You will hear a tall 
 man say, it is nonsense to ride any but large 
 horses ; and every little man in company will 
 immediately sell his little horses, buy such as he 
 can hardly mount, and ride them in hilly coun- 
 tries, for which they are totally unfit. Pride 
 induces some men to dictate ; indolence makes 
 
14 CHIEF OBJECT IN 
 
 others like to be dictated to ; so both find their 
 account in it. You will not let this mislead 
 you : you will dare to think for yourself. Nor 
 will you believe every man who pretends to 
 know what you like better than you do your- 
 self. There is a degree of coxcombry, I be- 
 lieve, in every thing. You have heard, I make 
 no doubt, that greyhounds are either black, or 
 white, or black and white; and if you have 
 any faith in those who say they know best, they 
 will tell you there are no others.* Prejudice, 
 however, is by far too blind a guide to be de- 
 pended on. 
 
 I have read somewhere that there is no book 
 so. bad, but a judicious reader may derive some 
 advantage from the reading of it : I hope these 
 Letters will not prove the only exception. 
 Should they fall into the hands of such as are 
 not sportsmen, I need not, I think, make any 
 excuses to them for the contents, since the title 
 sufficiently shows for whom they were designed. 
 Nor are they meant for such sportsmen as need 
 not instruction, but for those that do ; to whom, 
 
 * There is a fashion in greyhounds : some coursers even 
 pretend, that all not being of the fashionable colour, are 
 curs, and not greyhounds. Greyhound seems to be a cor- 
 ruption from some other word ; most probably from gaze- 
 hound. 
 
WRITING THESE LETTERS. 15 
 
 I presume, in some parts at least, they may be 
 found of use. As a great book has been long 
 looked upon as a great evil, I shall take care 
 not to sin that way at least, and shall endeavour 
 to make these Letters as short as the extent of 
 my subject will admit. 
 
 I shall now take my leave of you for the pre- 
 sent. In my next letter I shall proceed accord- 
 ing to your desire, till I have answered all your 
 questions. Remember you are not to expect 
 entertainment; I wish you may find some in- 
 struction : the dry ness of the subject may ex- 
 cuse your want of the one, and I cannot doubt 
 of your indulgence should / fail in the other, 
 whilst I am obeying your commands. 
 
16 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 SINCE you intend to make hunting your chief 
 amusement in the country, you are certainly in 
 the right to give it some consideration before 
 you begin, and not, like Master Stephen in the 
 play, buy first a hawk, and then hunt after a 
 book to keep it by. I am glad to find that you 
 intend to build a new kennel, as I flatter myself 
 the experience I have had may be of some use 
 to you in the building of it. It is not only the 
 first thing you should do, but it is also the most 
 important. As often as your mind may alter, 
 so often may you easily change from one kind 
 of hound to another ; but your kennel will still 
 remain the same; will always keep its original 
 imperfections, unless altered at a great expense, 
 to be less perfect at last than it might have been 
 made at first, had you pursued a proper plan. 
 It is true, hounds may be kept in barns and sta- 
 bles ; but those who keep them in such places 
 can best inform you whether their hounds are 
 capable of answering the purposes for which 
 they are kept. The sense of smelling, the odora 
 
ON THE KENNEL. 17 
 
 canum vis, as Virgil calls it, is so exquisite in a 
 hound, that I cannot but suppose every stench 
 is hurtful to it. It is that faculty on which all 
 our hopes depend ; it is that which must lead 
 us over greasy fallows, where the feet of the 
 game we pursue, being clogged, leave little 
 scent behind : as well as over stony roads, 
 through watery meads, and where sheep have 
 stained the ground. 
 
 Cleanliness is not only absolutely necessary to 
 the nose of the hound, but also to the preserva- 
 tion of his health. Dogs are naturally cleanly 
 animals : they seldom, when they can help it, 
 dung where they lie : air and fresh straw are 
 necessary to keep them healthy. They are sub- 
 ject to the mange ; a disorder to which poverty 
 and nastiness will very much contribute. This, 
 though easily stopped at its first appearance, if 
 suffered to continue long, greatly lessens the 
 powers of the animal ; and the remedies which 
 must then be used, being in themselves violent, 
 often injure his constitution: it had better be 
 prevented. Let the kennel therefore be your 
 particular care. 
 
 " Upon some little eminence erect, 
 
 And fronting to the ruddy dawn ; its courts 
 
 On either hand wide op'ning to receive 
 
 The sun's all-cheering beams, when mild he shines, 
 
 And gilds the mountain tops." 
 
18 PLAN OF A KENNEL. 
 
 Such as Somervile directs may be the situation ; 
 its size must be suited to the number of its in- 
 habitants ; the architecture of it may be con- 
 formable to your own taste. Useless expense I 
 should not recommend ; yet as I suppose you 
 will often make it a visit, at least in the hunting 
 season, I could wish it might have a neatness 
 without, as well as cleanliness within, the more 
 to tempt you to it. I should for the same rea- 
 son wish it to be as near your house as you will 
 give it leave. I know there are many objections 
 to its being near : I foresee still more to its be- 
 ing at a distance. There is a vulgar saying, 
 that it is the master's eye that makes the horse 
 fat : I can assure you it is even more necessary 
 in the kennel, where cleanliness is not less essen- 
 tial than food. 
 
 There are, I make no doubt, many better 
 kennels than mine ; some of which, I think, you 
 should see before you begin to build : you can 
 but make use of my plan in case you should like 
 no other better. If, in the mean time, I am to 
 give you my opinion what a kennel ought to be, 
 I must send you a description of my own, for I 
 have not seen many others. 
 
 I would advise you to make it large enough 
 at first, as any addition to it afterwards must 
 spoil the appearance of it. I have been obliged 
 
TWO KENNELS RECOMMENDED. 19 
 
 to add to mine, which was built from a plan of 
 my own, and intended, at first, for a pack of bea- 
 gles. As my feeding-yard is too small, I will 
 endeavour to remedy that defect in the plan I 
 send you, which plan may be still enlarged or 
 lessened, as you think fit, or as your occasions 
 may require. 
 
 I think two kennels absolutely necessary to 
 the well-being of the hounds ; when there is but 
 one, it is seldom sweet ; and when cleaned out, 
 the hounds, particularly in winter, suffer both 
 whilst it is cleaning, and as long as it remains 
 wet afterwards. To be more clearly understood 
 by you, I shall call one of these the hunting- 
 kennel^ by which I mean that kennel into which 
 the hounds are drafted which are to hunt the 
 next day. Used always to the same kennel, 
 they will be drafted with little trouble ; they 
 will answer to their names more readily ; and 
 you may count your hounds into the kennel with 
 as much ease as a shepherd counts his sheep 
 out of the fold. 
 
 When the feeder first comes to the kennel in 
 a morning, he should let out the hounds into the 
 outer court ; at the same time opening the door 
 of the hunting-kennel, lest want of rest, or bad 
 weather, should incline them to go into it. The 
 
20 DUTIES OF THE KENNEL. 
 
 lodging-room should then be cleaned out, the 
 doors and windows of it opened, the litter shaken 
 up, and that whole kennel made sweet and clean 
 before the hounds return to it again. The great 
 court and the other kennels are not less to be 
 attended to, nor should you pass over in silence 
 any omission that is hurtful to your hounds. 
 
 The floor of each lodging-room should be 
 bricked, and sloped on both sides to run to the 
 centre, with a gutter left to carry off the water, 
 that when they are washed, they may be soon 
 dry. If water should stand through any fault 
 in the floor, it should be carefully mopped up ; 
 for as warmth is in the greatest degree necessary 
 to hounds after work, so damps are equally 
 prejudicial. You will think me, perhaps, too 
 particular in these directions ; yet there can be 
 no harm in your knowing what your servants 
 ought to do ; as it is not impossible but it may 
 be sometimes necessary for you to see that it is 
 done. In your military profession you are per- 
 fectly acquainted with the duty of a common 
 soldier, and though you have no further business 
 with the minutia3 of it, there is no doubt but 
 you still find the knowledge of them useful to 
 you : believe me, they may be useful here ; and 
 you will pardon me, I hope, if I wish to see 
 
INTERIOR OF THE KENNEL. 21 
 
 you a Martinet in the kennel, as well as in the 
 field. Orders given without skill are seldom 
 well obeyed ; and where the master is either 
 ignorant or inattentive, the servant will be idle. 
 I also wish that, contrary to the usual prac- 
 tice in building kennels, you would have three 
 doors ; two in the front, and one in the back ; 
 the last to have a lattice window in it, with a 
 wooden shutter, which is constantly to be kept 
 closed when the hounds are in, except in s.um- 
 mer, when it should be left open all the day. 
 This door answers two very necessary purposes : 
 it gives an opportunity of carrying out the straw 
 when the lodging-room is cleaned, and as it is 
 opposite to the window, will be a means to let 
 in a thorough air, which will greatly contribute 
 to the keeping of it sweet and wholesome. The 
 other doors will be of use in drying the room, 
 when the hounds are out ; and as one is to be 
 kept shut and the other hooked back, (allowing 
 just room for a dog to pass,) they are not liable 
 to any objection. The great window in the 
 centre should have a folding shutter ; half, or 
 the whole of which, may be shut at nights, 
 according to the weather ; and your kennels, by 
 that means, may be kept warm or cool, just as 
 you please to have them. The two great lodg- 
 
22 INTERIOR OF THE KENNEL. 
 
 ing-rooms are exactly alike, and as each has a 
 court belonging to it, are distinct kennels, and 
 are at the opposite ends of the building ; in the 
 centre of which is the boiling-house, and feed- 
 ing-yard ; and on each side a lesser kennel, 
 either for hounds that are drafted off; hounds 
 that are sick, or larne ; or for any other pur- 
 poses, as occasion may require : at the back of 
 which, as they are but half the depth of the two 
 great kennels, are places for coals, &c. for the 
 use of the kennel. There is also a small build- 
 ing in the rear for hot bitches. The plan will 
 show you the size of the whole. The floors of 
 the inner courts, like to those of the lodging- 
 rooms, are bricked and sloped to run to the 
 centre ; and a channel of water, brought in by 
 a leaden pipe, runs through the middle of them. 
 In the centre of each court is a well, large 
 enough to dip a bucket, to clean the kennels: 
 this must be faced with stone, or it will be often 
 out of repair. In the feeding-yard, you must 
 have a wooden cover. 
 
 The benches, which must be open, to let the 
 urine through, should have hinges and hooks in 
 the wall, that they may fold up, for the greater 
 convenience of washing out the kennel ; and they 
 should be made as low as possible, that a tired 
 
THE COURT. 23 
 
 hound may have no difficulty in jumping up:* 
 let me add, also, that the boiler should be of 
 cast-iron. 
 
 The rest of the kennel consists of a large 
 court in front, which is also bricked, having a 
 grass-court adjoining, and a little brook running 
 through the middle of it. The earth that was 
 taken out of it, is thrown up into a mount, 
 where the hounds in summer delight to sit. 
 This court is planted round with trees, and has 
 besides a lime tree and some horse-chestnut trees 
 near the middle of it, for the sake of shade. 
 A high pale incloses the whole ; part of which, 
 to the height of about four feet, is close ; the 
 other open : the interstices are about two inches 
 wide. The grass-court is pitched near the pale, 
 to prevent the hounds from scratching out. If 
 you cannot guess the intention of the posts you 
 see in the courts, there is scarcely an inn-win- 
 dow on any road where the following line will 
 not let you into the secret, 
 
 " So dogs will p where dogs have p 'd before." 
 This is done to save the trees, to which the 
 
 * Benches cannot be too low. If, owing to the smallness 
 of the hound, it should be difficult to render them low 
 enough, a projecting ledge will answer the same purpose ; 
 and the benches may be boarded at bottom, to prevent the 
 hound from creeping under. 
 
24* APPENDAGES TO THE KENNEL. 
 
 urinary salts are prejudicial. If they are at 
 first backward in coming to them, bind some 
 straw round the bottom, and rub it with galba- 
 num. The brook in the grass-court may serve 
 as a stew : your fish will be very safe.* 
 
 At the back of the kennel is a house, thatched 
 and furzed up on the sides, big enough to con- 
 tain at least a load of straw. Here should be a 
 pit ready to receive the dung, and a gallows for 
 the flesh. The gallows should have a thatched 
 roof, and a circular board at the posts of it, to 
 prevent vermin from climbing up. 
 
 A stove, I believe, is made use of in some 
 kennels ; but where the feeder is a good one, a 
 mop, properly used, will render it unnecessary. 
 I have a little hay-rick in the grass-yard, which 
 I think is of use to keep the hounds clean and 
 fine in their coats ; you will find them frequently 
 rubbing themselves against it : the shade of it 
 also is useful to them in summer. If ticks at 
 any time should be troublesome in your kennel, 
 let the walls of it be well washed ; if that does 
 not destroy them, the walls should then be white- 
 washed. 
 
 * It may also be used as a cold bath for such hounds as 
 stand in need of it : for lameness in the stifle, and for 
 strains, it will be found of service. 
 
KENNEL DISCIPLINE. 25 
 
 In the summer, when you do not hunt, one 
 kennel will be sufficient ; the other then may be 
 for the young hounds, who should also have the 
 grass-court adjoining to it. It is best at that 
 time of the year to keep them separate, and it 
 prevents many accidents which otherwise might 
 happen ; nor should they be put together till 
 the hunting season begins.* If your hounds 
 are very quarrelsome, the feeder may sleep in a 
 cot, in the kennel adjoining; and if they are 
 well chastised at the first quarrel, his voice will 
 be sufficient to settle all their differences after- 
 wards.-f Close to the door of the kennel, let 
 there be always a quantity of little switches ; 
 which three narrow boards, nailed to one of the 
 posts, will easily contain. ; 
 
 My kennel is close to the road-side, but it 
 was unavoidable. This is the reason why my 
 
 * The dogs and the bitches may also be kept separate 
 from each other during the summer months, where there 
 are conveniences for it. 
 
 f- In a kennel in Oxfordshire the feeder pulls a bell, 
 which the hounds understand the meaning of: it silences 
 them immediately, and saves him the trouble of getting 
 out of his bed. 
 
 J Whan hounds are perfectly obedient, whips are no 
 longer necessary ; switches, in my opinion, are preferable. 
 The whips I use are coach-whips, three feet long, the thong 
 half the length of the crop : they are more handy than 
 horse-whips, correct the hounds as well, and hurt them 
 less. 
 
 C 
 
26 PLAN FOR A KENNEL. 
 
 front pale is close, and only the side ones open ; 
 it is a great fault : avoid it if you can, and your 
 hounds will be the quieter. 
 
 Upon looking over my letter, I find, I begin 
 recommending, with Mr. Somervile, a high situ- 
 ation for the kennel, and afterwards talk of a 
 brook running through the middle of it: I am 
 afraid you will not be able to unite these two 
 advantages ; in which case, there is no doubt 
 but water should be preferred. The mount I 
 have mentioned will answer all the purposes of 
 an eminence : besides, there should be moveable 
 stages on wheels, for the hounds to lie upon ; at 
 any rate, however, let your soil be a dry one. 
 
 You will think, perhaps, my lodging-rooms 
 higher than is necessary. I know they are con- 
 siderably higher than is usual ; the intention of 
 which is, to give more air to the hounds ; and I 
 have not the least doubt but they are better for 
 it. I will no longer persecute you with this 
 unentertaining subject, but send you the plan of 
 my own kennel, and take my leave of you. 
 
 P. S. I send only the ground-plan and eleva- 
 tion, as the size of the outer-court, and grass- 
 court, are perfectly immaterial ; the one should 
 not be small, and the other should be as large 
 as you can conveniently make it. 
 
CHOICE OF HOUNDS. 27 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 I BEGIN this letter with assuring you that I 
 have done with the kennel: without doubt, you 
 will think I had good need. If I have made 
 even the name frightful to you, comfort your- 
 self with the thoughts that it will not appear 
 again. 
 
 Your criticism on my switches I think unjust. 
 You tell me self-defence would of course make 
 you take that precaution. Do you always walk 
 with a whip in your hand, or do you think that 
 a walking-stick, which may be a good thing to 
 knock a dog on the head with, would be equally 
 proper to correct him should he be too familiar ? 
 You forget, however, to put a better substitute 
 in the room of them. 
 
 You desire to know, what kind of hound I 
 would recommend : as you mention not for any 
 particular chase, or country, I understand you 
 generally ; and shall answer, that I most approve 
 of hounds of the middle size. I believe all ani- 
 c 2 
 
28 MIDDLE-SIZED PREFERABLE. 
 
 mals of that description are strongest, and best 
 able to endure fatigue. In the height, as well 
 as the colour of hounds, most sportsmen have 
 their prejudices ; but in their shape at least, I 
 think they must, all agree. I know sportsmen, 
 who boldly affirm, that a small hound will often- 
 times beat a large one ; that he will climb hills 
 better, and go through cover quicker ; whilst 
 others are not less ready to assert, that a large 
 hound will make his way in any country, will 
 get better through the dirt, than a small one ; 
 and that no fence, however high, can stop him. 
 You have now three opinions ; and I advise 
 you to adopt that which suits your country best: 
 there is, however, a certain size, best adapted 
 for business, which I take to be that between 
 the two extremes ; and I will venture to say, 
 that such hounds will not suffer themselves to 
 be disgraced in any country. Somervile, I find, 
 is of the same opinion. 
 
 " But here a mean 
 
 Observe, nor the large hound prefer, of size 
 Gigantic ; he in the thick-woven covert 
 Painfully tugs, or in the thorny brake 
 Torn and embarrassed bleeds ; but if too small, 
 The pigmy brood in every furrow swims ; 
 Moil'd in the clogging clay, panting they lag 
 Behind inglorious ; or else shivering creep 
 
SYMMETRY OF THE HOUND. 29 
 
 Benumb'd and faint beneath the sheltering thorn. 
 For hounds of middle size, active and strong, 
 Will better answer all thy various ends, 
 And crown thy pleasing labours with success." 
 
 I perfectly agree with you, that to look well, 
 they should be all nearly of a size, and I even 
 think they should all look of the same family. 
 
 " Facies non omnibus una, 
 Nee diversa tamen, qualem decet esse sororum." 
 
 If handsome withal, they are then perfect. 
 With regard to their being sizeable, what So- 
 mervile says is so much in your own way, that 
 I shall send it you : 
 
 " As some brave captain, curious and exact, 
 By his fix'd standard forms in equal ranks 
 His gay battalion, as one man they move 
 Step after step, their size the same, their arms 
 Far gleaming, dart the same united blaze : 
 Reviewing generals his merit own ; 
 How regular ! how just ! and all his cares 
 Are well repaid, if mighty GEORGE approve. 
 So model thou thy pack, if honour touch 
 Thy gen'rous soul, and the world's just applause." 
 
 There are necessary points in the shape of a 
 hound, which ought always to be attended to by 
 a sportsman ; for if he is not of a perfect sym- 
 metry, he will neither run fast, nor bear much 
 work: he has much to undergo, and should 
 have strength proportioned to it. Let his legs 
 
30 A PERFECT HOUND DESCRIBED. 
 
 be straight as arrows ; his feet round, and not 
 too large ; his chest deep, and back broad ; his 
 head small ; his neck thin ; his tail thick, and 
 brushy ; if he carries it well, so much the better. 
 This last point, however trifling it may appear 
 to you, gave rise to a very odd question. A 
 gentleman, (not much acquainted with hounds,) 
 as we were hunting together the other day, said, 
 " I observe, sir, that some of your dogs' tails 
 stand up, and some hang down ; pray, sir, which 
 do you reckon the best hounds ?" Such young 
 hounds as are out at the elbows, and such as are 
 weak from the knee to the foot, should never be 
 taken into the pack. 
 
 I find that I have mentioned a small head, as 
 one of the necessary points about a hound : you 
 will please to understand it as relative to beauty 
 only ; for as to goodness, I believe large-headed 
 hounds are no way inferior. Somervile, in his 
 description of a perfect hound, makes no men- 
 tion of the head, leaving the size of it to Phidias 
 to determine ; he therefore must have thought 
 it of very little consequence. I send you his 
 words : 
 
 " See there with count'nance blithe, 
 And with a courtly grin, the fawning hound 
 Salutes thee cow'ring : his wide op'ning nose 
 Upwards he curls, and his large sloe- black eyes 
 
COLOUR NOT MATERIAL. 31 
 
 Melt in soft blandishments, and humble joy ; 
 
 His glossy skin, or yellow-pied, or blue, 
 
 In lights or shades by nature's pencil drawn, 
 
 Reflects the various tints ; his ears and legs 
 
 Fleckt here and there, in gay enamelPd pride, 
 
 Rival the speckled pard; his rush-grown tail 
 
 O'er his broad back bends in an ample arch ; 
 
 On shoulders clean, upright and firm he stands ; 
 
 His round cat foot, straight hams, and wide-spread thighs^ 
 
 And his low-dropping chest, confess his speed, 
 
 His strength, his wind, or on the steepy hill, 
 
 Or far extended plain ; in every part 
 
 So well proportion'd, that the nicer skill 
 
 Of Phidias himself can't blame thy choice. 
 
 Of such compose thy pack." 
 
 The colour I think the least material of all ; 
 and I think, with our friend Foote, that a good 
 dog, like a good candidate, cannot be of a bad 
 colour. 
 
 Men are too apt to be prejudiced by the sort 
 of hound they themselves have been most accus- 
 tomed to. Those who have been used to the 
 sharp-nosed fox-hound will hardly allow a large- 
 headed hound to be a fox-hound; yet both 
 equally are fox -hounds : speed and beauty are 
 the chief excellencies of the one ; whilst stout- 
 ness and tenderness of nose in hunting,* are 
 characteristic of the other. I could tell you, 
 
 * II paroit que la finesse de 1'odorat, dans les chiens, de- 
 pend de la grosseur plus que de la longueur du museau. 
 BLFFOK. 
 
32 SPEED OF THE PACK. 
 
 that I have seen very good sport with very un- 
 handsome packs, consisting of hounds of various 
 sizes, differing from one another as much in 
 shape and look as in their colour ; nor could I 
 trace the least sign of consanguinity amongst 
 them : considered separately, the hounds were 
 good ; as a pack of hounds, they were not to be 
 commended ; nor could you be satisfied with 
 any thing that looked so very incomplete. You 
 will find nothing so essential to your sport, as 
 that your hounds should run well together ; nor 
 can this end be better attained than by keeping 
 them as near as you can of the same sort, size, 
 and shape. 
 
 A great excellence in a pack of hounds, is the 
 head they carry ; and that pack may be said to 
 go the fastest that can run ten miles the soonest, 
 notwithstanding the hounds, separately, may not 
 run so fast as many others. A pack of hounds 
 considered in a collective body go fast in pro- 
 portion to the excellence of their noses, and the 
 head they carry; as that traveller generally gets 
 soonest to his journey's end who stops least upon 
 the road. Some hounds that I have hunted 
 with would creep all through the same hole, 
 though they might have leapt the hedge, and 
 would follow one another in a string, as true as 
 
ANECDOTE OF WILL CRANE. 33 
 
 a team of cart-horses. I had rather see them, 
 like the horses of the sun, all abreast. 
 
 A friend of mine killed thirty-seven brace of 
 foxes in one season : twenty-nine of the foxes 
 were killed without any intermission. I must 
 tell you at the same time, that they were killed 
 with hounds bred from a pack of harriers ; nor 
 had they, I believe, a single skirter belonging to 
 them. There is a pack now in my neighbour- 
 hood, of all sorts and sizes, which seldom miss a 
 fox ; when they run, there is a long string of 
 them, and every fault is hit off by an old south- 
 ern hound. However, out of the last eighteen 
 foxes they hunted, they killed seventeen ; and I 
 have no doubt, but as they become more com- 
 plete, more foxes will escape from them. Packs 
 which are composed of hounds of various kinds 
 seldom run well together, nor do their tongues 
 harmonize, yet they generally, I think, kill most 
 foxes; but I must confess, that unless I like 
 their style of killing them, whatever may be 
 their success, I cannot be completely satisfied. 
 I once asked the famous Will Crane, how his 
 hounds behaved. " Very well, sir" he replied : 
 " they never come to a fault, but they spread 
 like a sky-rocket" Thus it should always be. 
 c 3 
 
34 NUMBER OF HOUNDS 
 
 A famous sportsman asked a gentleman what 
 he thought of his hounds. " Your pack is com- 
 posed, sir," said he, " of dogs which any other 
 man would hang ; they are all skirters" This 
 was taken as a compliment. However, do not 
 think I recommend it to you as such ; for 
 though I am a great advocate for style, in the 
 killing of a fox, yet I never forgive a professed 
 skirter : where game is in plenty, they are always 
 changing, and are the loss of more foxes than 
 they kill. 
 
 You ask me, how many hounds you ought to 
 keep ? It is a question not easy to answer : from 
 twenty to thirty couple are as many, I think, as 
 you should ever take into the field. The pro- 
 priety of any number must depend on the 
 strength of your pack, and the country you are 
 to hunt : the quantity of hounds it may be 
 necessary to keep, to furnish that number for a 
 whole season, must also depend on the country 
 where you hunt ; as some countries lame hounds 
 more than others. The taking out too many 
 hounds, Mr. Somervile very properly calls an 
 useless incumbrance. It is not so material what 
 the number is, as it is that all your hounds 
 should be steady, and as nearly as possible of 
 equal speed. 
 
NECESSARY TO BE KEPT. 35 
 
 When packs are very large, the hounds are 
 seldom sufficiently hunted to be good. Few 
 people choose to hunt every day; and if they did, 
 it is not likely the weather in winter would give 
 them leave. You would always be obliged, 
 therefore, either to take out a Very large pack, 
 or a great number of hounds must be left behind : 
 in the first case, too many hounds in the field 
 would probably spoil your sport ; in the second, 
 hounds that remain for any time without work 
 always get out of wind, and oftentimes become 
 riotous. About forty couple, I think, will best 
 answer your purpose. Forty couple of hunting 
 hounds will enable you to hunt three, or even 
 four times a-week ; and I will venture to say, 
 will kill more foxes than a greater number. 
 Hounds, to be good, must be kept constantly 
 hunted; and if I should hereafter say a fox- 
 hound should be above his work, it will not be 
 a young fox-hound I shall mean, for I think 
 they should seldom be left at home as long as 
 they are able to hunt : the old and lame, and 
 such as are low in flesh, you should leave ; and 
 such as you are sure idleness cannot spoil. 
 
 It is a great fault to keep too many old 
 hounds : if you choose your hounds should run 
 well together, you should not keep ^any longer 
 
36 CHEAP HOUNDS. 
 
 than five or six seasons; though there is no 
 saying, with certainty, what number of seasons 
 a hound will last. Like us, some of them have 
 better constitutions than others, and conse- 
 quently will bear more work ; and the duration 
 of all bodies depends as well on the usage they 
 meet with, as on the materials of which they 
 are made. 
 
 You ask, whether you had not better buy a 
 complete pack at once, than be at the trouble of 
 breeding one? Certainly you had, if such an 
 opportunity should offer. It sometimes happens, 
 that hounds are to be bought for less money 
 than you could breed them. The gentleman to 
 whom my house formerly belonged had a most 
 famous pack of fox-hounds. His goods, &c. 
 were appraised and sold ; which, when the ap- 
 praiser had done, he was put in mind of the 
 hounds. " Well, gentlemen," said he, " what 
 shall I appraise them at? a shilling a-piece?" 
 " Oh ! it is too little !" " Is it so?" said the 
 appraiser : " why it is more than / would give 
 for them* I assure you" 
 
 Hounds are not bought so cheap at Tatter- 
 
KENNEL MANAGEMENT. 37 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 I AM glad you do not disapprove the advan- 
 tage I have made of ray friend Somervile. I 
 was doubtful whether you would not have 
 abused me for it, and have compared me to 
 some of those would-be fine gentlemen, who, to 
 cut a figure, tack an embroidered edging on their 
 coarse cloth. I shall be cautious, however, of 
 abusing your indulgence, and shall not quote 
 my poet oftener than is necessary ; but where 
 we think the same thing, you had better take it 
 in his words than mine. I shall now proceed in 
 an account of the feeding of hounds, and ma- 
 nagement of them in the kennel. 
 
 A good feeder is an essential part of your esta- 
 blishment. Let him be young and active, and 
 have the reputation at least of not disliking 
 work : he should be good-tempered, for the sake 
 of the animals intrusted to his care ; and who, 
 however they may be treated by him, cannot 
 complain. He should be one who will strictly 
 
38 A GOOD FEEDEE ESSENTIAL. 
 
 obey any orders you may give, as well with 
 regard to the management, as to the breeding of 
 the hounds ; and should not be solely under the 
 direction of your huntsman. It is true I have 
 seen it otherwise : I have known a pack of 
 hounds belong, as it were, entirely to the hunts- 
 man a stable of horses belong to the groom 
 whilst the master had little more power in the 
 direction of either, than a perfect stranger. This 
 you will not suffer. I know you choose to keep 
 the supreme command in your own hands : and 
 though you permit your servants to remonstrate, 
 you do not suffer them to disobey. He who 
 allows a huntsman to manage his hounds as he 
 pleases, without control, literally keeps them for 
 his amusement. You desire to know what is 
 required of a feeder : I will tell you as well as 
 I can. 
 
 As our sport depends entirely on that exqui- 
 site sense of smelling, so peculiar to the hound, 
 care must be taken to preserve it ; and cleanli- 
 ness is the surest means. The keeping your 
 kennel sweet and clean cannot therefore be too 
 much recommended to the feeder, nor should 
 you, on any account, admit the least deviation 
 from it. If he sees you exact, he will be so 
 himself. This is a very essential part of his 
 
DUTIES OF THE FEEDER. 39 
 
 business. The boiling for the hounds, mixing 
 of the meat, and getting it ready for them at 
 proper hours, is what your huntsman will of 
 course take proper care of; nor is it ever likely 
 to be forgotten. I must caution you not to let 
 your dogs have their meat too hot, for I have 
 known it to have bad consequences : you should 
 also order it to be mixed up as thick as possible. 
 When the feeder has cleaned his kennel in the 
 morning, and prepared his meat, it is usual for 
 him, on hunting-days (in an establishment like 
 yours) to exercise the horses of the huntsman 
 and whipper-in ; and in many stables it is also 
 the feeder who looks after the huntsman's horse 
 when he comes in from hunting, whilst the hunts- 
 man feeds the hounds. When the hounds are not 
 out, the huntsman and whipper-in, of course, will 
 exercise their own horses; and that day the feed- 
 er has little else to mind but the cleaning of his 
 kennel. Every possible contrivance has been 
 attended to in the plan I sent you, to make that 
 part of his work easy ; all the courts, except the 
 grass one, being bricked and sloped on purpose. 
 There is also plenty of water, without any trou- 
 ble in fetching it ; and a thorough air through 
 the kennels, to assist in drying them again. 
 Should you choose to increase your number of 
 
40 CLEANLINESS ENJOINED. 
 
 servants in the stable, in that case, the business 
 of the feeder may be confined entirely to the 
 kennel. There should be always two to feed 
 hounds properly, the feeder and the huntsman. 
 
 Somervile strongly recommends cleanliness in 
 the following lines : 
 
 " O'er all let cleanliness preside, no scraps 
 Bestrew the pavement, and no half-pick'd bones, 
 To kindle fierce debate, or to disgust 
 That nicer sense, on which the sportsman's hope, 
 And all his future triumphs, must depend. 
 Soon as the prowling pack with eager joy 
 Have lapp'd their smoking viands, morn or eve, 
 From the full cistern lead the ductile streams 
 To wash thy court well-paved, nor spare thy pains, 
 For much to health will cleanliness avail. 
 Seek'st thou for hounds to climb the rocky steep, 
 And brush th' entangled covert, whose nice scent 
 O'er greasy fallows and frequented roads 
 Can pick the dubious way ? Banish far off 
 Each noisome stench ; let no offensive smell 
 Invade thy wide inclosure ; but admit 
 The nitrous air and purifying breeze." 
 
 Somervile is so perfectly right in this, that if 
 you can make your kennel a visit every day, 
 your hounds will be the better for it: when I 
 have been long absent from mine, I have always 
 perceived a difference in their looks. I shall 
 now take notice of that part of the management 
 of hounds in the kennel which concerns the hunts- 
 
HUNTSMAN'S KENNEL DUTIES. 41 
 
 man, as well as the feeder. Your huntsman 
 must always attend the feeding of the hounds, 
 which should be drafted according to the con- 
 dition they are in. In all packs, some hounds 
 will feed better than others ; some there are 
 that will do with less meat ; and it requires a 
 nice eye, and great attention, to keep them all 
 in equal flesh : it is what distinguishes a good 
 kennel-huntsman, and has its merit. It is sel- 
 dom, I think, that huntsmen give this particular 
 all the attention it deserves : they feed their 
 hounds in too great a hurry ; and not often, I 
 believe, take the trouble of casting their eye over 
 them before they begin : and yet, to distinguish, 
 with any nicety, the order a pack of hounds are 
 in, and the different degrees of it, is surely no 
 easy task; and, to be done well, requires no 
 small degree of circumspection ; you had better 
 not expect your huntsman to be very exact ; 
 where precision is required, he will most pro- 
 bably fail. 
 
 When I am present myself, I make several 
 drafts. When my huntsman feeds them, he calls 
 them all over by their names, letting in each 
 hound as he is called : it has its use, it uses 
 them to their names, and teaches them to be 
 obedient. Were it not for this, I should dis- 
 
42 ON THE FEEDING 
 
 approve of it entirely ; since it certainly requires 
 more coolness and deliberation to distinguish 
 with precision which are best entitled to prece- 
 dence than this method of feeding will admit of ; 
 and unless flesh is in great plenty, those that are 
 called in last may not have a taste of it. To 
 prevent this inconvenience, such as are low in 
 flesh had better, I think, be all drafted off into a 
 separate kennel ; * by this means the hounds 
 that require flesh will have an equal share of it. 
 If any are much poorer than the rest, they 
 should be fed again such hounds cannot be fed 
 too often. If any in the pack are too fat, they 
 should be drafted off', and not suffered to fill 
 themselves. The others should eat what they 
 will of the meat. The days my hounds have 
 greens or sulphur, they generally are let in all 
 together ; and such as require flesh have it given 
 to them afterwards. Having a good kennel- 
 huntsman, it is not often I take this trouble: 
 yet I seldom go into my kennel, but I give my- 
 
 * By thus separating from the rest such as are poor, you 
 will proceed to the feeding of your hounds with more accu- 
 racy and less trouble ; and though they be at first drafted 
 off in the manner above described, it is still meant that 
 they should be let in to feed, one by one, as they answer to 
 their names ; or else, as it will frequently happen, they 
 may be better fed than taught. 
 
OF HOUNDS. 43 
 
 self the pleasure of seeing such hounds fed as 
 appear to me to be in want of it. I have been 
 told that in one kennel, in particular, the hounds 
 are under such excellent management, that they 
 constantly are fed with the door of the feeding- 
 yard open ; and the rough nature of the fox- 
 hound is changed into so much politeness, that 
 he waits at the door till he is invited in ; and 
 what perhaps is not less extraordinary, he comes 
 out again, whether he has satisfied his hunger or 
 not, the moment he is desired the effect of se- 
 vere discipline. But since this is not absolutely 
 necessary, and hounds may be good without it ; 
 and since I well know your other amusements 
 will not permit you to attend to all this manceuv" 
 ring, I would by no means wish you to give such 
 power to your huntsman. The business would 
 be injudiciously done, and most probably would 
 not answer your expectations. The hound 
 would be tormented mal-a-propos, an animal 
 so little deserving of it from our hands, that I 
 should be sorry to disturb his hours of repose by 
 unnecessary severity. You will perceive it is a 
 nice affair ; and I assure you I know no hunts- 
 man who is equal to it. The gentleman who 
 has carried this matter to its utmost perfection, 
 has attended to it regularly himself; has con- 
 stantly acted on fixed principles, from which he 
 
44 METHOD AND 
 
 has never deviated ; and I believe has succeeded 
 to the very utmost of his wishes. All hounds (and 
 more especially young ones) should be called 
 over often in the kennel ; * and most huntsmen 
 practise this lesson as they feed their hounds. 
 They flog them while they feed them ; and if 
 they have not always a belly -full one way, they 
 seldom fail to have it the other.-)- It is not, how- 
 ever, my intention to oppose so general a prac- 
 tice, in which there may be some utility : I shall 
 only observe, that it should be used with discre- 
 tion, lest the whip should fall heavily in the 
 kennel on such as never deserve it in the field. 
 My hounds are generally fed about eleven 
 
 * There is no better method of teaching a hound obe- 
 dience : when you call him, he should approach you ; and 
 when you touch him with your stick, he should follow you 
 any where. 
 
 f " Thus we find, eat or not eat, work or play, whipping 
 is always in season." (Vide Monthly Review.) The critic 
 treats this passage with great severity. He would have 
 spared it, without doubt, had he understood that it was in- 
 troduced on purpose to correct the abuse of kennel-disci- 
 pline. Unacquainted as the reviewer seems to be with the 
 subject, it is no wonder that he should mistake a meaning, 
 perhaps rather unfairly stated by the author, in favour of 
 that humanity which he is supposed so much to want. 
 Hounds are called in to feed, one by one, and such only are 
 corrected as come uncalled for : nor is correction unjust, so 
 long as it shall fall on the disobedient only. Obedience is 
 an useful lesson, and though it cannot be practised too 
 often, it should be taught them at a more idle time. 
 
TIME OF FEEDING. 45 
 
 o'clock ; * and if I am present myself, I take the 
 same opportunity to make my draft for the next 
 day's hunting. I seldom, when I can help it, 
 leave this to my huntsman; though it is neces- 
 sary he should be present when the draft is made, 
 that he may know what hounds he has out. 
 
 It is a bad custom to use hounds to the boil- 
 ing-house, as it is apt to make them nice, and 
 may prevent them from ever eating the kennel 
 meat. What they have should always be given 
 them in the feeding-yard ; and for the same rea- 
 son, though it should be flesh, it is better it 
 should have some meal mixed with it. 
 
 If your hounds are low in flesh, and have far 
 to go to cover, they may all have a little thin 
 
 * Having found it necessary to alter my method of feed- 
 ing hounds, it may not be improper to take notice of it here. 
 They are now fed at eight o'clock, instead of eleven. Their 
 first feed is of barley and oatmeal mixed, an equal quantity 
 of each. Flesh is afterwards mixed up with the remainder, 
 for such hounds as are poor, who are then drafted off into 
 another kennel, and let in to feed all together. When the 
 flesh is all eaten, the pack are again let in, and are by this 
 means cheated into a second appetite. At three o'clock, 
 those that are to hunt the next day are drafted into the 
 hunting-kennel; they are then let into the feeding-yard, 
 where a small quantity of oatmeal (about three buckets) is 
 prepared for them, mixed up thick. Such as are tender, or 
 bad feeders, have a handful of boiled fle.-ih given to them 
 afterwards. When they are not to hunt the next day, they 
 are fed once only, at eleven o'clock. 
 
46 TREATMENT BEFORE 
 
 lap again in the evening ; but this should never 
 be done if you hunt early.* Hounds, I think, 
 should be sharp-set before hunting; they run 
 the better for it.-f* 
 
 If many of your hounds, after long rest, 
 should be too fat, J by feeding them for a day 
 or two on thinner meat than you give the others, 
 you will find it answer better, I think, than the 
 usual method of giving them the same meat, 
 and stinting them in the quantity of it. 
 
 If your hounds are turned into the grass-court 
 to empty themselves after they have been fed. 
 it will contribute not a little to the cleanliness 
 of the kennel. 
 
 I have heard that it is a custom in some ken- 
 nels, to shut up the hounds for a couple of hours 
 after they come in from hunting, before they are 
 fed ; and that other hounds are shut up with 
 them, to lick them clean. My usual way is to 
 
 * Hounds that are tender feeders cannot be fed too late, 
 or with meat too good. 
 
 f Vide note, page 45. 
 
 J Hounds that rest should not be suffered to become fat. 
 It would be accounting very badly for the fatness of a 
 hound to say, " He is fat because he has not worked lately ; " 
 since he ought to have been kept lower on that account. 
 
 If hounds be shut up as soon as they come in from 
 hunting, they will not readily leave the benches after- 
 wards ; for if they be much fatigued, they will prefer rest 
 to food. 
 
AND AFTER HUNTING. 47 
 
 send a whipper-in on before, that the meat may 
 be got ready against they come, and they are fed 
 immediately; and having filled their bellies, 
 they are naturally inclined to rest. If they 
 have had a severe day, they are fed again some 
 hours after.* As to the other method above 
 mentioned, it maybe more convenient, perhaps, 
 to have the hounds all together : but I cannot 
 think it necessary, for the reason that is given ; 
 and I should apprehend a parcel of idle hounds 
 shut up amongst such as are tired and inclined 
 to rest, would disturb them more than all their 
 licking would make them amends for. When 
 you feed them twice, they had better be put all 
 together after the second feeding than the first. 
 Every day when hounds come in from hunt- 
 ing, they should be carefully looked over, and 
 invalids immediately taken care of. ( Such as 
 
 * My hounds are generally fed twice on the days they 
 hunt. Some will feed better the second time than the first ; 
 besides, the turning them out of the lodging-house refreshes 
 them ; they stretch their limbs, empty their bodies ; arid as 
 during this time their kennel is cleaned out, and litter shaken 
 up, they settle themselves better on the benches afterwards. 
 
 t Hounds that come home lame should not be taken out 
 the next hunting day, since they may appear sound without 
 being so. At the beginning of the season, the eyes of 
 hounds are frequently injured : such hounds should not be 
 hunted, and, if their eyes continue weak, they should lose 
 a little blood. 
 
48 FOOD. 
 
 have sore feet, should have them well washed 
 out with brine. If you will permit those hounds 
 that are unable to work to run about your 
 house, it will be of great service to them. 
 
 Every Thursday during the hunting-season, 
 my hounds have one pound of sulphur given 
 them in their meat ; and every Sunday through- 
 out the year, they have plenty of greens boiled 
 up with it ; I find it better to fix the days, as 
 it is then less liable to be forgotten. I used 
 to give them the wash from the kitchen, but 1 
 found it made them thirsty, and it is now omit- 
 ted in the hunting-season. A horse fresh killed 
 is an excellent meal for hounds after a very hard 
 day ; but they should not hunt till the third day 
 after it. The bones broken are good food for 
 poor hounds, as there is great proof in them. 
 Sheep's trotters are very sweet food, and will be 
 of service when horse-flesh is not to be had. 
 Bullocks' bellies may be also of some use, if you 
 can get nothing else. Oatmeal, 1 believe, makes 
 the best meat for hounds ; barley is certainly the 
 cheapest, and in many kennels they give barley 
 on that account ; but it is heating, does not 
 mix up so well, nor is there near so much proof 
 in it as in oatmeal. If mixed, an equal quantity 
 of each, it will then do very well, but barley 
 
PHYSIC. 49 
 
 alone will not. Much also depends on the good- 
 ness of the meal itself, which, I believe, is not 
 often attended to. If you do not use your own, 
 you should buy a large quantity of it any time 
 before harvest, and keep it by you, there is no 
 other certainty, I believe, of having it old; 
 which is more material than perhaps you are 
 aware of. I have heard that a famous Cheshire 
 huntsman feeds his hounds with wheat, which 
 he has found out to be the best food. He gives 
 it them with the bran. It would, I believe, 
 cause no little disturbance in many neighbour- 
 hoods, if other sportsmen were to do the same. 
 
 I am not fond of bleeding hounds, unless I 
 see they want it ; though it has long been a 
 custom in my kennel to physic them twice a 
 year; after they leave off hunting, and before 
 they begin. It is given in hot weather, and at 
 an idle time. It cools their bodies, and with- 
 out doubt is of service to them. If a hound is 
 in want of physic, I prefer giving it in balls.* 
 It is more easy to give him in this manner the 
 quantity he may want, and you are more certain 
 that he takes it. In many kennels, I believe, 
 
 * One pound of antimony, four ounces of sulphur, and 
 syrup of buckthorn q. s. to give it the consistency of a ball. 
 Each ball weighs about seven drachms. 
 
 D 
 
50 REGIMEN PREPARATORY 
 
 they also bleed them twice a-year, and some 
 people think it prevents madness. The anoint- 
 ing of hounds, or dressing them, as huntsmen 
 call it, makes them fine in their coats : it may be 
 done twice a-year, or oftener, if you find it ne- 
 cessary. As I shall hereafter have occasion to 
 write on the diseases of hounds, and their cures, 
 I will send you at the same time a receipt for 
 this purpose. During the summer months, when 
 my hounds do not hunt, they have seldom any 
 flesh allowed them, and are kept low, contrary, 
 I believe, to the usual practice of most kennels, 
 where mangy hounds in summer are but too often 
 seen. Huntsmen sometimes content themselves 
 with checking this disorder, when with less trou- 
 ble perhaps they might prevent it. A regular 
 course of whey and vegetables during the hot 
 months must certainly be wholesome, and is, 
 without doubt, the cause that a mangy hound is 
 an unusual sight in my kennel. Every Monday 
 and Thursday my hounds go for whey till the 
 hunting-season begins; are kept out several 
 hours ; and are often made to swim through 
 rivers during the hot weather. After their last 
 physic, and before they begin hunting, they are 
 exercised on the turnpike-road to harden their 
 feet, which are washed with strong brine as soon 
 
TO HUNTING. 51 
 
 as they come in. Little straw is necessary dur- 
 ing the summer ; but when they hunt they can- 
 not have too much, or have it changed too often. 
 In many kennels they do not boil for the 
 hounds in summer, but give them meal only; 
 in mine it is always boiled ; but with this dif- 
 ference, that it is mixed up thin, instead of 
 thick. Many give spurge-laurel in summer, 
 boiled up in their meat : as I never use it, I 
 cannot recommend it. The physic I give is two 
 pounds of sulphur, one pound of antimony, and 
 a pint and a half of syrup of buckthorn, for 
 about forty couple of hounds.* In the winter 
 season, let your hounds be shut up warm at 
 night. If any hounds after hunting are mis- 
 sing, the straw-house door should be left open ; 
 and if they have had a hard day, it may be as 
 well to leave some meat there for them. 
 
 I have inquired of my feeder, who is a very 
 
 good one, (and has had more experience in these 
 
 matters than any one you perhaps may get,) 
 
 how he mixes up his meat. He tells me that, 
 
 in his opinion, oatmeal and barley mixed, an 
 
 equal quantity of each, make the best meat for 
 
 hounds. The oatmeal he boils for half an hour, 
 
 and then puts out the fire, puts the barley into 
 
 Vide page 49. 
 
 D 2 
 
52 HINTS ON THE 
 
 the copper, arid mixes both well together. I 
 asked him why he boiled one and not the other : 
 he told me boiling, which made oatmeal thick, 
 made barley thin ; and that, when you feed 
 with barley only, it should not be put into the 
 copper, but be scalded with the liquor, and 
 mixed up in a bucket. I find there is in my 
 kennel a large tub on purpose, which contains 
 about half a hogshead. 
 
 You little think, perhaps, how difficult it is 
 to be a good kennel-huntsman, nor can you as 
 yet know the nicety that is required in feeding 
 hounds properly. You are not aware that some 
 hounds will hunt best when fed late; others 
 when fed early : that some should have but 
 little ; that others cannot have too much : how- 
 ever, if your huntsman observes the rules I have 
 here laid down, his hounds will not do much 
 amiss : but should you at any time wish to ren- 
 cherir upon the matter, and feed each particular 
 hound so as to make the most of him, you must 
 learn it of a gentleman in Leicestershire, to 
 whom the noble science of fox-hunting is more 
 beholden than to any other. I shall myself say 
 nothing further on the subject ; for as your 
 huntsman will not have the sense of the gentle- 
 man I allude to there, nor you perhaps his pa- 
 
SUBJECT OF FEEDING. 53 
 
 tience, an easier method I know will suit you 
 best. I shall only advise yon, while you endea- 
 vour to keep your hounds in good order, not to 
 let them get too fat : it will be impossible for 
 them to run if they are. A fat alderman would 
 cut a mighty ridiculous figure were he inclined 
 to run a race. 
 
ON THE BREEDING 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 WE are now about to treat of the breeding of 
 hounds ; and it is the sagacious management of 
 this business on which all our future success de- 
 pends. Is it not extraordinary, that no other 
 country should equal us in this particular ? and 
 that the very hounds procured from hence should 
 degenerate in a foreign country ? 
 
 " In thee alone, fair land of liberty ! 
 Is bred the perfect hound, in scent and speed 
 As yet unrivall'd, while in other climes 
 Their virtue fails, a weak degenerate race." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 Happy climate for sportsmen ! where nature 
 seems as it were to give the man exclusive pri- 
 vilege of enjoying this diversion. To preserve, 
 however, this advantage, great care should be 
 taken in the breed ; I shall therefore, according 
 to your desire, send you such rules as I observe 
 myself. Consider the size, shape, colour, con- 
 stitution, and natural disposition of the dog you 
 breed from ; as well as the fineness of his nose, 
 
OF HOUNDS. 55 
 
 his stoutness, and method of hunting. On no 
 account breed from one that is not stout, that is 
 not tender-nosed, or that is either a babbler* or 
 a skirter. Somervile enjoins still further : 
 
 " Observe with care his shape, sort, colour, size : 
 Nor will sagacious huntsmen less regard 
 His inward habits ; the vain babbler shun, 
 Ever loquacious, ever in the wrong : 
 His foolish offspring shall offend thy ears 
 With false alarms, and loud impertinence : 
 Nor less the shifting cur avoid, that breaks 
 Illusive from the pack : to the next hedge 
 Devious he strays ; there ev'ry muse he tries : 
 If haply then he cross the streaming scent, 
 Away he flies vain-glorious ; and exults 
 As of the pack supreme, and in his speed 
 And strength unrivalTd. Lo ! cast far behind, 
 His vex'd associates pant, and lab'ring strain 
 To climb the steep ascent. Soon as they reach 
 Th' insulting boaster, his false courage fails ; 
 Behind he lags, doom'd to the fatal noose, 
 His master's hate, and scorn of all the field. 
 What can from such be hop'd, but a base brood 
 Of coward curs, a frantic, vagrant race ?" 
 
 It is the judicious cross that makes the complete 
 pack.-f- The faults and imperfections in one 
 
 * Babbling is one of the worst faults that a hound can be 
 guilty of; it is constantly increasing, and is also catching. 
 This fault, like many others, will sometimes run in the 
 blood. 
 
 f I have seen fox-hounds that were bred out of a New- 
 foundland bitch and a fox-hound dog. They are mon- 
 strously ugly, are said to give their tongues sparingly, and 
 
56 ON THE BREEDING 
 
 breed may be rectified in another ; and if this is 
 properly attended to, I see no reason why the 
 breeding of hounds may not improve, till im- 
 provement can go no farther. If ever you find 
 a cross hit, always pursue it.* Never put an 
 old dog to an old bitch. Be careful that they 
 are healthy which you breed from, or you are 
 not likely to have a healthy offspring. Should a 
 favourite dog skirt a little, put him to a thorough 
 line -hunting bitch, and such a cross may succeed : 
 my objection to the breeding from such a hound 
 is, that as skirting is what most fox-hounds 
 acquire from practice, you had better not make 
 it natural to them. A very famous sportsman 
 has told me, that he frequently breeds from 
 brothers and sisters : as I should be very un- 
 willing to urge any thing in opposition to such 
 authority, you had better try it ; and if it suc- 
 ceeds in hounds, it is more, I believe, than it 
 usually does in other animals. A famous cocker 
 assured a friend of mine, that the third geriera- 
 
 to tire soon. The experiment has not succeeded : the cross 
 most likely to be of service to a fox-hound is the beagle. I 
 am well convinced, that a handsome, bony, tender-nosed, 
 stout beagle, would, occasionally, be no improper cross for 
 a high-bred pack of fox- hounds. 
 
 * After the first season, I breed from all my young dog- 
 hounds who have beauty and goodness to recommend them 
 to see what whelps they get. 
 
OF HOUNDS. 57 
 
 tion (which he called a nick) he had found to 
 succeed very well, but no nearer : as I have 
 neither tried one nor the other, I cannot speak 
 with any certainty about them. 
 
 Give particular orders to your feeder to watch 
 over the bitches with a cautious eye, and sepa- 
 rate such as are going to be proud, before it is 
 too late. The advances they make frequently 
 portend mischief as well as love ; and, if not 
 prevented in time, will not fail to set the whole 
 kennel together by the ears, and may occasion 
 the death of your best dogs : care only can pre- 
 vent it.* 
 
 " Mark well the wanton females of thy pack, 
 That curl their taper tails, and frisking court 
 Their piebald mates enamour'd : their red eyes 
 Flash fires impure ; nor rest nor food they take, 
 Goaded by furious love. In sep'rate cells 
 Confine them now, lest bloody civil wars 
 Annoy thy peaceful state." 
 
 SOiMERVILE. 
 
 I have known huntsmen perfectly ignorant of 
 the breed of their hounds, from inattention in 
 this particular ; and I have also known many a 
 good dog fall a sacrifice to it. 
 
 The earlier in the year you breed, the better : 
 
 * When the bitches are off their heat, they should be 
 suffered to run about the. house a day or two, before they 
 are taken out to hunt. 
 
 D3 
 
58 OF THE TREATMENT 
 
 January, February, and March, are the best 
 months. Late puppies seldom come to much ; 
 if you have any such, put theui to the best 
 walks.* When the bitches begin to get big, 
 let them not hunt any more: it proves frequently 
 fatal to the whelps ; sometimes to the bitch her- 
 self; nor is it safe for them to remain mucli 
 longer in the kennel. If one bitch has many 
 puppies, more than she can well rear, you may 
 put some of them to another bitch ; or if you 
 destroy any of them, you may keep the best- 
 coloured. They sometimes will have an extra- 
 ordinary number ; I have known an instance of 
 one having fifteen ; and a friend of mine, whose 
 veracity I cannot doubt, has assured me that a 
 hound in his pack brought forth sixteen, all 
 alive. When you breed from a very favourite 
 sort, and can have another bitch warded at the 
 same time, it will be of great service, as you may 
 then save all the puppies. Give particular 
 orders that the bitches be well fed with flesh ; 
 and let the whelps remain till they are well able 
 to take care of themselves : they will soon learn 
 to lap milk, which will relieve the mother. The 
 bitches, when their whelps are taken away from 
 
 * Of the early whelps I keep five or six ; of the late ones 
 only two or three. 
 
OF WHELPS. 59 
 
 them, should be physicked ; I generally give 
 them three purging balls, one every morning. 
 If a bitch brings only one or two puppies, and 
 you have another bitch that will take them, by 
 putting the puppies to her, the former will be 
 soon fit to hunt again : she should, however, be 
 physicked first ; and if her dugs are anointed 
 with brandy and water, it will also be of service. 
 The distemper makes dreadful havoc with whelps 
 at their walks ; greatly owing, I believe, to the 
 little care that is taken of them there. I am in 
 doubt whether it might not be better to breed 
 them up yourself, and have a kennel on purpose. 
 You have a large orchard paled in, which would 
 suit them exactly ; and what else is wanted 
 might easily be obtained. There is, however, an 
 objection that perhaps may strike you : if the 
 distemper once gets amongst them, they must all 
 have it : yet notwithstanding that, as they will 
 be constantly well fed, and will lie warm, I am 
 confident it would be the saving of many lives. 
 If you should adopt this method, you must 
 remember to use them early to go in couples ; 
 and when they get of a proper age, they must 
 be walked out often ; for should they remain 
 confined, they would neither have the shape, 
 health, or understanding, they ought to have. 
 
60 OF THE TREATMENT 
 
 When I kept harriers, I bred up some of the 
 puppies at a distant kennel ; but having no 
 servants there to exercise them properly, I found 
 them much inferior to such of their brethren as 
 had the luck to survive the many difficulties and 
 dangers they had undergone at their walks : 
 these were afterwards equal to any thing, and 
 afraid of nothing ; whilst those that had been 
 nursed with so much care were weakly and 
 timid, and had every disadvantage attending 
 private education. 
 
 I have often heard, as an excuse for hounds 
 not hunting a cold scent, that they were too high 
 bred. I confess, I know not what that means : 
 but this I know, that hounds are frequently too 
 ill bred to be of any service. ' It is judgment 
 in the breeder, and patience afterwards in the 
 huntsman, that make them hunt.* 
 
 Young hounds are commonly named when 
 first put out, and sometimes indeed ridiculously 
 enough ; nor is it easy, when you breed many, 
 to find suitable or harmonious names for all ; 
 particularly, as it is usual to name all the whelps 
 of one litter with the same letter, which (to be 
 
 * Hounds which I had thought stiff-nosed for many years, 
 I have seen hunt the coldest scent, when once the impati- 
 ence of youth had left them. 
 
OF WHELPS. 
 
 61 
 
 systematically done) should also be the initial 
 letter of the dog that got them, or the bitch 
 that bred them. A baronet of my acquaint- 
 ance, a literal observer of the above rule, sent 
 three young hounds of one litter to a friend, all 
 their names beginning, as he said, with the let- 
 ter G. Gowler, Govial, and Galloper. 
 
 It is indeed of little consequence what hunts- 
 men call their hounds ; yet if you dislike an un- 
 meaning name, would it not be as well to leave 
 the naming of them till they are brought home? 
 They soon learn their names, and a shorter list 
 would do. Damons and Delias would not then 
 be necessary ; nor need the sacred names of Ti- 
 tus and Trajan be thus degraded. It is true 
 there are many odd names which custom autho- 
 rizes ; yet I cannot think, because some drunken 
 fellow or other has christened his dog Tippler, or 
 Tapster, that there is the least reason to follow 
 tire example. Pipers and Fiddlers, for the sake 
 of their music, we will not object to ; but Tip- 
 plers and Tapsters your kennel will be much 
 better without. 
 
 However extraordinary you may think it, I 
 can assure you I have myself seen a white Gip- 
 sy, a grey Ruby, a dark Snowball, and a Blue- 
 man of any colour but blue. The huntsman of 
 
62 OF THE NAMING 
 
 a friend of mine being asked the name of a 
 young hound, said, " it was Lyman" " Ly- 
 man !" said his master, " why, James, what does 
 Lyman mean ?" " Lord, sir P replied James, 
 " what does any thing mean ?" A farmer who 
 bred up two couple of hounds for me, whose 
 names were Merryman and Merrylass, Ferry- 
 man and Furious, upon my inquiring after them, 
 gave this account: "Merryman and Merrylass 
 are both dead ; but Ferryman, sir, is a fine dog, 
 and so is Ferrylass ." Madam, a usual name 
 among hounds, is often, I believe, very disre- 
 spectfully treated. I had an instance of it the 
 other day in my own huntsman, who after hav- 
 ing rated Madam a great deal to no purpose, 
 (who, to confess the truth, was much given 
 to do otherwise than she should,) flew into a 
 violent passion, and hallooed out as loud as he 
 could, " Madam, you d d bitch ! " 
 
 As you desire a list of names, I will send you 
 one. 1 have endeavoured to class them accord- 
 ing to their different genders ; but you will per- 
 ceive some names may be used indiscriminately 
 for either. It is not usual, I believe, to call a 
 pointer Ringwood, or a greyhound Harmony ; 
 and such names as are expressive of speed, 
 strength, courage, or other natural qualities in 
 
OF HOUNDS. 63 
 
 a hound, I think most applicable to them. Da- 
 mons and Delias I have left out ; the bold 
 Thunder and the brisk Lightning, if you please, 
 may supply their places ; unless you prefer the 
 method of the gentleman I told you of, who in- 
 tends naming his hounds from the p ge ; and, 
 I suppose, he at the same time will not be un- 
 mindful of the p y c rs. 
 
 If you mark the whelps in the side (which is 
 called branding them) when they are first put 
 out, (or perhaps it may be better done after they 
 have been out some time,) it may prevent their 
 being stolen. 
 
 When young hounds are first taken in, they 
 should be kept separate, from the pack ; and as 
 it will happen at a time of the year when there 
 is little or no hunting, you may easily give them 
 up one of the kennels, and grass-court adjoining. 
 Their play ends frequently in a battle ; it is 
 therefore less dangerous where they are all 
 equally matched. What Somervile says on this 
 subject is exceedingly beautiful. 
 
 " But here, with watchful and observant eye, 
 Attend their frolics, which too often end 
 In bloody broils and death. High o'er thy head 
 Wave thy resounding whip, and with a voice 
 Fierce-menacing o'er-rule the stern debate, 
 And quench their kindling rage ; for oft in sport 
 Begun, combat ensues ; growling they snarl, 
 
64 TREATMENT WHEN FIRST 
 
 Then on their haunches rear'd, rampant they seize 
 Each other's throats ; with teeth and claws, in gore 
 Besmear'd, they wound, they tear, till on the ground, 
 Panting, half dead, the conquer'd champion lies : 
 Then sudden all the base ignoble crowd 
 Loud-clam'ring seize the helpless worried wretch, 
 And, thirsting for his blood, drag different ways 
 His mangled carcass on th' ensanguin'd plain. 
 O breasts of pity void ! t'oppress the weak, 
 To point your vengeance at the friendless head, 
 And with one mutual cry insult the fallen ! 
 Emblem too just of man's degenerate race." 
 
 If you find they take a dislike to any particu- 
 lar hound, the safest way will be to remove him, 
 or it is very probable they will kill him at last. 
 When a feeder hears the hounds quarrel in the 
 kennel, he halloos to them to stop them. He 
 then goes in amongst, them, and flogs every 
 hound he can come near. How much more rea- 
 sonable as well as more efficacious would it be, 
 were he to see which were the combatants, be- 
 fore he speaks to them! Punishment would 
 then fall as it ought, on the guilty only. In all 
 packs there are some hounds more quarrelsome 
 than the rest ; and it is to them we owe all the 
 mischief that is done. If you find chastisement 
 cannot quiet them, it may be prudent to break 
 their holders ; for since they are not necessary 
 to them for the meat they have to eat, they are 
 not likely to serve them in any good purpose. 
 
TAKEN INTO KENNEL. 65 
 
 Young hounds should be fed twice a-day, as 
 they seldom take kindly at first to the kennel- 
 meat, and the distemper is very apt to seize them 
 at this time. It is better not to round them till 
 they are thoroughly settled; nor should it be 
 put off till the hot weather, for then they would 
 bleed too much.* If any of the dogs are thin 
 over the back, or any more quarrelsome than the 
 rest, it will be of use to cut them : I also spay 
 such bitches as I think I shall not want to breed 
 from ; they are more useful, are stouter, and are 
 always in better order : besides, it is absolutely 
 necessary if you hunt late in the spring, or your 
 pack will be very short for want of it. It may 
 be right to tell yo^i, that the latter operation 
 does not always succeed ; it will be necessary 
 therefore to employ a skilful person, and one on 
 whom you can depend ; for if it is ill done, 
 though they cannot have puppies, they will go 
 to heat notwithstanding, of which I have known 
 
 * It may be better, perhaps, to round them at their 
 quarters, when about six months old ; should it be done 
 sooner, it would make their ears tuck up. The tailing of 
 them is usually done before they are put out ; it might be 
 better, perhaps, to leave it till they are taken in. Dogs 
 must not be rounded at the time they have the distemper 
 upon them ; the loss of blood would weaken them too 
 much. 
 
66 NUMBER NECESSARY. 
 
 many instances ; and that I apprehend would 
 not answer your purpose at any rate. 
 
 You ask me what number of young hounds 
 you should breed to keep up your stock? it is 
 a question, I believe, no man alive can answer. 
 It depends altogether on contingencies. The 
 deficiencies of one year must be made up the 
 next. I should apprehend from thirty to thir- 
 ty-five couple of old hounds, and from eight 
 to twelve couple of young ones, would, one 
 year with another, best suit an establishment 
 which you do not intend should much exceed 
 forty couple. This rule, I think, you should 
 at the same time observe never to part with 
 an useful old hound, or enter an unhandsome 
 young one. 
 
 I would advise you, in breeding, to be as lit- 
 tle prejudiced as possible in favour of your own 
 sort; but send your best bitches to the best 
 dogs, be they where they may. Those who breed 
 only a few hounds may by chance have a good 
 pack ; whilst those who breed a great many, (if 
 at the same time they understand the business,) 
 reduce it to a certainty. You say you wish to 
 
 see your pack as complete as Mr. M Ps: 
 
 believe me, my good friend, unless you were to 
 breed as many hounds, it is totally impossible. 
 
NAMES OF HOUNDS. 
 
 67 
 
 Those who breed the greatest number of hounds 
 have a right to expect the best pack ; at least it 
 must be their own fault if they have it not. 
 
 
 NAMES 
 
 OF HOUNDS. 
 
 
 A. dogs. 
 
 A. bitches. Blueman 
 
 Blameless 
 
 Able 
 
 Accurate 
 
 Bluster 
 
 Blithesome 
 
 Actor 
 
 Active 
 
 Boaster 
 
 Blowzy 
 
 Adamant 
 
 Actress 
 
 Boisterous 
 
 Bluebell 
 
 Adjutant 
 
 Affable 
 
 Bonnyface 
 
 Bluemaid 
 
 Agent 
 
 Agile 
 
 Bouncer 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Aider - 
 
 Airy 
 
 Bowler 
 
 Bonnybell 
 
 Aimwell 
 
 Amity 
 
 Bravo 
 
 Bonnylass 
 
 Amorous 
 
 Angry 
 
 Brawler 
 
 Boundless 
 
 Antic 
 
 Animate 
 
 Brazen 
 
 Brevity 
 
 Anxious 
 
 Artifice 
 
 Brilliant 
 
 Bride 
 
 Arbiter 
 
 Audible 
 
 Brusher 
 
 Brimstone 
 
 Archer 
 
 
 Brutal 
 
 Busy 
 
 Ardent 
 
 B. dogs. 
 
 Burster 
 
 Buxom 
 
 Ardour 
 
 Bachelor 
 
 Bustler 
 
 
 Arrogant 
 
 Banger 
 
 
 C. dogs. 
 
 Arsenic 
 
 Baffler 
 
 B. bitches. 
 
 Caitiff 
 
 Artful 
 
 Barbarous 
 
 Baneful 
 
 Capital 
 
 Artist 
 
 Barrister 
 
 Bashful 
 
 Captain 
 
 Atlas 
 
 Bellman 
 
 Bawble 
 
 Captor 
 
 Atom 
 
 Bender 
 
 Beauteous 
 
 Careful 
 
 Auditor 
 
 Benefit 
 
 Beauty 
 
 Carol 
 
 Augur 
 
 Blaster 
 
 Beldam 
 
 Carver 
 
 Awful 
 
 Bluecap 
 
 Bellmaid 
 
 Caster 
 
68 
 
 NAMES OF HOUNDS. 
 
 Catcher 
 
 Courteous 
 
 Crafty 
 
 Delicate 
 
 Catchpole 
 
 Coxcomb 
 
 Crazy 
 
 Desperate 
 
 Caviller 
 
 Craftsman 
 
 Credible 
 
 Destiny 
 
 Cerberus 
 
 Crasher 
 
 Credulous 
 
 Diaii 
 
 Challenger 
 
 Critic 
 
 Crony 
 
 Diligent 
 
 Champion 
 
 Critical 
 
 Cruel 
 
 Docile 
 
 Charon 
 
 Crowner 
 
 Curious 
 
 Document 
 
 Chaser 
 
 Cruiser 
 
 
 Dolly 
 
 Chanter 
 
 Crusty 
 
 D. dogs. 
 
 Doubtful 
 
 Chieftain 
 
 Cryer 
 
 Damper . 
 
 Doubtless 
 
 Chimer 
 
 Curfew 
 
 Danger 
 
 Dreadful 
 
 Chirper 
 
 Currier 
 
 Dangerous 
 
 Dreadless 
 
 Choleric 
 
 
 Dapper 
 
 Dulcet 
 
 Claimant 
 
 C. bitches. 
 
 Dapster 
 
 
 Clamorous 
 
 Cap.able 
 
 Darter 
 
 E. dogs. 
 
 Clangor 
 
 Captious 
 
 Dasher 
 
 Eager 
 
 Clasher 
 
 Careless 
 
 Dashwood 
 
 Earnest 
 
 Climbank 
 
 Careful 
 
 Daunter 
 
 Effort 
 
 Clinker 
 
 Carnage 
 
 Dexterous 
 
 Elegant 
 
 Combat 
 
 Caution 
 
 Disputant 
 
 Eminent 
 
 Combatant 
 
 Cautious 
 
 Downright 
 
 Envious 
 
 Comforter 
 
 Charmer 
 
 Dragon 
 
 Envoy 
 
 Comrade 
 
 Chantress 
 
 Dreadnought 
 
 Errant 
 
 Comus 
 
 Charity 
 
 Driver 
 
 Excellent 
 
 Conflict 
 
 Cheerful 
 
 Duster 
 
 
 Conqueror 
 
 Cheruper 
 
 
 E. bitches. 
 
 Conquest 
 
 Circe 
 
 D. bitches. 
 
 Easy 
 
 Constant 
 
 Clarinet 
 
 Dainty 
 
 Echo 
 
 Contest 
 
 Clio 
 
 Dairymaid 
 
 Ecstacy 
 
 Coroner 
 
 Comely 
 
 Daisy 
 
 Endless 
 
 Corporal 
 
 Comfort 
 
 Daphne 
 
 Energy 
 
 Cottager 
 
 Comical 
 
 Darling 
 
 Enmity 
 
 Counsellor 
 
 Cora 
 
 Dashaway 
 
 Essay 
 
 Countryman 
 
 Courtesy 
 
 Dauntless 
 
 
NAMES OF HOUNDS. 
 
 69 
 
 F. dogs. 
 
 Favourite 
 
 Glider 
 
 H. dogs. 
 
 Factor 
 
 Fearless 
 
 Glorious 
 
 Hannibal 
 
 Factious 
 
 Festive 
 
 Goblin 
 
 Harbinger 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fickle 
 
 Governor 
 
 Hardiman 
 
 Fearnought 
 
 Fidget 
 
 Grappler 
 
 Hardy 
 
 Ferryman 
 
 Fireaway 
 
 Grasper 
 
 Harlequin 
 
 Fervent 
 
 Firetail 
 
 Gravity 
 
 Harasser 
 
 Finder 
 
 Flighty 
 
 Griper 
 
 Havoc 
 
 Firebrand 
 
 Flourish 
 
 Growler. 
 
 Hazard 
 
 Flagrant 
 
 Flurry 
 
 Grumbler 
 
 Headstrong 
 
 Flasher 
 
 Forcible 
 
 Guider 
 
 Hearty 
 
 Fleece'm 
 
 Fretful 
 
 
 Hector 
 
 Fleecer 
 
 Friend^ 
 
 G. bitches. 
 
 Heedful 
 
 Flinger 
 
 Frisky 
 
 Galley 
 
 Hercules 
 
 Flippant 
 
 Frolic 
 
 Gambol 
 
 Hero 
 
 Flourisher 
 
 Frolicsome 
 
 Gameson 
 
 Highflyer 
 
 Flyer 
 
 Funnylass 
 
 Gayety 
 
 Hopeful 
 
 Foamer 
 
 Ferry lass 
 
 Gayly 
 
 Hotspur 
 
 Foiler 
 
 Furious 
 
 Gaylass 
 
 Humbler 
 
 Foreman 
 
 Fury 
 
 Ghastly 
 
 Hurtful 
 
 Foremost 
 
 
 Giddy 
 
 
 Foresight 
 
 G. dogs. 
 
 Gipsy 
 
 H. bitches. 
 
 Forester 
 
 Gainer 
 
 Gladness 
 
 Hasty 
 
 Forward 
 
 Gallant - 
 
 Gladsome 
 
 Handsome 
 
 Fulminant 
 
 Galliard 
 
 Gossamer 
 
 Harlot 
 
 Furrier 
 
 Galloper 
 
 Governess 
 
 Harmony 
 
 
 Gamboy 
 
 Graceful 
 
 Hazardous 
 
 F. bitches. 
 
 Gamester 
 
 Graceless 
 
 Heedless 
 
 Faithful 
 
 Garrulous 
 
 Gracious 
 
 Helen 
 
 Fairmaid 
 
 General 
 
 Grateful 
 
 Heroine 
 
 Fairplay 
 
 Genius 
 
 Gravity 
 
 Hideous 
 
 Famous 
 
 Gimcrack 
 
 Guilesome 
 
 Honesty 
 
 Fanciful 
 
 Giant 
 
 Guilty 
 
 Hostile 
 
 Fashion 
 
 Glancer 
 
 
 
70 
 
 NAMES OF HOUNDS. 
 
 I. dogs. 
 
 Lounger 
 
 Match 'em 
 
 Matchless 
 
 Jerker 
 
 Lucifer 
 
 Maxim 
 
 Melody 
 
 Jingler 
 
 Lunatic 
 
 Maximus 
 
 Merrylass 
 
 Impetus 
 
 Lunger 
 
 Me an well 
 
 Mindful 
 
 Jockey 
 
 Lurker 
 
 Meddler 
 
 Minion 
 
 Jolly 
 
 Lusty 
 
 Menacer 
 
 Miriam 
 
 Jolly -boy 
 
 
 Mendall 
 
 Mischief 
 
 Jostler 
 
 L. bitches. 
 
 Mender 
 
 Modish 
 
 Jovial 
 
 Lacerate 
 
 Mentor 
 
 Monody 
 
 Jubal 
 
 Laudable 
 
 Mercury 
 
 Music 
 
 Judgment 
 
 Lavish 
 
 Merlin 
 
 
 Jumper 
 
 Lawless 
 
 Merryboy 
 
 N. dogs. 
 
 
 Lenity 
 
 Merrymn 
 
 Nervous 
 
 I. bitches. 
 
 Levity 
 
 Messmate 
 
 Nestor 
 
 Jealousy 
 
 Liberty 
 
 Methodist 
 
 Nettler 
 
 Industry 
 
 Lightning 
 
 Mighty 
 
 Newsman 
 
 Jollity 
 
 Lightsome 
 
 Militant 
 
 Nimrod 
 
 Joyful 
 
 Likely 
 
 Minikin 
 
 Noble 
 
 Joyous 
 
 Lissome 
 
 Miscreant 
 
 Nonsuch 
 
 
 Litigate 
 
 Mittimus 
 
 Novel 
 
 L. dogs. 
 
 Lively 
 
 Monarch 
 
 Noxious 
 
 Labourer 
 
 Lofty 
 
 Monitor 
 
 
 Larum 
 
 Lovely 
 
 Motley 
 
 N. bitches. 
 
 Lasher 
 
 Luckylass 
 
 Mounter 
 
 Narrative 
 
 Launcher 
 
 Lunacy 
 
 Mover 
 
 Neatness 
 
 Leader 
 
 
 Mungo 
 
 Needful 
 
 Leveller 
 
 M. dogs. 
 
 Musical 
 
 Negative 
 
 Liberal 
 
 Manager 
 
 Mutinous 
 
 Nicety 
 
 Libertine 
 
 Manful 
 
 Mutterer 
 
 Nimble 
 
 Lictor 
 
 Mareschal 
 
 Myrmidon 
 
 Noisy 
 
 Lifter 
 
 Marksman 
 
 
 Notable 
 
 Lightfoot 
 
 Marplot 
 
 M. bitches. 
 
 Notice 
 
 Linguist 
 
 Martial 
 
 Madcap 
 
 Notion 
 
 Listener 
 
 Marvellous 
 
 Magic 
 
 Novelty 
 
NAMES OF HOUNDS. 
 
 Novice 
 
 Principal 
 
 Rallywood 
 
 Rudesby 
 
 
 Prodigal 
 
 Rambler 
 
 Ruffian 
 
 P. dogs. 
 
 Prowler 
 
 Ramper 
 
 Ruffler 
 
 Paean 
 
 Prompter 
 
 Rampant 
 
 Ruler 
 
 Pageant 
 
 Prophet , 
 
 Rancour 
 
 Rummager 
 
 Paragon 
 
 Prosper 
 
 Random 
 
 Rumbler 
 
 Paramount 
 
 Prosperous 
 
 Ranger 
 
 Rumour 
 
 Partner 
 
 Pryer 
 
 Ransack 
 
 Runner 
 
 Partyman 
 
 
 Rantaway 
 
 Rural 
 
 Pealer 
 
 P. bitches. 
 
 Ranter 
 
 Rusher 
 
 Penetrant 
 
 Panic 
 
 Rapper 
 
 Rustic 
 
 Perfect 
 
 Passion t 
 
 Rattler 
 
 
 Perilous 
 
 Pastime 
 
 Ravager 
 
 R. bitches. 
 
 Pertinent 
 
 Patience 
 
 Ravenous 
 
 Racket 
 
 Petulant 
 
 Phoenix 
 
 Reacher 
 
 Rally 
 
 Phoebus 
 
 Phrenetic 
 
 Reasoner 
 
 Rantipole 
 
 Piercer 
 
 Phrensy 
 
 Rector 
 
 Rapid 
 
 Pilgrim 
 
 Placid 
 
 Regent 
 
 Rapine 
 
 Pillager 
 
 Playful 
 
 Render 
 
 Rapture 
 
 Pilot 
 
 Pleasant 
 
 Resonant 
 
 Rarity 
 
 Pincher 
 
 Pliant 
 
 Restive 
 
 Rashness 
 
 Piper 
 
 Positive 
 
 Reveller 
 
 Rattle 
 
 Playful 
 
 Precious 
 
 Rifler 
 
 Reptile 
 
 Plodder 
 
 Prettylass 
 
 Rigid 
 
 Resolute 
 
 Plunder 
 
 Previous 
 
 Rigour 
 
 Restless 
 
 Politic 
 
 Priestess 
 
 Ringwood 
 
 Rhapsody 
 
 Potent 
 
 Probity 
 
 Rioter 
 
 Riddance 
 
 Prater 
 
 Prudence 
 
 Risker 
 
 Riot 
 
 Prattler 
 
 
 Rockwood 
 
 Rival 
 
 Premier 
 
 R, dogs. 
 
 Roister 
 
 Roguish 
 
 President 
 
 Racer 
 
 Romper 
 
 Ruin 
 
 Presto 
 
 Radical 
 
 Rouser 
 
 Rummage 
 
 Prevalent 
 
 Rager 
 
 Router 
 
 Ruthless 
 
 Primate 
 
 Rakish 
 
 Rover 
 
 
NAMES OF HOUNDS. 
 
 S. dogs. 
 
 Spinner 
 
 Skilful 
 
 Thwarter 
 
 Salient 
 
 Splendor 
 
 Songstress 
 
 Tickler 
 
 Sampler 
 
 Splenetic 
 
 Specious 
 
 Tomboy 
 
 Samson 
 
 Spoiler 
 
 Speedy 
 
 Topmost 
 
 Sanction 
 
 Spokesman 
 
 Spiteful 
 
 Topper 
 
 Sapient 
 
 Sportsman 
 
 Spitfire 
 
 Torment 
 
 Saucebox 
 
 Squabbler 
 
 Sportful 
 
 Torrent 
 
 Saunter 
 
 Squeaker 
 
 Sportive 
 
 Torturer 
 
 Scalper 
 
 Statesman 
 
 Sportly 
 
 Tosser 
 
 Scamper 
 
 Steady 
 
 Sprightly 
 
 Touchstone 
 
 Schemer 
 
 Stickler 
 
 Stately 
 
 Tracer 
 
 Scourer 
 
 Stringer 
 
 Stoutness 
 
 Tragic 
 
 Scramble 
 
 Stormer 
 
 Strenuous 
 
 Trampler 
 
 Screamer 
 
 Stranger 
 
 Strumpet 
 
 Transit 
 
 Screecher 
 
 Stripling 
 
 Surety 
 
 Transport 
 
 Scuffler 
 
 Striver 
 
 Sybil 
 
 Traveller 
 
 Searcher 
 
 Strivewell 
 
 Symphony 
 
 Trimbush 
 
 Settler 
 
 Stroker 
 
 
 Trimmer 
 
 Sharper 
 
 Stroller 
 
 T. dogs. 
 
 Triumph 
 
 Shifter 
 
 Struggler 
 
 Tackier 
 
 Trojan 
 
 Signal 
 
 Sturdy 
 
 Talisman 
 
 Trouncer 
 
 Singer 
 
 Subtile 
 
 Tamer 
 
 Truant 
 
 Sing well 
 
 Succour 
 
 Tamerlane 
 
 Trueboy 
 
 Skirmish 
 
 Suppler 
 
 Tangent 
 
 Trueman 
 
 Smoker 
 
 Surly 
 
 Tartar 
 
 Trudger 
 
 Social 
 
 Swaggerer 
 
 Tattler 
 
 Trusty 
 
 Solomon 
 
 Sylvan 
 
 Taunter 
 
 Tryal 
 
 Solon 
 
 
 Teasel- 
 
 Tryer 
 
 Songster 
 
 S. bitches. 
 
 Terror 
 
 Trywell 
 
 Sonorous 
 
 Sanguine 
 
 Thrasher 
 
 Tuner 
 
 Soundwell 
 
 Sappho 
 
 Threatener 
 
 Turbulent 
 
 Spanker 
 
 Science 
 
 Thumper 
 
 Twanger 
 
 Special 
 
 Scrupulous 
 
 Thunderer 
 
 Twig'em 
 
 Specimen 
 
 Shrewdness 
 
 Thwacker 
 
 Twister 
 
NAMES OF HOUNDS. 
 
 73 
 
 lyrant 
 
 Valiant 
 
 Verify 
 
 Wisdom 
 
 T. bitches. 
 
 Valid 
 
 Verity 
 
 Woodman 
 
 Tattle 
 
 Valorous 
 
 Vicious 
 
 Worker 
 
 Telltale 
 
 Valour 
 
 Victory 
 
 Workman 
 
 Tempest 
 Tentative 
 
 Vaulter 
 Vaunter 
 
 Victrix 
 Vigilance 
 
 Worthy 
 Wrangler 
 
 Termagant 
 Terminate 
 
 Venture 
 Venturer 
 
 Violent 
 Viperous 
 
 Wrestler 
 
 Terrible 
 
 Venturous 
 
 Virulent 
 
 W. bitches. 
 
 Testy 
 
 Vermin 
 
 -\T 
 
 Vitiate 
 
 Waggery 
 
 Thankful 
 
 Vexer 
 
 Vivid 
 
 Waggish 
 
 Thoughtful 
 
 Victor 
 
 \T* 'I 
 
 Vixen 
 
 Wagtail 
 
 Tidings 
 
 Vigilant 
 
 \r- 
 
 Vocal 
 
 Wanton 
 
 Toilsome 
 
 igorous 
 
 Volatile 
 
 Warfare 
 
 Tractable 
 
 Vigour 
 
 Voluble 
 
 Warlike 
 
 Tragedy 
 
 Villager 
 
 TT* 
 
 
 Waspish 
 
 Trespass 
 
 Viper 
 
 W. dogs. 
 
 Wasteful 
 
 Trifle 
 
 Volant 
 
 Wanderer 
 
 Watchful 
 
 Trivial 
 
 Voucher 
 
 Warblei 
 
 Welcome 
 
 Trollop 
 
 
 Warning 
 
 W r elldone 
 
 f 
 
 Troublesome 
 Truelass 
 Truemaid 
 
 V. bitches. 
 Vanquish 
 Vehemence 
 
 Warrior 
 Warwhoop 
 Wayward 
 
 Whimsey 
 Whirligig 
 Wildfire 
 
 Tunable 
 
 Vehement 
 
 Wellbred 
 
 Willing 
 
 Tuneful 
 
 Vengeance 
 
 Whipster 
 
 Wishful 
 
 
 Vengeful 
 
 Whynot 
 
 Wonderful 
 
 V. dogs. 
 
 Venomous 
 
 Wildair 
 
 Worry 
 
 Vagabond 
 
 Venturesome 
 
 Wildman 
 
 J 
 
 Wrathful 
 
 Vagrant 
 
 Venus 
 
 Wilful 
 
 Wreakful 
 
74 OF THE TREATMENT 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 AFTER the young hounds have been rounded, 
 and are well reconciled to the kennnel, know the 
 huntsman, and begin to know their names, they 
 should be put into couples, and walked out 
 amongst the sheep. 
 
 If any are particularly snappish and trouble- 
 some, you should leave the couples loose about 
 their necks in the kennel, till you find they are 
 more reconciled to them. If any are more stub- 
 born than the rest, you should couple them to 
 old hounds, rather than to young ones ; and 
 you should not couple two dogs together, when 
 you can avoid it. Young hounds are awkward 
 at first ; I should therefore advise you to send 
 out a few only at a time with your people on 
 foot ; they will soon afterwards become handy 
 enough to follow a horse ; and care should be 
 taken that the couples be not too loose, lest they 
 should slip their necks out of the collar, and 
 give trouble in the catching of them again. 
 
OF YOUNG HOUNDS. 75 
 
 When they have been walked often in this 
 manner amongst the sheep, you may then un- 
 couple a few at a time, and begin to chastise 
 such as offer to run after them ; but you will 
 soon find that the cry of ware sheep, will stop 
 them sufficiently, without the whip ; and the 
 less this is used, the better. With proper care 
 and attention, you will soon make them ashamed 
 of it ; but if once suffered to taste the blood, you 
 may find it difficult to reclaim them afterwards. 
 Various are the methods used to break such dogs 
 from sheep; some will couple them to a ram, 
 but that is breaking them with a vengeance ; 
 you had better hang them. A late lord of my 
 acquaintance, who had heard of this method, 
 and whose whole pack had been often guilty of 
 killing sheep, determined to punish them, and 
 to that intent put the largest ram he could find 
 into his kennel. The men with their whips and 
 voices, and the ram with his horns, soon put the 
 whole kennel into confusion and dismay, and the 
 hounds and ram were then left together. Meet- 
 ing a friend soon after, " Come," said he, " come 
 with me to the kennel, and see what rare sport the 
 ram makes among the hounds : the old fellow lays 
 about him stoutly, I assure you egad he trims 
 
76 OF AIRING THEM. 
 
 them there is not a dog dares look him in the 
 face." His friend, who is a compassionate man, 
 pitied the hounds exceedingly, and asked if he 
 was not afraid that some of them might be spoil- 
 ed. "No; d n them," said he, u they deserve 
 it, and let them suffer." On they went all was 
 quiet they opened the kennel door, but saw 
 neither ram nor hound. The ram by this time 
 was entirely eaten up, and the hounds, having 
 filled their bellies, were retired to rest. 
 
 It without doubt is best, when you air your 
 hounds, to take them out separately ; the old 
 ones one day, another day the young :* but as 
 I find your hounds are to have their whey at a 
 distant dairy, on those days both old and young 
 may be taken out together, observing only to 
 take the young hounds in couples, when the old 
 ones are along with them. Young hounds are 
 always ready for any kind of mischief, and idle- 
 ness might make even old ones too ready to join 
 them in it. Besides, should they break off from 
 the huntsman, the whipper-in is generally too 
 ill-mounted at this season of the year easily to 
 
 * It would be better still to take out jour hounds every 
 day, the old and young separately, when it can be done 
 without inconvenience ; when it cannot, a large grass-court 
 will partly answer the same purpose. 
 
OF ENTERING THEM. 77 
 
 head them, to bring them back. Run no such 
 risk. My hounds were near being spoiled by 
 the mere accident of a horse's falling. The 
 whipper-in was thrown from his horse. The 
 horse ran away, and the whole pack followed 
 him. A flock of sheep, which were at a little 
 distance, took fright, began to run, and the 
 hounds pursued them. The most vicious set 
 on the rest, and several sheep were soon pulled 
 down, and killed. I mention this to show 
 you what caution is necessary whilst hounds 
 are idle ; for though the fall of the horse was 
 not to be attributed to any fault of the man, 
 yet had the old hounds been taken out by 
 themselves, or had all the young ones been in 
 couples, it is probable so common an accident 
 would not have produced so extraordinary an 
 event. 
 
 It is now time to stoop them to a scent. You 
 had better enter them at their own game ; it will 
 save you much trouble afterwards. Many dogs, 
 I believe, like that scent best which they were 
 first blooded to ; but be that as it may, it is cer- 
 tainly most reasonable to use them to that which 
 it is intended they should hunt. It may not be 
 amiss, when they first begin to hunt, to put light 
 collars on them. Young hounds may easily get 
 
AN OLD SPORTSMANS METHOD. 
 
 out of their knowledge ; and shy ones, after 
 they have been much beaten, may not choose to 
 return home. Collars, in that case, may prevent 
 their being lost. 
 
 You say you should like to see your young 
 hounds run a trail-scent. I have no doubt that 
 you would be glad to see them run over an open 
 down, where you could so easily observe their 
 action and their speed. I do not think the doing 
 of it once or twice could hurt your hounds ; and 
 yet, as a sportsman, I dare not recommend it 
 to you. All that I shall say of it is, that it is 
 less bad than entering them at hare. A. cat is 
 as good a trail as any ; but on no account should 
 any trail be used after your hounds are stooped 
 to a scent. 
 
 I know an old sportsman, a clergyman, who 
 enters his young hounds first at a cat, which he 
 drags along the ground for a mile or two, at the 
 end of which he turns out a badger, first taking 
 care to break his teeth : he takes out about two 
 couple of old hounds along with the young ones, 
 to hold them on. He never enters his young 
 hounds but at vermin ; for he says, " Train up 
 a child in the way he should go, and when he is 
 old he will not depart from it. 
 
 Summer hunting, though useful to young 
 
SUMMER HUNTING. 79 
 
 hounds, is prejudicial to old ones; I think, there- 
 fore, you will do well to reserve some of the best 
 of your draught-hounds to enter your young 
 hounds with, selecting such as are most likely to 
 set them a good example. I need not tell you 
 they should not be skirters ; but, on the contrary, 
 should be fair hunting hounds, such as love a 
 scent, and that hunt closest on the line of it : it 
 will be necessary that some of them should be 
 good finders, and all must be steady. Thus you 
 procure for your young hounds the best instruc- 
 tions, and at the same time prevent two evils, 
 which would necessarily ensue were they taught 
 by the whole pack ; one, that of corrupting, and 
 getting into scrapes, such as are not much wiser 
 than themselves ; and the other, that of occa- 
 sioning much flogging and rating, which always 
 shies and interrupts the hunting of an old hound. 
 An old hound is a sagacious animal, and is not 
 fond of trusting himself in the way of an en- 
 raged whipper-in, who, as experience has taught 
 him, can flog, and can flog unjustly. By attend- 
 ing to this advice, you will improve one part 
 of your pack, without any injury to the other; 
 whilst such as never separate their young 
 hounds from the old are not likely to have any 
 of them steady. 
 
80 RIOTOUS BEST IN THE END. 
 
 You ask, at what time you shall begin to 
 enter your young hounds? That question is 
 easily answered ; for you certainly should begin 
 with them as soon as you can. The time must 
 vary in different countries. In corn countries it 
 may not be possible to hunt till after the corn is 
 cut ; in grass countries you may begin sooner ; 
 and in woodlands you may hunt as soon as you 
 please. If you have plenty of foxes, and can 
 afford to make a sacrifice of some of them for 
 the sake of making your young hounds steady, 
 take them first where you have least riot, put- 
 ting some of the steadiest of your old hounds 
 amongst them, If in such a place you are for- 
 tunate enough to find a litter of foxes, you may 
 assure yourself you will have but little trouble 
 with your young hounds afterwards. 
 
 Such young hounds as are most riotous at 
 first, generally speaking, I think, are best in the 
 end. A gentleman in my neighbourhood was so 
 thoroughly convinced of this, that he complained 
 bitterly of a young pointer to the person who 
 gave it him, because he had done no mischief. 
 However, meeting the same person some time 
 after, he told him the dog, he believed, would 
 prove a good one at last. " How so ?" replied 
 his friend ; " it was but the other day that you 
 
FREdUENT HALLOOING USEFUL. 81 
 
 said he was good for nothing." " True : but he 
 has kitted me nineteen turkeys since that" 
 
 If owing to a scarcity of foxes you should 
 stoop your hounds at hare, let them not have the 
 blood of her at least ; nor, for the sake of con- 
 sistency, give them much encouragement. Hare- 
 hunting has one advantage, hounds are chiefly 
 in open ground, where you can easily command 
 them ; but, notwithstanding that, if foxes are 
 in tolerable plenty, keep them to their own 
 game, and do not forget the advice of my friend 
 the doctor. 
 
 Frequent hallooing is of use, I think, with 
 young hounds ; it keeps them forward, prevents 
 their being lost, and hinders them from hunting 
 after the rest. The oftener, therefore, a fox is 
 seen and hallooed the better ; it serves to let 
 them in, makes them eager, makes them exert 
 themselves, and teaches them to be handy. I 
 must tell you, at the same time I say this, that 
 I by no means approve of much hallooing to 
 old hounds ; and though I frequently am guilty 
 of it myself, it is owing to my spirits, which 
 lead me into an error that my judgment con- 
 demns. It is true, there is a time when hallooing 
 is of use, a time when it does hurt, and a time 
 
 E3 
 
82 VOICE VERSUS WHIP. 
 
 when it is perfectly indifferent ; but it is long 
 practice, and great attention to hunting, that 
 must teach you the application. 
 
 Hounds, at their first entering, cannot be en- 
 couraged too much. When they are become 
 handy, love a scent, and begin to know what is 
 right, it will be soon enough to chastise them 
 for doing wrong ; in which case one severe beat- 
 ing will save a deal of trouble. You should re- 
 commend to your whipper-in, when he flogs a 
 hound, to make use of his voice as well as his 
 whip ; and let him remember, that the smack of 
 the whip is often of as much use as the lash to 
 one that has felt it. If any are very unsteady, 
 it will not be amiss to send them out by them- 
 selves, when the men go out to exercise their 
 horses. If you have hares in plenty, let some 
 be found sitting, and turned out before them, 
 and you will soon find the most riotous will not 
 run after them. If they are to be made steady 
 from deer, they should see them often, and they 
 will not regard them ; and if, after a probation 
 of this kind, you turn out a cub before them, 
 with some old hounds to lead them on, you may 
 assure yourself they will not be unsteady long ; 
 for, as Somervile rightly observes, 
 
PUNISHMENT WHEN NECESSARY. 83 
 
 " Easy the lesson of the youthful train, 
 
 When instinct prompts, and when example guides." 
 
 Flogging hounds in kennel, the frequent prac- 
 tice of most huntsmen, I hold in abhorrence: 
 it is unreasonable, unjust, and cruel; and, 
 carried to the excess we sometimes see it, is a 
 disgrace to humanity. Hounds that are old 
 offenders, that are very riotous, and at the same 
 time very cunning, may be difficult to catch : 
 such hounds may be excepted they deserve 
 punishment whenever it happens, and you 
 should not fail to give it them when you can. 
 This you will allow is a particular case, and ne- 
 cessity may excuse it ; but let not the peace and 
 quiet of your kennel be often thus disturbed. 
 When your hounds offend, punish them : when 
 caught in the fact, then let them suffer, and 
 if you are severe, at least be just. 
 
 When your young hounds stoop to a scent, 
 are become handy, know a rate, and stop easily, 
 you may then begin to put them into the pack, 
 a few only at a time ; nor do I think it advisable 
 to begin this till the pack have been out a few 
 times by themselves, and are got well in blood. 
 I should also advise you to take them the first 
 day where they are most sure to find ; as long 
 
84 THE HORN. 
 
 rest makes all hounds riotous, and they may do 
 that en gaiete de cosur^ which they would not 
 think of at another time. 
 
 If your covers are large, you would find the 
 straight horn of use, and I am sorry to hear you 
 do not approve of it. You ask me why I like 
 it? not as a musician, I can assure you. It 
 signifies little, in our way, what the noise is, as 
 long as it is understood. 
 
THE SUBJECT RESUMED. 85 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 UNLESS I had kept a regular journal of all 
 that has been done in the kennel from the time 
 when rny young hounds were first taken in to 
 the end of the last season, it would be impossi- 
 ble, I think, to answer all the questions which, 
 in your last letter, you ask concerning them. I 
 wish that a memory, which is far from being a 
 good one, may enable me to give the informa- 
 tion you desire. If I am to be more circum- 
 stantial than in my former letter, I must recol- 
 lect, as well as I can, the regular system of my 
 own kennel ; and if I am to write from memory, 
 you will, without doubt, excuse the lucidus 
 or do which may be wanting : it shall be my 
 endeavour, that the information these Letters 
 contain shall not mislead you. 
 
 You desire me to explain what I mean by 
 hounds being handy. It relates to their readi- 
 ness to do whatever is required of them ; and 
 particularly, when cast, to turn easily which way 
 the huntsman pleases.* 
 
 * My hounds are frequently walked about the courts of 
 
86 CARE NECESSARY IN THE 
 
 I was told the other day by a sportsman, 
 that he considers the management of hounds as a 
 regular system of education, from the time when 
 they are first taken into the kennel : I perfectly 
 agree with that gentleman ; and am well con- 
 vinced that if you expect sagacity in your hound 
 when he is old, you must be mindful what in- 
 struction he receives from you in his youth ; for 
 as he is of all animals the most docile, he is also 
 most liable to bad habits. A diversity of cha- 
 racter, constitution, and disposition, are to be ob- 
 served among them ; which, to be made the most 
 of, must be carefully attended to, and treated 
 differently. I do not pretend to have succeeded 
 in it myself; yet you will perceive, perhaps, 
 that I have paid some attention to it. 
 
 I begin to hunt my young hounds in August. 
 The employment of my huntsman the preced- 
 ing months is to keep his old hounds healthy 
 and quiet, by giving them proper exercise, and 
 to get his young hounds forward.* They are 
 called over often in the kennel : it uses them to 
 
 the kennel, the whipper-in following them, and rating them 
 after the huntsman : this, and the sending them out (after 
 they have been fed) with the people on foot, contribute 
 greatly to make them handy. 
 
 * Nothing will answer this purpose so well as taking them 
 out often. Let your huntsman lounge about with them : 
 
INSTRUCTION OF HOUNDS. 87 
 
 their names, to the huntsman and to the whip- 
 per-in. They are walked out often among 
 sheep, hares, and deer ; it uses them to a rate. 
 Sometimes he turns down a cat before them,^ 
 which they hunt up to and kill ; and, when the 
 time of hunting approaches, he turns out bad- 
 gers or young foxes, taking out some of the 
 steadiest of his old hounds to lead them on : 
 this teaches them to hunt. He draws small 
 covers and furze-brakes with them, to use them 
 to a halloo, and to teach them obedience. If 
 they find improper game, and hunt it, they are 
 stopped and brought back ; and as long as they 
 will stop at a rate, they are not chastised. Obe- 
 dience is all that is required of them, till they 
 have been sufficiently taught the game they are 
 to hunt. An obstinate deviation from it after- 
 wards is never pardoned. It is an observation 
 of the marchese Beccaria, that " La certezza di 
 un castigo, benche moderate fara sempre una 
 maggiore impressione, che non il timore di un 
 altro piu terribile, unito colla speranza, della' 
 impunita." 
 
 nothing will make them so handy. Let him get off his 
 horse frequently, and encourage them to come to him : no- 
 thing will familiarize them so much : too great restraint 
 will oftentimes incline hounds to be riotous. 
 
00 METHOD OF BLOODING 
 
 When my young hounds are taken out to air, 
 my huntsman takes them into the country in 
 which they are to begin to hunt. It is attended 
 with this advantage; they acquire a knowledge 
 of the country, and when left behind at any time, 
 cannot fail to find their way home more easily. 
 
 When they begin to hunt, they are first taken 
 into a large cover of my own, which has many 
 ridings cut in it, and where young foxes are 
 turned out every year on purpose for them. 
 Here it is they are taught the scent they are to 
 hunt, are encouraged to pursue it, arid are stop- 
 ped from every other. Here they are blooded 
 to fox. I must also tell you, that as foxes are 
 plentiful in this cover, the principal earth is not 
 stopped, and the foxes are checked back, or 
 some of them let in, as may best suit the pur- 
 pose of blooding. After they have been hunted 
 a few days in this manner, they are then sent to 
 distant covers, and more old hounds are added 
 to them : there they continue hunting till they 
 are taken into the pack, which is seldom later 
 than the beginning of September ; * for by that 
 time they will have learned what is required of 
 
 * Sport, in fox-hunting, cannot be said to begin before 
 October ; but, in the two preceding months, a pack is either 
 made or marred. 
 
THEM TO FOX. 89 
 
 them, and they seldom give much trouble after- 
 wards. In September I begin to hunt in 
 earnest ; and after the old hounds have killed a 
 few foxes, the young hounds are put into the 
 pack, two or three couple at a time, till all have 
 hunted. They are then divided : and as I 
 seldom have occasion to take in more than nine 
 or ten couple, one half are taken out one day, 
 the other half the next, till all are steady. 
 
 Two other methods of entering young hounds 
 I have practised occasionally, as the number of 
 hounds have required ; for instance, when that 
 number is very considerable, I make a large 
 draft of my steadiest hounds, which are kept 
 with the young hounds in a separate kennel, and 
 are hunted with them all the fore part of the 
 season. This, when the old hounds begin to 
 hunt, makes two distinct packs, and is always 
 attended with great trouble and inconvenience. 
 Nothing hurts a pack so much as to enter many 
 young hounds, since it must weaken it consider- 
 ably by robbing it of those which are the most 
 steady ; and yet young hounds can do nothing 
 without their assistance. Such, therefore, as 
 constantly enter their young hounds in this 
 manner, will, sometimes at least, have two indif- 
 ferent packs, instead of one good one. 
 
90 TOO MANY SHOULD 
 
 In the other method, the young hounds are 
 well awed from sheep, but never stooped to a 
 scent till they are taken out with the pack ; they 
 are then taken out a few only at a time ; and if 
 your pack is perfectly steady, and well manned, 
 may not give you much trouble. The method 
 I first mentioned, which is the one I most com- 
 monly practise, will be necessary when you have 
 many young hounds to enter ; when you have 
 only a few, the last will be most convenient. 
 The other, which requires two distinct packs, is 
 on too extensive a plan to suit your establish- 
 ment, requiring more horses and hounds than 
 you intend to keep.* 
 
 Though I have mentioned, in a former letter, 
 from eight to twelve couple of young hounds as 
 a sufficient number to keep up your pack to its 
 present establishment, yet it is always best to 
 keep a few couple more than you want in reserve, 
 
 * To render fox-hunting perfect, no young hounds should 
 be taken into the pack the first season ; a requisite too ex- 
 pensive for most sportsmen. The pack should consist of 
 about forty couple of hounds, that have hunted one, two, 
 three, four, or five seasons. The young pack should con- 
 sist of about twenty couple of young hounds, and about an 
 equal number of old ones. They should have a separate 
 establishment ; nor should the two kennels be near enough 
 to interfere with each other. The season over, the best 
 of the young hounds should be taken into the pack, and 
 the draft of old ones exchanged for them. To enable you 
 
NOT BE ENTERED. 91 
 
 in case of accidents ; since from the time you 
 make your draft to the time of hunting is a long 
 period, and their existence at that age and sea- 
 son very precarious : besides, when they are safe 
 from the disorder, they are not always safe from 
 each other ; and a summer, I think, seldom 
 passes without some losses of that kind. At the 
 same time I must tell you that I should decline 
 the entering of more than are necessary to keep 
 up the pack, since a greater number would only 
 create useless trouble and vexation. 
 
 You wish to know what number of old 
 hounds you should hunt with the young ones. 
 That must depend on the strength of your pack, 
 and the number which you choose to spare ; if 
 good and steady, ten or twelve couple will be 
 sufficient. 
 
 The young hounds, and such old ones as are 
 intended to hunt along with them,* should be 
 
 every season to take in twenty couple of young hounds, 
 many must be bred ; and, of course, the greater your 
 choice, the handsomer your pack will become. It will al- 
 ways be easy to keep up the number of old hounds ; for, 
 when your own draft is not sufficient, drafts from other 
 packs may easily be obtained, and at a small expense. 
 When young hounds are hunted together the first season, 
 and have not a sufficient number of old hounds along with 
 them, it does them more harm than good. 
 
 * Some also take out their unsteady hounds when they 
 enter the young ones : 1 doubt the propriety of it. 
 
92 DIFFERENT METHODS OF 
 
 kept in a kennel by themselves till the young 
 hounds are hunted with the pack. I need not, 
 I am sure, enumerate the many reasons that 
 make this regulation necessary. 
 
 I never trust my young hounds in the forest 
 till they have been well blooded to fox, and sel- 
 dom put more than a couple into the pack at a 
 time.* The others are walked out amongst the 
 deer, when the men exercise their horses, and 
 are severely chastised if they take any notice 
 of them. They also draw covers with them ; 
 choosing out such where they can best see their 
 hounds, and most easily command them, and 
 where there is the least chance to find a fox. 
 On these occasions I had rather they should 
 have to rate their hounds than to encourage 
 them. It requires less judgment ; and if impro- 
 perly done, is less dangerous in its consequences. 
 One halloo of encouragement to a wrong scent 
 more than undoes all that you have been doing. 
 
 When young hounds begin to love a scent, it 
 may be of use to turn out a badger before them : 
 
 * I sometimes send all my young hounds together into 
 the forest, with four or five couple of old hounds only ; 
 such as I know they cannot spoil. As often as any of them 
 break off to deer, they are taken up and flogged. When 
 they lose one fox they try for another, and are kept out 
 till they are all made tolerably steady. 
 
ENTERING DESCRIBED. 93 
 
 you will then be able to discover what improve- 
 ment they have made. I mention a badger, on 
 a supposition that young foxes cannot so well 
 be spared ; besides, the badger being a slower 
 animal, he may easily be followed, and driven 
 the way you choose he should rim. 
 
 The day you intend to turn out a fox or 
 badger, you will do well to send them amongst 
 hares or deer. A little rating and flogging, be- 
 fore they are encouraged to vermin, is of the 
 greatest use, as it teaches them both what they 
 should and what they should not do. I have 
 known a badger run several miles, if judici- 
 ously managed ; for which purpose he should 
 be turned out in a very open country, and fol- 
 lowed by a person who has more sense than to 
 ride on the line of him. If he does not meet 
 with any cover or hedge in his way, he will keep 
 on for several miles ; if he does, you will not be 
 able to get him any farther. You should give 
 him a great deal of law, and you will do well to 
 break his teeth.* 
 
 * The critic says, " there is neither justice nor equity in 
 breaking his teeth." (Vide Monthly Review.) I confess 
 there is not : and I never know that it is done, but I feel 
 all the force of the observation. It is a custom, as Shaks- 
 peare says on another occasion, 
 
 " More honour'd in the breach than the observance." 
 
y4< METHOD OF CHASTISING 
 
 If you run any cubs to ground in an indiffer- 
 ent country, and do not want blood, bring them 
 home, and they will be of use to your young 
 hounds. Turn out bag-foxes to your young 
 hounds, but never to your old ones. I object 
 to them on many accounts ; but of bag-foxes I 
 shall have occasion to speak hereafter. 
 
 The day after your hounds have had blood is 
 also a proper time to send them where there is 
 riot, and to chastise them, if they deserve it : it 
 is always best to correct them when they can- 
 not help knowing what they are corrected for. 
 When you send out your hounds for this pur- 
 pose, the later they go out, I think, the better, 
 as the worse the scent is, the less inclinable will 
 they be to run it, and of course will give less 
 trouble in stopping them. It is a common prac- 
 tice with huntsmen to flog their hounds most 
 unmercifully in the kennel : I have already told 
 you I like it not; but if many of your hounds 
 are obstinately riotous, you may with less im- 
 propriety put a live hare into the kennel* to 
 them ; flogging them as often as they approach 
 
 * This passage has also been thought deserving of cen- 
 sure, though its motive is humane. By these means the 
 disobedient are taught obedience, and a more general pun- 
 ishment prevented, which the effect of bad example might 
 otherwise make necessary. 
 
IN THE KENNEL. 95 
 
 her; they will then have some notion, at least, 
 for what they are beaten : but let me entreat 
 you, before this charivari* begins, to draft off 
 your steady hounds. An animal to whom we 
 owe so much good diversion should not be ill 
 used unnecessarily. When a hare is put into 
 the kennel, the huntsman and both the whip- 
 pers-in should be present, and the whippers-in 
 should flog every hound, calling him by his 
 name, and rating him as often as he is near the 
 hare ; and upon this occasion they cannot cut 
 them too hard, or rate them too much. When 
 they think they have chastised them enough, the 
 hare should then be taken away, the huntsman 
 should halloo off his hounds, and the whippers- 
 in should rate them to him. If any one loves 
 hare more than the rest, you may tie a dead one 
 round his neck, flogging him and rating him at 
 the same time. This possibly may make him 
 ashamed of it. I never bought a lot of hounds 
 in my life that were not obliged to undergo this 
 
 * A confusion arising from a variety of noises. It is a 
 custom in France and in Switzerland, if a woman marry 
 sooner than is usual after the death of her husband, or a 
 woman get the better of her husband when attempting to 
 chastise her, and return the beating with interest the 
 neighbours give them a charivari ; a kind of concert, com- 
 posed of tongs, fire-shovels, kettles, brass pans, &c. &c. 
 
96 LARGE COVERS PREFERABLE 
 
 discipline. Either hares are less plentiful in 
 other countries, or other sportsmen are less nice 
 in making their hounds steady from them. 
 
 I would advise you to hunt your large covers 
 with your young hounds: it will tire them 
 out;* a necessary step towards making them 
 steady; will open the cover against the time 
 you begin in earnest; and, by disturbing the 
 large covers early in the year, foxes will be 
 shy of them in the season, and show you better 
 chases : besides, as they are not likely to break 
 from thence, you can do no hurt to the corn, 
 and may begin before it is cut. 
 
 If your hounds are very riotous, and you are 
 obliged to stop them very often from hare, it 
 will be advisable, I think, to try on (however 
 late it may be) till you find a fox, as the giving 
 them encouragement should, at such a time, 
 prevail over every other consideration. 
 
 Though all young hounds, I believe, are 
 
 * Provided that you have old hounds enough out to carry 
 on the scent : if you have not a body of old hounds to keep 
 up a cry on the right scent, the young ones, as soon as the 
 ground becomes foiled, will be scattered about the cover, 
 hunting old scents, and will not get on fast enough to tire 
 themselves. Young hounds should never be taken into 
 large covers whei?e there is much riot, unless whippers-in 
 can easily get at them. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF THE PACK. 9? 
 
 given to riot, yet the better they are bred, the 
 less trouble will they be likely to give you. 
 Pointers, well bred, stand naturally ; and high- 
 bred fox-hounds love their own game best. 
 Such, however, as are very riotous, should have 
 little rest: you should hunt them one day in 
 large covers, where foxes are in plenty ; the 
 next day they should be walked out amongst 
 hares and deer, and stopped from riot ; the day 
 following be hunted again, as before. Old 
 hounds, that I have had from other packs, (par- 
 ticularly such as have been entered at hare,) I 
 have sometimes found incorrigible; but I never 
 yet knew a young hound so riotous, but, by 
 this management, he soon became steady. 
 
 When hounds are rated, and do not answer 
 the rate, they should be coupled up immedi- 
 ately, and be made to know the whipper-in : in 
 all probability this method will save any farther 
 trouble. These fellows sometimes flog hounds 
 unmercifully, and some of them seem to take 
 pleasure in their cruelty : I am sure, however, I 
 need not desire you to prevent the excess of it. 
 
 I have heard, that no fox-hounds will break 
 off to deer, after once a fox is found. I cannot 
 say the experience I have had of this diversion 
 will anywise justify the remark: let me advise 
 
98 ENTERING THEM AT 
 
 you, therefore, to seek a surer dependence. Be- 
 fore you hunt your young hounds where hares 
 are in plenty, let them be awed, and stopped 
 from hare: before you hunt amongst deer, let 
 them not only see deer, but let them draw 
 covers where deer are; for you must not be 
 surprised if, after they are so far steady as not 
 to run them in view, they should challenge on 
 the scent of them. Unless you take this method 
 with your young hounds, before you put them 
 into the pack, you will run a great risk of cor- 
 rupting such as are steady, and will lose the 
 pleasure of hunting with steady hounds. I 
 have already told you that after my young 
 hounds are taken into the pack, I still take out 
 but very few at a time, when I hunt among 
 deer. I also change them when I take out 
 others ; for the steadiness they may have ac- 
 quired could be but little depended on, were 
 they to meet with any encouragement to be 
 riotous. 
 
 I confess I think first impressions of more 
 consequence than they are in general thought 
 to be : I not only enter my young hounds to 
 vermin on that account, but I even use them, 
 as early as I can, to the strongest covers and 
 thickest brakes, and I seldom find they ire ever 
 
VERMIN RECOMMENDED. 99 
 
 shy of them afterwards. A friend of mine has 
 assured me, that he once entered a spaniel to 
 snipes, and the dog ever after was partial to 
 them, preferring them to every other bird. 
 
 If you have marten cats within your reach, as 
 all hounds are fond of their scent, you will do 
 well to enter your young hounds in covers 
 which they frequent. The marten cat, being a 
 small animal, by running the thickest brakes it 
 can find, teaches hounds to run cover, and is 
 therefore of the greatest use. I do not much 
 approve of hunting them with the old hounds : 
 they show but little sport; are continually climb- 
 ing trees ; and as the cover they run seldom 
 fails to scratch and tear hounds considerably, I 
 think you might be sorry to see your whole 
 pack disfigured by it. The agility of this little 
 animal is really wonderful ; and though it falls 
 frequently from a tree, in the midst of a whole 
 pack of hounds, all intent on catching it, there 
 are but few instances, I believe, of a marten's 
 being caught by them in that situation. 
 
 In summer, hounds might hunt in an evening. 
 I know a pack, that after having killed one fox 
 in the morning with the young hounds, killed 
 another in the evening with the old ones. Scent 
 generally lies well at the close of the day ; yet 
 
 F2 
 
100 OBEDIENCE IN A HOUND. 
 
 there is a great objection to hunting at that 
 time : animals are more easily disturbed, and 
 you have a greater variety of scents than at an 
 earlier hour. 
 
 Having given you all the information I can 
 possibly recollect with regard to my own ma- 
 nagement of young hounds, I shall now take 
 notice of that part of your last letter, where I 
 am sorry to find that our opinions differ. Obe- 
 dience, you say, is every thing necessary in a 
 hound, and it is of little consequence by what 
 means it is obtained. I cannot concur altoge- 
 ther in that opinion ; for I think it very neces- 
 sary that the hound should at the same time 
 understand you. Obedience, under proper ma- 
 nagement, will be a necessary consequence of it. 
 Obedience, surely, is not all that is required of 
 them : they should be taught to distinguish of 
 themselves right from wrong, or I know not 
 how they are to be managed when, as it fre- 
 quently happens, we cannot see what they are 
 at, and must take their words for it. A hound 
 that hears a voice which has often rated him, 
 and that hears the whip he has often felt, I 
 know, will stop. I also know he will commit 
 the same fault again, if he has been accustomed 
 to be guilty of it. 
 
ENTERING AT HARE CENSURED. 101 
 
 Obedience, you very rightly observe, is a ne- 
 cessary quality in a hound, for he is useless 
 without it. It is therefore an excellent princi- 
 ple for a huntsman to set out upon ; yet, good 
 as it is, I think it may be carried too far. I 
 would not have him insist on too much, or tor- 
 ment his hounds mal-a-propos, by exacting of 
 them by force what is not absolutely necessary 
 to your diversion. You say, he intends to enter 
 your hounds at hare : is it to teach them obe- 
 dience? Does he mean to encourage vice in 
 them, to correct it afterwards? I have heard, 
 indeed, that the way to make hounds steady 
 from hare is to enter them at hare;* that is, to 
 encourage them to hunt her. It requires more 
 faith than I pretend to, to believe so strange a 
 paradox. 
 
 It concerns me to be obliged to differ from 
 you in opinion ; but since it cannot now be 
 helped, we will pursue the subject, and examine 
 it throughout. Permit me then to ask you, 
 what it is you propose from the entering of your 
 
 * In proper hands either method may do. The method 
 here proposed seems best suited to fox-hounds in general, 
 as well as to those who have the direction of them. The 
 talents of some men are superior to all rules ; nor is their 
 success any positive proof of the goodness of their method. 
 See page 81. 
 
102 
 
 METHOD OF RENDERING 
 
 hounds at hare? Two advantages, I shall pre- 
 sume, you expect from it : the teaching of your 
 hounds to hunt, and teaching them to be obe- 
 dient. However necessary you may think these 
 requisites in a hound, I cannot but flatter 
 myself they are to be acquired by less excep- 
 tionable means. The method I have already 
 mentioned to make hounds obedient, as it is 
 practised in my own kennel, that of calling 
 them over often in the kennel, to use them to 
 their names,* and walking them out often 
 amongsf sheep, hares, and deer, from which 
 they are stopped, to use them to a rate, in rny 
 opinion, would answer your purpose better. 
 The teaching your hounds to hunt is by no 
 means so necessary as you seem to imagine. 
 Nature will teach it them, nor need you give 
 yourself so much concern about it. Art only 
 will be necessary to prevent them from hunting 
 what they ought not to hunt; and do you 
 really think your method a proper one to ac- 
 complish it ? 
 
 The first and most essential thing towards 
 
 making hounds obedient, I suppose, is to make 
 
 them understand you ; nor do I apprehend you 
 
 will find any difficulty on their parts, but such 
 
 * See note, page 44. 
 
HOUNDS OBEDIENT. 103 
 
 as may be occasioned on yours.* The language 
 we use to them to convey our meaning should 
 never vary ; still less should we alter the very 
 meaning of the terms we use. Would it not be 
 absurd to encourage, when we mean to rate ? 
 and if we did, could we expect to be obeyed ? 
 You will not deny this, and yet you are guilty 
 of no less an inconsistency, when you encourage 
 your hounds to run a scent to-day, which you 
 know, at the same time, you must be obliged to 
 break them from to-morrow. Is it not running- 
 counter to justice and to reason ? 
 
 I confess there is some use in hunting young 
 hounds where you can easily command them ; 
 but even this you may pay too dearly for. En- 
 ter your hounds in small covers, or in such large 
 ones as have ridings cut in them : whippers-in 
 can then get at them, can always see what they 
 are at, and I have no doubt that you may have 
 a pack of fox-hounds steady to fox by this 
 means, without adopting so preposterous a 
 method as that of first making hare-hunters 
 of them. You will find that hounds, thus in- 
 
 * Were huntsmen to scream continually to their hounds, 
 using the same halloo whether they were drawing, casting, 
 or running, the hounds could not understand them, and 
 probably would show on every occasion as little attention 
 to them as they would deserve. 
 
104 CUSTOM OF ENTERING AT 
 
 structed what game they are to hunt, and what 
 they are not, will stop at a word, because they 
 will understand you ; and, after they have been 
 treated in this manner, a smack only of the whip 
 will spare you the inhumanity of cutting your 
 hounds in pieces (not very justly) for faults 
 which you yourself have encouraged them to 
 commit. 
 
 I think, in your last letter, you seem very 
 anxious to get your young hounds well blooded 
 to fox, at the same time that you talk of enter- 
 ing them at hare. How am I to reconcile such 
 contradictions? If the blood of fox is of so 
 much use, surely you cannot think the blood of 
 hare a matter of indifference, unless you should 
 be of opinion that a fox is better eating. Na- 
 ture, I suppose, never intended they should 
 hunt sheep ; yet we very well know, when once 
 they have killed sheep, that they have no dislike 
 to mutton afterwards. 
 
 You have conceived an idea, perhaps, that a 
 fox-hound is designed by nature to hunt a fox : 
 yet, surely, if that was your opinion, you would 
 never think of entering him at any other game. 
 I cannot, however, think nature designed the 
 dog, which we call a fox-hound, to hunt fox 
 only, since we know he will also hunt other ani- 
 
FOX AND HARE REPROBATED. 105 
 
 mals. That a well-bred fox-hound may give a 
 preference to vermin, cceteris paribus, I will not 
 dispute: I think it very possible he may; but 
 this I am certain of that every fox-hound will 
 leave a bad scent of fox for a good one of either 
 hare or deer, unless he has been made steady 
 from them ; and in this I shall not fear to be 
 contradicted. But as I do not wish to enter 
 into abstruse reasoning with you, or think it 
 anywise material to our present purpose whether 
 the dogs we call fox-hounds were originally de- 
 signed by nature to hunt fox or not, we will 
 drop the subject. I must at the same time beg 
 leave to observe, that dogs are not the only 
 animals in which an extraordinary diversity of 
 species has happened since the days of Adam. 
 Yet a great naturalist tells us, that man is 
 nearer, by eight degrees, to Adam, than is the 
 dog to the first dog of his race ; since the age of 
 man is four-score years, and that of a dog but 
 ten. It therefore follows, that if both should 
 equally degenerate, the alteration would be eight 
 times more remarkable in the dog than man. 
 
 The two most necessary questions which re- 
 sult from the foregoing premises, are whether 
 hounds entered at hare are perfectly steady af- 
 terwards to fox ; and whether steadiness is not 
 
 F3 
 
106 HUMANITY APPLAUDED. 
 
 attainable by more reasonable means. Having 
 never hunted with gentlemen who follow this 
 practice, I must leave the first question for 
 others to determine ; but having always had my 
 hounds steady, I can myself answer the second. 
 The objections I have now made to the treat- 
 ment of young hounds by some huntsmen, 
 though addressed, my friend, to you, are general 
 objections, and should not personally offend you. 
 I know no man more just, or more humane, than 
 you are. The disapprobation you so strongly 
 marked in your last letter, of the severity used 
 in some kennels, the noble animal we both of us 
 admire is much beholden to you for. Your in- 
 tention of being present yourself the first time a 
 hound is flogged, to see how your new whipper- 
 in behaves himself, is a proof of benevolence, 
 which the Italian author of the most humane 
 book 5 * could not fail to commend you for. 
 Huntsmen and whippers-in are seldom so 
 unlucky as to have your feelings ; yet custom," 
 which authorizes them to flog hounds unmerci- 
 fully, does not do away the barbarity of it. A 
 gentleman seeing a girl skinning eels alive, asked 
 her " if it was not very cruel?" " O, not at all, 
 sir," replied the girl ; " they be used to it? 
 * Dei delitti e delle pene. 
 
DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES. 107 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 You desire to know if there is any remedy for 
 the distemper among dogs. I shall therefore 
 mention all the disorders which my hounds have 
 experienced, and point out the remedies which 
 have been of service to them. The distemper 
 you inquire about is, I believe, the most fatal 
 (the plague only excepted) that any animal is 
 subject to. It has not been long known in this 
 country, but it is almost inconceivable what 
 numbers it has destroyed in so short a period ; 
 several hundreds I can myself place to this mor- 
 tifying account. It seems happily to be now 
 on the decline ; at least, it is less frequent, and 
 more mild ; and I think it is probable that in 
 time it may be entirely removed. The effects of 
 it are too generally known to need any descrip- 
 tion of them here : I wish the remedies were 
 known as well ! 
 
 A brother sportsman communicated to me a 
 remedy, which, he said, his hounds had found 
 great benefit from, viz. An ounce of Peruvian 
 
108 THE DISTEMPER. 
 
 bark, in a glass of Port wine, taken twice a 
 day. It is not infallible ; but in some stages of 
 this disorder is certainly of use. The hound 
 most infected that ever I knew to recover, was 
 a large stag-hound: he lay five days without 
 being able to get off the bench nor did he 
 receive any nourishment during the whole time 
 but the medicine, with which he drank three 
 bottles of Port wine. You may think, perhaps, 
 the feeder drank his share; it is probable he 
 might, if it had not been sent ready mixed up 
 with the bark. I once tried the poudre unique, 
 thinking it a proper medicine for a disorder 
 which is said to be putrid ; but 1 cannot say any 
 thing in its favour, with regard to dogs at least. 
 Norris's drops I have also given, and with success. 
 I gave a large spoonful of them in an equal 
 quantity of Port wine, three times a-day : as the 
 dog grew better, I lessened the quantity. When 
 dogs run much at the nose, nothing will con- 
 tribute more to the cure of them than keeping 
 that part clean: when that cannot conveniently 
 be done, emetics will be necessary ; the best I 
 know is a large spoonful of common salt, dis- 
 solved in three spoonfuls of warm water.* The 
 
 * The quantity of salt must be proportioned to the size of 
 the dog, and to the difficulty there may be to make him vomit. 
 
THE DISTEMPER. 109 
 
 first symptom of this disorder, generally, is a 
 cough. As soon as it is perceived amongst my 
 young hounds, great attention is paid to them. 
 They have plenty of clean straw, and are fed 
 oftener and better than at other times : as long 
 as they continue to eat the kennel meat, they are 
 kept together ; as soon as any of them refuse to 
 feed, they are removed into another kennel : the 
 door of the kennel is left open in the day, and 
 they are only shut up at night ; and, I think, 
 being out in the air, is of great service to them. 
 To such as are very bad, I give Norris's drops ; 
 to others, emetics ; whilst some only require to 
 be better fed than ordinary, and need no other 
 remedy.* They should be fed from the kitchen 
 when they refuse the kennel meat. Sometimes 
 they will lose the use of their hinder parts : 
 bleeding them, by cutting off the last joint of the 
 tail, may, perhaps, be of service to them. I 
 cannot speak of it with any certainty, yet I 
 have reason to think that I once saved a favou- 
 rite dog by this operation. In short, by one 
 method or another, I think they may sometimes 
 be recovered. 
 
 * Hounds that have the distemper upon them have but 
 little appetite. By feeding two or three together, they eat 
 more greedily . 
 
110 TUMOURS. 
 
 The likeliest preservative for those that are 
 well is the keeping of them warm at night, and 
 high fed. This disorder being probably infec- 
 tious, it is better to provide an hospital for such 
 as are seized with it, which should be in the 
 back part of the kennel. There is no doubt but 
 some kennels are healthier than others, and con- 
 sequently less liable to it. I apprehend mine 
 to be one of those ; for in a dozen years I do 
 not believe I have lost half that number of old 
 hounds, notwithstanding the great number of 
 whelps I lose at their walks. Neighbouring 
 kennels have not been equally fortunate : I have 
 observed in some of them a disorder unknown 
 in mine; I mean a swelling in the side, which 
 sometimes breaks, but soon after forms again, 
 and generally proves fatal at last. I think I 
 heard a friend of mine say, whose kennel is sub- 
 ject to this complaint, that he never knew but 
 one instance of a dog who recovered from it. I 
 have, however, since known another, in a dog 
 I had from him, which I cured by frequently 
 rubbing with a digestive ointment : the tumour 
 broke, and formed again several times, till at 
 last it went entirely away. The disorder we 
 have now been treating of has this, I think, in 
 common with the putrid sore throat, that it 
 
THE MANGE. Ill 
 
 usually attacks the weakest. Women are more 
 apt to catch the sore throat than men ; children 
 than women ; and young hounds more readily 
 catch this disorder than old. When it seizes 
 whelps at their walks, or young hounds, when 
 first taken from them, it is then most dangerous. 
 I also think that madness, their inflammatory 
 fever, is less frequent than it was before this 
 disorder was known. 
 
 There are few disorders which dogs are so 
 subject to as the mange. Air and exercise, 
 wholesome food, and cleanliness, are the best 
 preservatives against it. Your feeder should be 
 particularly attentive to it, and when he perceives 
 any spot upon them, let him rub it with the 
 following mixture : 
 
 A pint of train oil, 
 
 Half a pint of oil of turpentine, 
 
 A quarter of a pound of ginger, in powder, 
 
 Half an ounce of gunpowder, finely powdered, 
 
 Mixed up cold. 
 
 If the disorder should be bad enough to resist 
 that, three mild purging balls, one every other 
 day, should be given, and the dog laid up for a 
 little while afterwards. For the red mange, you 
 may use the following : 
 
 Four ounces of quicksilver, 
 
 Two ounces of Venice turpentine, 
 
 One pound of hog's lard. 
 
112 
 
 THE MANGE. 
 
 The quicksilver and turpentine are to be rubbed 
 together till the globules all disappear. When 
 you apply it, you must rub an ounce, once a-day, 
 upon the part affected, for three days succes- 
 sively. This is to be used when the hair comes 
 off, or any redness appears. 
 
 How wonderful is the fatigue which a fox- 
 hound undergoes ! Could you count the miles 
 he runs, the number would appear almost in- 
 credible. This he undergoes cheerfully, and, 
 perhaps, three times a-week, through a long sea- 
 son. His health, therefore, well deserves your 
 care ; nor should you suffer the least taint to 
 injure it. Huntsmen are frequently too negli- 
 gent in this point. I know one in particular, 
 a famous one too, whose kennel was never free 
 from the mange, and the smell of brimstone 
 was oftentimes stronger, I believe, in the noses of 
 his hounds than the scent of the fox. If you 
 choose to try a curious prescription for the cure 
 of the mange, in the Phil. Trans. No. 25, p. 
 451, you will find the following: 
 
 " Mr. Coxe procured an old mongrel cur, all 
 over mangy, of a middle size, and having some 
 hours before fed him plentifully with cheese- 
 parings and milk, he prepared his jugular vein; 
 then he made a strong ligature on his neck, 
 
WOUNDS AND CUTS. 113 
 
 that the venal blood might be emitted with the 
 greater impetus; after this, he took a young 
 land spaniel, about the same bigness, and pre- 
 pared his jugular vein likewise, -that the descen- 
 dant part might receive the mangy dog's blood, 
 and the ascendant discharge his own into a dish : 
 he transfused about fourteen or sixteen ounces 
 of the blood of the infected into the veins of the 
 sound dog ; by this experiment there appeared 
 no alteration in the sound one, but the mangy 
 dog was, in about ten days or a fortnight's time, 
 perfectly cured ; and possibly this is the quick- 
 est and surest remedy for that disease, either in 
 man or beast." 
 
 Hounds sometimes are bitten by vipers. Sweet 
 oil has been long esteemed as a certain antidote: 
 some should be applied to the part, and some 
 taken inwardly: though a friend of mine in- 
 forms me that the common cheese rennet, exter- 
 nally applied, is a more efficacious remedy than 
 oil, for the bite of a viper. They are liable 
 to wounds and cuts ; Friar's balsam is very 
 good, if applied immediately ; yet as it is 
 apt to shut up a bad wound too soon, the 
 following tincture, in such cases, may perhaps 
 be preferable ; at least, after the first dressing 
 or two : 
 
114 SWELLINGS. LAMENESS. 
 
 Of Barbadoes aloes, two ounces, 
 Of myrrh, pounded, three ounces, 
 Mixed up with a quart of brandy. 
 
 The bottle should be well corked, and put into 
 a bark bed, or dunghill, for about ten days or 
 a fortnight. The tongue of the dog, in most 
 cases, is his best surgeon ; where he can apply 
 that, he seldom needs any other remedy. A 
 green, or seton, in the neck, is of great relief 
 in most disorders of the eyes ; and I have fre- 
 quently known dogs, almost blind, recovered 
 by it. It is also of service when dogs are 
 shaken in the shoulders, and has made many 
 sound.* In the latter case there should be two, 
 one applied on each side, and as near the 
 shoulder as possible. The following ointment 
 may be used to disperse swellings : 
 
 Of fresh mutton suet, tried, two pounds, 
 
 Of gum elemi, one pound, 
 
 Of common turpentine, ten ounces. 
 
 The gum is to be melted with the suet, and, 
 when taken from the fire, the turpentine is to 
 
 * Turning a hound out of the kennel will sometimes cure 
 a lameness in the shoulders. An attentive huntsman will 
 perceive, from the manner of a hound's galloping, when 
 this lameness takes place ; and the hound should be turned 
 out immediately. Care should be taken, that a hound 
 turned out do not become fat. 
 
STRAINS. SORE FEET. 115 
 
 be mixed with it, straining the mixture whilst 
 it is hot. Dogs frequently are stubbed in the 
 foot. The tincture before mentioned, and this, 
 or any digestive ointment, will soon recover 
 them.* The following excellent remedy for a 
 strain, with which I have cured myself, and 
 many others, I have also found of benefit to 
 dogs, when strained in the leg or foot. 
 
 Dissolve two ounces of camphire in half a pint 
 of spirits of wine, and put to it a large bullock's 
 gall. The part affected must be rubbed before 
 the fire three or four times a-day. 
 
 Sore feet are cured with brine, or salt and 
 vinegar, a handful of salt to a pint of vinegar. 
 A plaster of black pitch is the best cure for a 
 thorn in either man, horse, or dog ; and I have 
 known it succeed after every thing else had 
 failed. If the part is much inflamed, a common 
 poultice bound over the plaster will assist in the 
 cure. Hounds frequently are lame in the knee, 
 sometimes from bruises, sometimes from the 
 stab of a thorn : digestive ointment rubbed in 
 upon the part will generally be of service.-)- 
 
 * An obstinate lameness is sometimes increased by hu- 
 mours : physic, in that case, may be necessary to remove it. 
 
 t If the knee continue foul, blisters, and long rest after- 
 wards, are the most likely means to recover it. 
 
116 
 
 WORMS. A FINE COAT. 
 
 If hounds are much troubled with worms, the 
 best cure I know is the following : 
 
 Of pewter pulverized, 1 drachm 7 grs. 
 Of ^Ethiop's mineral, 16 grs. 
 
 This is to be given three times, once every 
 other day, and the dog should be kept warm, 
 and from cold water. Whey, or pot liquor, 
 may be given him two or three hours after, and 
 should be continued, instead of meat, during 
 the time he is taking the medicine. The best 
 way of giving it is to mix it up with butter, and 
 then to make it into balls with a little flour. 
 
 When a dog is rough in his coat, and scratches 
 much, two or three purging balls, and a little 
 rest afterwards, seldom fail to get him into 
 order again. To make dogs fine in their coats, 
 you should use the following dressing : 
 
 One pound of native sulphur, 
 One quart of train oil, 
 One pint of oil of turpentine, 
 Haifa pound of soap. 
 
 My hounds are dressed with it two or three 
 times only in a year : in some kennels, I am told, 
 they dress them once in two months. The 
 more frequently it is done, the cleaner, I sup- 
 pose, your hounds will look. Should you choose 
 to dress your puppies, before they are put out 
 
ON MADNESS, 117 
 
 to their walks, the following receipt, which I 
 received from a friend of mine in Staffordshire 
 (the person already mentioned in this letter, an 
 excellent sportsman, to whom I have many ob- 
 ligations) will answer the purpose best, and on 
 their change of diet, from milk to meat, may be 
 sometimes necessary : 
 
 Three quarters of an ounce of quicksilver, 
 Haifa pint of spirits of turpentine, 
 Four ounces of hog's lard, 
 One pound of soft soap, 
 
 Three ounces of common turpentine, in which the 
 quicksilver must be killed. 
 
 Instinct directs dogs, when the stomach is out 
 of order, to be their own physician ; and it is to 
 them we owe our knowledge how to relieve it. 
 It may appear foreign to our present purpose, 
 yet as it is much (if true) to the honour of ani- 
 mals in general, I must beg leave to add, what 
 a French author tells us that also by the hip- 
 popotamus we are instructed how to bleed, and 
 by the crane how to give a clyster. 
 
 Madness, thou dreadful malady, what shall I 
 say to thee ! or what preservative shall I find 
 against thy envenomed fang ! Somervile, who 
 declines writing of lesser ills, is not silent on 
 the subject of this. 
 
118 TREATMENT AXD 
 
 " Of lesser ills the Muse declines to sing, 
 Nor stoops so low ; of these each groom can tell 
 The proper remedy." 
 
 I wish this worthy gentleman, to whom we have 
 already been so much obliged, had been less 
 sparing of his instructions ; since it is possible 
 grooms may not have all the knowledge he sup- 
 poses them to have, and their masters may stand 
 in need of it. No man, I believe, will complain 
 of being too well informed ; nor is any know- 
 ledge unnecessary which is likely to be put in 
 practice. The executive part is fully sufficient 
 to trust in a groom's hands. The advice Somer- 
 vile gives on the subject of madness is worth 
 your notice : 
 
 "When -Sinus reigns, and the sun's parching beams 
 
 Bake the dry gaping surface, visit thou 
 
 Each ev'n and morn, with quick observant eye, 
 
 Thy panting pack. If in dark sullen mood 
 
 The glouting hound refuse his wonted meal, 
 
 Retiring to some close, obscure retreat, 
 
 Gloomy, disconsolate ; with speed remove 
 
 The poor infectious wretch, and in strong chains 
 
 Bind him suspected. Thus that dire disease 
 
 Which art can't cure, wise caution may prevent." 
 
 Plenty of water, whey, greens, physic, air, and 
 exercise, such as I have before mentioned, have 
 hitherto preserved my kennel from its baneful 
 influence ; and I make no doubt you will also 
 
REMEDIES FOR MADNESS. 119 
 
 find their good effects. If, notwithstanding, you 
 should at any time have reason to suspect the 
 approach of this evil, let your hounds be well 
 observed at the time when they feed : there can 
 be no danger whilst they will eat. Should a 
 whole pack be in the same predicament, they 
 must be chained up separately : and I should 
 be very cautious what experiment I tried to 
 cure them ; for I have been told by those who 
 have had madness in their kennels, and who 
 have drenched their hounds to cure it, that it 
 was the occasion of its breaking out a long time 
 afterwards, and that it continued to do so as 
 long as they gave them any thing to put it off. 
 If a few dogs only have been bitten, you had 
 better hang them. If you suspect any, you had 
 better separate them from the rest ; and a short 
 time, if you use no remedy, will determine 
 whether they are really bitten or not. Should 
 you, however, be desirous of trying a remedv, 
 the following prescription, I am told, is a very 
 good one : 
 
 Of Turbith's mineral, eight grains, 
 Ditto, sixteen grains, 
 Ditto, thirty-two grains. 
 
 This is to be given for three mornings succes- 
 sively ; beginning the first day with eight grains, 
 
120 SIR G. COB'S MEDICINE. 
 
 and increasing it according to the above di- 
 rection. The dog should be empty when he 
 takes it, and should have been bled the day 
 before. The dose should be given early in the 
 morning, and the dog may have some thin 
 broth, or pot liquor, about two or three o'clock, 
 but nothing else during the time he takes the 
 medicine : he should also be kept from water. 
 The best way to give it is in butter, and made 
 up into balls, with a little flour. Care must be 
 taken that he does not throw it up again. Af- 
 ter the last day of the medicine, he may be fed 
 as usual. Various are the drenches and medi- 
 cines which are given for this disorder, and all 
 said to be infallible : this last, however, I pre- 
 fer. The whole pack belonging to a gentleman 
 in my neighbourhood was bitten ; and he assures 
 me, he never knew an instance of a dog who 
 went mad that had taken this medicine. The 
 caution I have recommended to you, I flatter 
 myself will preserve you from this dreadful 
 malady, for which I know not how to recom- 
 mend a remedy. Several years ago I had a 
 gamekeeper much bitten in the fleshy part of 
 his thigh : a horse, that was bitten at the same 
 time, died raving mad : the man was cured by 
 Sir George Cob's medicine. I have heard the 
 
THE ORMSKIRK MEDICINE. 121 
 
 Ormskirk medicine is also very good. I have 
 given it to several persons in my neighbourhood, 
 and, I believe, with success; at least, I have 
 not, as yet, heard any thing to the contrary. 
 Though I mention these as the two most favou- 
 rite remedies, I recommend neither. Somer- 
 vile^s advice, which I have already given, is 
 what I recommend to you : if properly attended 
 to, it will prevent the want of any remedy. 
 
 P. S. A Treatise on Canine Madness, written 
 by Dr. James, is well worth your reading. You 
 will find that he prescribes the same remedy for 
 the cure of madness in dogs as I have mentioned 
 here, but in different quantities. I have, how- 
 ever, taken the liberty of recommending the 
 quantities above mentioned, as they have been 
 known to succeed in my neighbourhood, and as 
 the efficacy of them has been very frequently 
 proved. 
 
122 OF THE HUNTSMAN. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 THE variety of questions which you are pleased 
 to ask concerning the huntsman will be better 
 answered, I think, when we are on the subject 
 of hunting. In the mean time, I will endeavour 
 to describe what a good huntsman should be. 
 He should be young, strong and active, bold 
 and enterprising ; fond of the diversion, and in- 
 defatigable in the pursuit of it : he should be 
 sensible and good tempered ; he ought also to 
 be sober : he should be exact, civil, and cleanly . 
 he should be a good horseman, and a good 
 groom : his voice should be strong and clear, 
 and he should have an eye so quick, as to 
 perceive which of his hounds carries the scent 
 when all are running; and should have so ex- 
 cellent an ear, as always to distinguish the fore- 
 most hounds when he does not see them. He 
 should be quiet, patient, and without conceit. 
 Such are the excellencies which constitute a 
 good huntsman: he should not, however, be 
 too fond of displaying them till necessity calls 
 
THE WHIPPER-IN. 123 
 
 them forth. He should let his hounds alone 
 whilst they can hunt, and he should have 
 genius to assist them when they cannot. 
 
 With regard to the whipper-in, as you keep 
 two of them (and no pack of fox-hounds is com- 
 plete without), the first may be considered as a 
 second huntsman, and should have nearly the 
 same good qualities. It is necessary besides, 
 that he should be attentive and obedient to 
 the huntsman ; and as his horse will probably 
 have most to do, the lighter he is the better ; 
 but if he is a good horseman, it will suffici- 
 ently overbalance such an objection. He must 
 not be conceited. I had one formerly, who, 
 instead of stopping hounds as he ought, would 
 try to kill a fox by himself. This fault is 
 unpardonable : he should always maintain to 
 the huntsman*^ halloo, and stop such hounds 
 as divide from it. When stopped, he should 
 get forward with them after the huntsman. 
 
 He must always be contented to act an under 
 part, except when circumstances may require 
 that he should act otherwise ;* and the moment 
 
 * When the huntsman cannot be up with the hounds, 
 the whipper-in should ; in which case, it is the business 
 of the huntsman to bring on the tail hounds along with 
 him. 
 
 G 2 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON 
 
 they cease, he must not fail to resume his former 
 station. You have heard me say, that where 
 there is much riot, I prefer an excellent whip- 
 per-in to an excellent huntsman. The opinion, 
 I believe, is new ; I must, therefore, endeavour 
 to explain it. My meaning is this : that I think 
 I should have better sport, and kill more foxes, 
 with a moderate huntsman and an excellent 
 whipper-in, than with the best of huntsmen 
 without such an assistant. You will say, per- 
 haps, that a good huntsman will make a good 
 whipper-in ; not such a one as I mean : his ta- 
 lent must be born with him. My reasons are, 
 that good hounds (and I would not keep bad 
 ones) stand oftener in need of the one than the 
 other ; and genius, which in a whipper-in, if 
 attended by obedience, his first requisite, can do 
 no hurt, in a huntsman is a dangerous, though 
 desirable, quality ; and if not accompanied with 
 a large share of prudence, and I may say humi- 
 lity, will often spoil your sport, and hurt your 
 hounds. A gentleman told me he heard the fa- 
 mous Will Dean, when his hounds were running 
 hard in a line with Daventry, from whence they 
 were at that time many miles distant, swear ex- 
 ceedingly at the whipper-in, saying, " What bu- 
 siness have you here ? " The man was amazed 
 
THEIR RELATIVE DUTIES. 125 
 
 at the question. " Why, don't you know," said 
 he, " and be d d to you, that the great earth 
 at Daventry is open ? n The man got forward, 
 and reached the earth just time enough to see 
 the fox go in. If, therefore, whippers-in are at 
 liberty to act as they shall think right, they are 
 much less confined than the huntsman himself, 
 who must follow his hounds ; and consequently 
 they have greater scope to exert their genius, if 
 they have any. 
 
 I had a dispute with an old sportsman of my 
 acquaintance, who contended that the whipper- 
 in should always attend the huntsman to obey 
 his orders, (a stable-boy, in that case, would 
 make as good a whipper-in as the best) : but 
 this is so far from being the case, that he should 
 be always on the opposite side of the cover from 
 him, or I am much mistaken in my opinion : if 
 within hearing of his halloo, he is near enough ; 
 for that is the hunting signal he is to obey. 
 The station of the second whipper-in may be 
 near the huntsman, for which reason any boy 
 that can halloo, and make a whip smack, may 
 answer the purpose. 
 
 Your first whipper-in being able to hunt the 
 hounds occasionally, will answer another good 
 purpose; it will keep your huntsman in order. 
 
126 FIELD-MONEY. 
 
 They are very apt to be impertinent when they 
 think you cannot do without them. 
 
 At going from the kennel, the place of the 
 first whipper-in is before the hounds; that of 
 the second whipper-in should be some distance 
 behind them ; if not, I fear they will not be 
 suffered even to empty themselves, let their 
 wants be ever so great ; for as soon as a boy is 
 made a whipper-in, he fancies he is to whip the 
 hounds whenever he can get at them, whether 
 they deserve it or not. 
 
 I have always thought a huntsman a happy 
 man : his office is pleasing, and at the same 
 time flattering : we pay him for that which 
 diverts him, and he is enriched by his greatest 
 pleasure ;* nor is a general, after a victory, 
 more proud than is a huntsman who returns 
 with his fox's head. 
 
 I have heard that a certain duke, who 
 allowed no vails to his servants, asked his 
 huntsman what he generally made of his 
 field-money, and gave him what he asked in- 
 stead of it. This went on very well for 
 some time, till at last the huntsman desired 
 an audience. "Your grace," said he, "is 
 very generous, and gives me more than ever 
 * The field-money which is collected at the death of a fox. 
 
ON SCENT. 127 
 
 I got from field-money in my life ; yet I 
 come to beg a favour of your grace that 
 you would let me take field-money again ; for 
 I have not half the pleasure now in killing a 
 fox that I had before." 
 
 As you ask my opinion of scent, I think I 
 had better give it you before we begin on the 
 subject of hunting. I must, at the same time, 
 take the liberty of telling you, that you have 
 puzzled me exceedingly ; for scent is, I believe, 
 what we sportsmen know least about ; and, to 
 use the words of a great classic writer, " Hoc 
 sum contentus, quod etiam si quo quidque fiat 
 ignorem, quid Jiat intelligo? Cic. de Div. 
 
 Somervile, who, as I have before observed, is 
 the only one I know of who has thrown any light 
 on the subject of hunting, says, I think, but lit- 
 tle about scent. I send you his words ; I shall 
 afterwards add a few of my own. 
 
 " Should some more curious sportsman here inquire 
 
 Whence this sagacity, this wondrous power 
 
 Of tracing step by step or man or brute ? 
 
 What guide invisible points out their way 
 
 O'er the dank marsh, bleak hill, and sandy plain ? 
 
 The courteous Muse shall the dark cause reveal. 
 
 The blood that from the heart incessant rolls 
 
 In many a crimson tide, then here and there 
 
 In smaller rills disparted, as it flows 
 
 Propell'd, the serous particles evade 
 
128 SCENT DEPENDS ON 
 
 Through th' open pores, and with the ambient air 
 Entangling mix. As fuming vapours rise, 
 And hang upon the gently purling brook, 
 There by th' incumbent atmosphere compress'd. 
 The panting chase grows warmer as he flies, 
 And through the net-work of the skin perspires, 
 Leaves a long, steaming, trail behind ; which by 
 The cooler air condens'd, remains, unless 
 By some rude storm dispers'd, or rarefied 
 By the meridian sun's intenser heat. 
 To every shrub the warm effluvia cling, 
 Hang on the grass, impregnate earth and skies. 
 With nostrils opening wide, o'er hill, o'er dale 
 The vig'rous hounds pursue, with ev'ry breath 
 Inhale the grateful steam, quick pleasures sting 
 Their tingling nerves, while they their thanks repay, 
 And in triumphant melody confess 
 The titillating joy. Thus, on the air 
 Depend the hunter's hopes." 
 
 I cannot agree with Mr. Somervile, in think- 
 ing scent depends on the air only. It depends 
 also on the soil. Without doubt, the best scent 
 is that which is occasioned by the effluvia, as he 
 calls it, or particles of scent, which are constantly 
 perspiring from the game as it runs, and are 
 strongest and most favourable to the hound 
 when kept, by the gravity of the air, to the 
 height of his breast ; for then it neither is 
 above his reach, nor is it necessary he should 
 stoop for it. At such times, scent is said to 
 lie breast-high. Experience tells us, that dif- 
 
THE AIR AND THE SOIL. 129 
 
 ference of soil occasions difference of scent; 
 and on the richness of soil and the moderate 
 moisture of it does scent also depend, I think, 
 as well as on the air. At the time leaves begin 
 to fall, and before they are rotted, we know 
 that the scent lies ill in cover. This alone 
 would be a sufficient proof that scent does 
 not depend on the air only. A difference of 
 scent is also occasioned by difference of mo- 
 tion : the faster the game goes, the less scent 
 it leaves. When game has been ridden after, 
 and hurried on by imprudent sportsmen, or 
 has been coursed by sheep-dogs, the scent is 
 less favourable to hounds ; one reason of which 
 may be, that the particles of scent are then more 
 dissipated. 
 
 I believe it is very difficult to ascertain what 
 scent exactly is : I have known it alter very 
 often in the same day. I believe, however, it 
 depends chiefly on two things, " the condition 
 the ground is in, and the temperature of the 
 air ,-" both of which, I apprehend, should be 
 moist, without being wet. When both are in 
 this condition, the scent is then perfect ; and 
 vice versa, when the ground is hard, and the 
 air dry, there seldom will be any scent. It 
 scarce ever lies with a nortjfr or an east wind : 
 G 3 
 
130 OF GOOD AND 
 
 a southerly wind without rain, and a westerly 
 wind that is not too rough, are the most favour- 
 able. Storms in the air are great enemies to 
 scent, and seldom fail to take it entirely away. 
 A fine sunshiny day is not often a good hunting 
 day ; but what the French call jour des dames, 
 warm without sun, is generally a perfect one : 
 there are not many such in a whole season. In 
 some fogs, I have known the scent lie high ; in 
 others, not at all ; depending, I believe, on the 
 quarter the wind is then in. I have known it 
 lie very high in a mist, when not too wet ; but 
 if the wet hangs much on the boughs and bushes, 
 it falls on the scent, and deadens it. When the 
 dogs roll, the scent, I have frequently observed, 
 seldom lies, for what reason I know not ; but, 
 with permission, if they smell strong when they 
 first come out of the kennel, the proverb is in 
 their favour ; and that smell is a prognostic 
 of good luck. When the cobwebs hang to the 
 bushes, there is seldom much scent. During a 
 white frost the scent lies high ; as it also does 
 when the frost is quite gone: there is a time, 
 just as it is going off, when it never lies : it 
 is a critical minute for hounds, in which their 
 game is frequently lost. In a great dew the 
 scent is the same.^ In heathy countries, where 
 
BAD SCENTED DAYS. 131 
 
 the game brushes as it goes along, scent seldom 
 fails. Where the ground carries, the scent is bad, 
 for a very evident reason, which hare-hunters? 
 who pursue their game over greasy fallows and 
 through dirty roads, have great cause to com- 
 plain of. A wet night frequently produces 
 good chases, as then the game never like to 
 run the cover or the roads. It has been often 
 remarked, that scent lies best in the richest 
 soils ; and countries which are favourable to 
 horses are seldom so to hounds. I have also 
 observed, that in some particular places scent 
 never lies. 
 
 Never take out your hounds on a very windy 
 or bad day. 
 
 " These inauspicious days, on other cares 
 Employ thy precious hours ; th' improving friend 
 With open arms embrace, and from his lips 
 Glean science, season'd with good-natur'd wit ; 
 But if th' inclement skies, and angry Jove, 
 Forbid the pleasing intercourse, thy books 
 Invite thy ready hand ; each sacred page 
 Rich with the wise remarks of heroes old." 
 
 The sentiments of Mr. Somervile always do 
 him honour, but on no occasion more than on 
 this. 
 
 In reading over my letter, I find I have 
 used the word smell, in a sense that, per- 
 
132 A NICE DISTINCTION. 
 
 haps, you will criticise. A gentleman, who, 
 I suppose, was not the sweetest in the world, 
 sitting in the front boxes at the playhouse, on 
 a crowded night, his neighbour very familiarly 
 told him he smelt strong. "No, sir," replied 
 he, with infinite good humour ; " it is you that 
 smell I stink" 
 
OF HARE-HUNTING. 133 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 I THOUGHT I had been writing all this time 
 to a fox-hunter ; and hitherto my letters have 
 had no other object. I now receive a letter 
 from you, full of questions about hare-hunting ; 
 to all of which you expect an answer. I must 
 tell you, at the same time, that though I kept 
 harriers many years, it was not my intention, if 
 you had not asked it, to have written on the 
 subject. By inclination I was never a hare- 
 hunter ; I followed this diversion more for air 
 and exercise than for amusement ; and if I could 
 have persuaded myself to ride on the turnpike- 
 road to the three-mile stone, and back again, I 
 should have thought I had no need of a pack of 
 harriers. Excuse me, brother hare-hunters ! I 
 mean not to offend ; I speak only of the country 
 where I live. The hare-hunting there is so bad, 
 that, did you know it, your wonder would be 
 how I could have persevered in it so long, not 
 that I should forsake it now. I respect hunting, 
 in whatever shape it appears : it is a manly 
 
134 THE KIND OF HOUND. 
 
 and a wholesome exercise, and seems by nature 
 designed to be the amusement of a Briton. 
 
 You ask, how many hounds a pack of harriers 
 should consist of? and what kind of hound is 
 best suited to that diversion ? You should 
 never, I think, exceed twenty couple in the 
 field ; it might be difficult to get a greater 
 number to run well together, and a pack of 
 harriers cannot be complete if they do not:* 
 besides, the fewer hounds you have, the less 
 you foil the ground, which you otherwise would 
 find a great hinderance to your hunting. Your 
 other question is not easily answered : the hounds, 
 I think, most likely to show you sport, are be- 
 tween the large slow-hunting harrier and the 
 little fox beagle : one is too dull, too heavy, 
 and too slow ; the other, too lively, too light, 
 and too fleet. The first, it is true, have most 
 excellent noses, and I make no doubt will kill 
 their game at last, if the day be long enough ; 
 but you know the days are short in winter, and 
 it is bad hunting in the dark. The others, on 
 the contrary, fling and dash, and are all alive ; 
 
 * A hound that runs too fast for the rest ought not to be 
 kept. Some huntsmen load them with heavy collars ; some 
 tie a long strap round their necks ; a better way would be, 
 to part with them. Whether they go too slow, or too fast, 
 they ought equally to be drafted. 
 
THE HUNTSMAN. 135 
 
 but every cold blast affects them ; and if your 
 country is deep and wet, it is not impossible but 
 some of them may be drowned. My hounds 
 were a cross of both these kinds, in which it 
 was my endeavour to get as much bone arid 
 strength in as small a compass as possible. It 
 was a difficult undertaking. I bred many years, 
 and an infinity of hounds, before I could get 
 what I wanted : I, at last, had the pleasure to 
 see them very handsome ; small, yet very bony : 
 they ran remarkably well together; ran fast 
 enough ; had all the alacrity you could desire ; 
 and would hunt the coldest scent. When they 
 were thus perfect, I did as many others do I 
 parted with them. 
 
 It may be necessary to unsay, now I am 
 turned hare-hunter again, many things I have 
 been saying as a fox-hunter ; as I hardly know 
 any two things of the same genus (if I may be 
 allowed the expression) that differ so entirely. 
 What I said in a former letter, about the hunts- 
 man and whipper-in, are among the number: 
 as to the huntsman, I think, he should not be 
 young: I should most certainly prefer one, as 
 the French call it, (Tun certain age, as he is to 
 be quiet and patient ; for patience, he should be 
 a very Grizzle ; and the more quiet he is, the 
 
136 THE WHIPPER-IN. 
 
 better. He should have infinite perseverance ; 
 for a hare should never be given up whilst it is 
 possible to hunt her : she is sure to stop, and 
 therefore may always be recovered. Were it 
 usual to attend to the breed of our huntsmen, 
 aa well as to that of our hounds, I know no 
 family that would furnish a better cross than 
 that of the silent gentleman the Spectator men- 
 tions : a female of his line, crossed with a know- 
 ing huntsman, would probably produce a perfect 
 hare-hunter. 
 
 The whipper-in also has little to do with the 
 one I before described : yet he may be like the 
 second whipper-in to a pack of fox-hounds ; the 
 stable-boy who is to follow the huntsman ; but 
 I would have him still more confined, for he 
 should not dare even to stop a hound, or smack 
 a whip, without the huntsman's order. Much 
 noise and rattle is directly contrary to the first 
 principles of hare-hunting, which is to be per- 
 fectly quiet, and to let your hounds alone. I 
 have seen few hounds so good as town packs, 
 that have no professed huntsman to follow them. 
 If they have no one to help them, they have at 
 the same time no one to spoil them ; which, I 
 believe, for this kind of hunting, is still more 
 material. I should, however, mention a fault 
 
METHOD OF HUNTING. 13J 
 
 I have observed, and which such hounds must 
 of necessity sometimes be guilty of, that is, run- 
 ning back the heel. Hounds are naturally fond 
 of scent ; if they cannot carry it forward, they 
 will turn, and hunt it back again : hounds that 
 are left to themselves make a fault of this, and 
 it is, I think, the only one they commonly have. 
 Though it is certainly best to let your hounds 
 alone, and thereby to give as much scope to 
 their natural instinct as you can, yet in this 
 particular instance you should check it mildly ; 
 for as it is almost an invariable rule in all hunt- 
 ing to make the head good, you should encourage 
 them to try forward first ; which may be done 
 without taking them off their noses, or without 
 the least prejudice to their hunting. If trying 
 forward should not succeed, they may then be 
 suffered to try back again, which you will find 
 them all ready enough to do ; for they are sen- 
 sible how far they brought the scent, and where 
 they left it. The love of scent is natural to 
 them, and they have infinitely more sagacity in 
 it than we ought to pretend to. I have no doubt 
 but they often think us very obstinate, and very 
 foolish. 
 
 Harriers, to be good, like all other hounds, 
 must be kept to their own game. If you run 
 
138 SPEED OF THE HARRIER. 
 
 fox with them, you spoil them. Hounds can- 
 not be perfect unless used to one scent, and one 
 style of hunting. Harriers run fox in so differ- 
 ent a style from hare, that it is of great disser- 
 vice to them when they return to hare again. 
 It makes them wild, and teaches them to skirt. 
 The high scent which a fox leaves, the straight- 
 ness of his running, the eagerness of the pursuit, 
 and the noise that generally accompanies it, all 
 contribute to spoil a harrier. 
 
 I hope you agree with me, that it is a fault 
 in a pack of harriers to go too fast ; for a hare 
 is a little timorous animal, that we cannot help 
 feeling some compassion for, at the very time 
 when we are pursuing her destruction : we 
 should give scope to all her little tricks, nor 
 kill her foully, and overmatched.* Instinct in- 
 structs her to make a good defence, when not 
 unfairly treated; and I will venture to say, 
 
 * The critic terms this, "a mode of destruction some- 
 what beyond brutal," (vide Monthly Review). I shall 
 not pretend to justify that conventional cruelty, which 
 seems so universally to prevail ; neither will I ask the gen- 
 tleman, who is so severe on me, why he feeds the lamb, 
 and afterwards cuts his throat ; I mean only to consider 
 cruelty under the narrow limits which concern hunting. 
 If it may be defined to be a pleasure which results from 
 giving pain ; then, certainly, a sportsman is much less cruel 
 than he is thought. 
 
OF HARE-FINDEIiS. 139 
 
 that, as far as her own safety is concerned, she 
 has more cunning than the fox, and makes many 
 shifts to save her life, far beyond all his artifice. 
 Without doubt, you have often heard of hares 
 who, from the miraculous escapes they have 
 made, have been thought witches ; but, I be- 
 lieve, you never heard of a fox that had cun- 
 ning enough to be thought a wizard. 
 
 They who like to rise early, have amusement 
 in seeing the hare trailed to her form; it is of 
 great service to hounds ; it also shows their 
 goodness to the huntsman more than any other 
 hunting, as it discovers to him those who have 
 the most tender noses. But, I confess, I sel- 
 dom thought it worth while to leave my bed a 
 moment sooner on that account. I always 
 thought hare-hunting should be taken as a ride 
 after breakfast, to get us an appetite to our 
 dinner. If you make a serious business of it, I 
 think you spoil it. Hare-finders, in this case, 
 are necessary : it is agreeable to know where to 
 go immediately for your diversion, and not beat 
 about for hours perhaps before you find. It is 
 more material, I think, with regard to the se- 
 cond hare than the first : for if you are warmed 
 with your gallop, the waiting long in the cold 
 afterwards is, I believe, as unwholesome as it is 
 
140 OF HARE-FINDERS. 
 
 disagreeable. Whoever does not mind this, had 
 better let his hounds find their own game ; they 
 will certainly hunt it with more spirit after- 
 wards, and he will have a pleasure himself in 
 expectation, which no certainty can ever give. 
 Hare-finders make hounds idle; they also make 
 them wild. Mine knew the men as well as I 
 did myself; could see them almost as far; and 
 would run full cry to meet them. Hare-finders 
 are of one great use : they hinder your hounds 
 from chopping hares, which they otherwise 
 could not fail to do. I had in my pack one 
 hound in particular that was famous for it ; he 
 would challenge on a trail very late at noon, 
 and had as good a knack at chopping a hare 
 afterwards ; he was one that liked to go the 
 shortest way to work, nor did he choose to take 
 more trouble than was necessary. Is it not 
 wonderful that the trail of a hare should lie 
 after so many hours, when the scent of her dies 
 away so soon ? 
 
 Hares are said (I know not with what truth) 
 to foresee a change of weather, and to seat 
 themselves accordingly. This is however cer- 
 tain, that they are seldom found in places much 
 exposed to the wind. In inclosures, I think, 
 they more frequently are found near to a hedge 
 
OF HARE-FINDERS. 141 
 
 than in the middle of a field. They who make 
 a profession of hare-finding (and a very advan- 
 tageous one it is in some countries) are directed 
 by the wind where to look for their game. 
 With good eyes and nice observation, they are 
 enabled to find them in any weather. You may 
 make forms, and hares will sit in them. I have 
 heard it is a common practice with shepherds on 
 the Wiltshire downs ; and by making them on 
 the side of hills, they can tell at a distance off* 
 whether there are hares in them or not. With- 
 out doubt, people frequently do not find hares 
 from not knowing them in their forms. A 
 gentleman, coursing with his friends, was shown 
 a hare that was found sitting. " Is that a 
 hare ?"" be cried : " then, by Jove, I found two 
 this morning as we rode along" 
 
 Though the talent of hare-finding is certainly 
 of use, and the money collected for it, when 
 given to shepherds, is money well bestowed by 
 a sportsman, as it tends to the preservation of 
 his game; yet, I think, when it is indiscrimi- 
 nately given, hare-finders often are too well 
 paid. I have known them frequently get more 
 than a guinea for a single hare. I myself have 
 paid five shillings in a morning for hares found 
 sitting. To make our companions pay dearly 
 
142 MANNER OF HUNTING. 
 
 for their diversion, and oftentimes so much more 
 than it is worth; to take from the pockets of 
 men, who oftentimes can ill afford it, as much as 
 would pay for a good dinner afterwards, is, in 
 my opinion, a very ungenerous custom ; and 
 this consideration induced me to collect but 
 once, with my own hounds, for the hare-finders. 
 The money was afterwards divided amongst 
 them, and if they had less than half a crown 
 each, I myself supplied the deficiency. An old 
 miser, who had paid his shilling, complained 
 bitterly of it afterwards, and said, "he had been 
 made to pay a shilling for two-penny-worth 
 of sport? 
 
 When the game is found, you cannot be too 
 quiet : the hare is an animal so very timorous, 
 that she is frequently headed back, and your 
 dogs are liable to over-run the scent at every 
 instant : it is best, therefore, to keep a consider- 
 able way behind them, that they may have room 
 to turn as soon as they perceive they have lost 
 the scent ; and if treated in this manner, they 
 will seldom over-run it much. Your hounds, 
 through the whole chase, should be left almost 
 entirely to themselves, nor should they be 
 hallooed too much : when the hare doubles, 
 they should hunt through those doubles ; nor 
 
A PARTICULAR MODE. 143 
 
 is a hare hunted fairly when hunted otherwise. 
 They should follow her every step she takes, as 
 well over greasy fallows as through large flocks 
 of sheep ; nor should they ever be cast but 
 when nothing can be done without it. I know 
 a gentleman, a pleasant sportsman, but a very 
 irregular hare-hunter, who does not exactly fol- 
 low the method here laid down. As his method 
 is very extraordinary, I will relate it to you. 
 His hounds are large and fleet ; they have at 
 times hunted every thing, red deer, fallow 
 deer, fox, and hare; and must in their nature 
 have been most excellent, since, notwithstanding 
 the variety of their game, they are still good. 
 When a hare is found sitting, he seldom fails to 
 give his hounds a view ; and as they all halloo, 
 and make what noise they can, she is half fright- 
 ened to death immediately. This done, he then 
 sends his whipper-in to ride after her, with par- 
 ticular directions not to let her get out of his 
 sight; and he has found out that this is the 
 only proper use of a whipper-in. If they come 
 to a piece of fallow, or a flock of sheep, the 
 hounds are not suffered to hunt any longer, but 
 are capped and hallooed as near to the hare as 
 possible: by this time the poor devil is near 
 her end, which the next view generally finishes ; 
 
144 HOW TO DRESS A HARE. 
 
 the strongest hare, in this manner, seldom 
 standing twenty minutes : but my friend says, 
 a hare is good eating, and he therefore thinks 
 he cannot kill too many of them. By what 
 Martial says, I suppose he was of the same 
 opinion : 
 
 " Inter quadrupedes gloria prima lepus." 
 
 A-propos to the eating of them. I must tell 
 you, that in the Encyclopedic, a book of uni- 
 versal knowledge, where, of course, I expected 
 to find something on hunting which might be 
 of service to you, as a sportsman, to know, I 
 found the following advice about the dressing 
 of a hare, which may be of use to your cook ; 
 and the regard I have for your health will not 
 suffer me to conceal it from you. " On mange 
 le levraut roti dans quelques provinces du 
 royaume, en Gascogne et en Languedoc par 
 exemple, avec une sauce composee de vinaigre 
 et de sucre, qui est mauvaise, mal-saine en soi 
 essentiellement) mais qui est surtout abomina- 
 ble pour tons ceuoc qui n'y sont pas accou- 
 tumes" You, without doubt, therefore, will 
 think yourself obliged to the authors of the 
 Encyclopedic for their kind and friendly in- 
 formation. 
 
A CURIOUS OPINION. 145 
 
 Having heard of a small pack of beagles to 
 be disposed of in Derbyshire, I sent my coach- 
 man, the person whom I could at that time best 
 spare, to fetch them. It was a long journey, 
 and not having been used to hounds, he had 
 some trouble in getting them along ; also, as 
 ill luck would have it, they had not been out 
 of the kennel for many weeks before, and were 
 so riotous, that they ran after every thing they 
 saw ; sheep, cur-dogs, and birds of all sorts, as 
 well as hares and deer, I found had been his 
 amusement all the way along : however, he lost 
 but one of the hounds by the way; and when I 
 asked him what he thought of them, he said 
 " they could not fail of being good hounds, for 
 they would hunt any thing.' 1 '' 
 
 In your answer to my last letter, you ask, of 
 what service it can be to a huntsman to be a 
 good groom, and whether I think he will hunt 
 hounds the better for it? I wonder you did 
 not rather ask why he should be cleanly? I 
 should be more at a loss how to answer you. 
 My huntsman has always the care of his own 
 horses ; I never yet knew one who did not think 
 himself capable of it : it is for that reason I wish 
 him to be a good groom. 
 H 
 
146 DISCRETION INDISPENSABLE. 
 
 You say, you cannot see how a huntsman of 
 genius can spoil your sport, or hurt your 
 hounds. I will tell you how. By too much 
 foul play he frequently will catch a fox before 
 he is half tired ; and, by lifting his hounds too 
 much, he will teach them to shuffle. An im- 
 proper use of the one may spoil your sport : 
 too frequent use of the other must hurt your 
 hounds. 
 
HARE-HUNTING RESUMED. 147 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 I HAVE already observed that a trail in the 
 morning is of great service to hounds, and that 
 to be perfect they should always find their own 
 game ; for the method of hare-finding, though 
 more convenient, will occasion some vices in 
 them, which it will be impossible to correct. 
 
 Mr. Somervile^s authority strengthens my ob- 
 servation, that when a hare is found, all should 
 be quiet; nor should you ride near your hounds, 
 till they are well settled to the scent. 
 
 " Let all be hush'd, 
 
 No clamour loud, no frantic joy be heard ; 
 Lest the wild hound run gadding o'er the plain 
 Untractable, nor hear thy chiding voice." 
 
 The natural eagerness of the hounds will, at 
 such a time as this, frequently carry even the 
 best of them wide of the scent, which too much 
 encouragement, or pressing too close upon them, 
 may continue beyond all possibility of recovery : 
 this should be always guarded against. After a 
 little while, you have less to fear. You may 
 
148 THE SHIFTS AND DOUBLES 
 
 then approach them nearer, and encourage them 
 more ; leaving, however, at all times sufficient 
 room for them to turn, should they over-run the 
 scent. On high roads and dry paths, be always 
 doubtful of the scent, nor give them much en- 
 couragement ; but when a hit is made on either 
 side, you may halloo as much as you please, nor 
 can you then encourage your hounds too much. 
 A hare generally describes a circle as she runs ; 
 larger or less, according to her strength and the 
 openness of the country. In inclosures, and 
 where there is much cover, the circle is for the 
 most part so small, that it is a constant puzzle 
 to the hounds. They have a Gordian knot, in 
 that case, ever to unloose ; and though it may 
 afford matter of speculation to the philosopher, 
 it is always contrary to the wishes of the sports, 
 man. Such was the country I hunted in for 
 many years. 
 
 " Huntsman ! her gait observe : if in wide rings 
 She wheel her mazy way, in the same round 
 Persisting still, she'll foil the beaten track ; 
 But if she fly, and with the fav'ring wind 
 Urge her bold course, less intricate thy task : 
 Push on thy pack." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 Besides running the foil, they frequently make 
 doubles, which is going forward to tread the same 
 
OF THE HARE DESCRIBED. 149 
 
 steps back again, on purpose to confuse their 
 pursuers ; and the same manner in which they 
 make the first double they generally continue, 
 whether long or short. This information, there- 
 fore, if properly attended to by the huntsman, 
 may also be of use to him in his casts. 
 
 When they make their double on a high road, 
 or dry path, and then leave it with a spring, it 
 is often the occasion of a long fault : the spring 
 which a hare makes on these occasions is hardly 
 to be credited, any more than is her ingenuity 
 in making it ; both are wonderful ! 
 
 " Let cavillers deny 
 
 That brutes have reason ; sure 'tis something more : 
 'Tis Heav'n directs, and stratagems inspires 
 Beyond the short extent of human thought." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 She frequently, after running a path a consider- 
 able way, will make a double, and then stop till 
 the hounds have past her ; she will then steal 
 away as secretly as she can, and return the 
 same way she came. This is the greatest of all 
 trials for hounds. It is so hot a foil, that in the 
 best packs there are not many hounds that can 
 hunt it; you must follow those hounds that can, 
 and try to hit her off where she breaks her foil, 
 which in all probability she will soon do, as she 
 now flatters herself she is secure. When the 
 
150 TALKING IN THE 
 
 scent lies bad in cover, she will sometimes hunt 
 the hounds. 
 
 " The covert's utmost bound 
 Slily she skirts ; behind them cautious creeps, 
 And in that very track so lately stain'd 
 By all the steaming crowd, seems to pursue 
 The foe she flies." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 When the hounds are at a check, make your 
 huntsman stand still, nor suffer him to move his 
 horse one way or the other : hounds lean natu- 
 rally towards the scent, and if he does not say 
 a word to them, will soon recover it. If you 
 speak to a hound at such a time, calling him by 
 his name, which is too much the practice, he 
 seldom fails to look up in your face, as much as 
 to say, what the deuce do you want? When 
 he stoops to the scent again, is it not probable 
 he means to say, you fool, you, let me alone ! 
 
 When your hounds are at fault, let not a 
 word be said : let such as follow them ignorantly 
 and unworthily stand all aloof, Procul, O pro- 
 cul este profani I for whilst such are chattering, 
 not a hound will hunt. "A-propos, sir," a poli- 
 tician will say ; " what news from America ? 
 A-propos, Do you think both the admirals will 
 be tried ?" Or, " A-propos, Did you hear what 
 has happened to my grandmother?" Such 
 
FIELD REPROBATED. 151 
 
 questions are, at such a time, extremely trou. 
 blesome, and very mal-d-propos. Amongst the 
 antients it was reckoned an ill omen to speak in 
 hunting. I wish it were thought so now. Hoc 
 age should be one of the first maxims in hunting, 
 as in life : and I can assure you, when I am in 
 the field, I never wish to hear any other tongue 
 than that of a hound. A neighbour of mine 
 was so truly a hare-hunter in this particular, 
 that he would not suffer any body to speak a 
 word when his hounds were at fault. A gentle- 
 man happened to cough ; he rode up to him 
 immediately, and said, " / wish, sir, with all 
 my heart, your cough was better" 
 
 In a good day, good hounds seldom give up 
 the scent at head ; if they do, there is generally 
 an obvious reason for it : this observation a 
 huntsman should always make : it will direct his 
 cast. If he is a good one, he will be attentive 
 as he goes, not only to his hounds, nicely ob- 
 serving which have the lead, and the degree 
 of scent they carry, but also to the various cir- 
 cumstances that are continually happening from 
 change of weather, and difference of ground. 
 He will also be mindful of the distance which 
 the hare keeps before the hounds, and of her 
 former doubles ; and he will remark what point 
 
152 CONDUCT WHEN AT FAULT. 
 
 she makes to. All these observations will be 
 of use, should a long fault make his assistance 
 necessary ; and if the hare has headed back, he 
 will carefully observe whether she met any thing 
 in her course to turn her, or turned of her own 
 accord. When he casts his hounds, let him 
 begin by making a small circle ; if that will not 
 do, then let him try a larger : he afterwards may 
 be at liberty to persevere in any cast he may 
 judge most likely. As a hare generally revisits 
 her old haunts, and returns to the place where 
 she was found, if the scent is quite gone, and the 
 hounds can no longer hunt, that is as likely a 
 cast as any to recover her. Let him remember 
 this in all his casts, that the hounds are not to 
 follow his horse's heels ; nor are they to carry 
 their heads high, and noses in the air. At these 
 times they must try for the scent, or they will 
 never find it ; and he is either to make his cast 
 slow or quick, as he perceives his hounds try, 
 and as the scent is either good or bad. 
 
 Give particular directions to your huntsman to 
 prevent his hounds, as much as he can, from 
 chopping hares. Huntsmen like to get blood at 
 any rate; and when hounds are used to it, it 
 would surprise you to see how attentive the} are 
 to find opportunities. A hare must be very 
 
HARES RUN BEST IN A FOG. 153 
 
 wild, or very nimble, to escape them. I remem- 
 ber, in a furzy country, that my hounds chop- 
 ped three hares in one morning ; for it is the 
 nature of those animals either to leap up before 
 the hounds come near them, and steal away, as 
 it is called; or else to lie close, till. they put 
 their very noses upon them. Hedges, also, are 
 very dangerous : if the huntsman beats the 
 hedge himself, which is the usual practice, the 
 hounds are always upon the watch, and a hare 
 must have good luck to escape them all. The 
 best way to prevent it, is to have the hedge well 
 beaten at some distance before the hounds. 
 
 Hares seldom run so well as when they do not 
 know where they are. They run well in a fog, 
 and generally take a good country. If they set 
 off down the wind, they seldom return ; you 
 then cannot push on your hounds too much. 
 When the game is sinking, you will perceive 
 your old hounds get forward ; they then will 
 run at head. 
 
 " Happy the man who with unrivall'd speed 
 
 Can pass his fellows, and with pleasure view 
 
 The struggling pack ; how in the rapid course 
 
 Alternate they preside, and jostling push 
 
 To guide the dubious scent ; how giddy youth 
 
 Oft babbling errs, by wiser age reprov'd ; 
 
 How, niggard of his strength, the wise old hound 
 
 H3 
 
154 HARMONY OF THE PACK. 
 
 Hangs in the rear, till some important point 
 Rouse all his diligence, or till the chase 
 Sinking he finds : then to the head he springs, 
 With thirst of glory fir'd, and wins the prize." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 Keep no babblers ; for though the rest of the 
 pack soon find them out, and do not mind them, 
 yet it is unpleasant to hear their noise ; nor are 
 such fit companions for the rest. 
 
 Though the Spectator makes us laugh at the 
 oddity of his friend, Sir Roger, for returning a 
 hound, which he said was an excellent bass, be- 
 cause he wanted a counter-tenor ; yet I am of 
 opinion, that if we attended more to the variety 
 of the notes frequently to be met with in the 
 tongues of hounds, it might greatly add to the 
 harmony of the pack. I do not know that a 
 complete concert could be obtained, but it 
 would be easy to prevent discordant sounds. 
 
 Keep no hound that runs false : the loss of 
 one hare is more than such a dog is worth. 
 
 I think it is but reasonable to give your 
 hounds a hare sometimes ; I always gave mine 
 the last they killed, if I thought they deserved 
 her. 
 
 It is too much the custom, first to ride over a 
 dog, and then cry ''ware horse ! Take care not 
 to ride over your hounds : I have known many 
 
A HINT TO SPORTSMEN. 155 
 
 a good dog spoiled by it. In open ground speak 
 to them first; you may afterwards ride over 
 them, if you please ; but in roads and paths 
 they frequently cannot get out of your way : it 
 surely then is your business either to stop your 
 horse, or break the way for them ; and the not 
 doing it, give me leave to say, is absurd and 
 cruel ; nor can that man be called a good sports- 
 man who thus wantonly destroys his own sport. 
 Indeed, good sportsmen seldom ride on the line 
 of the tail hounds. 
 
 You ask how my warren hares are caught ? 
 It shall be the subject of my next letter. 
 
156 OF A HARE- WARREN. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 You wish to know how my warren-hares are 
 caught ? They are caught in traps, not unlike 
 the common rat-traps. I leave mine always at 
 the muses, but they are set only when hares are 
 wanted : the hares, by thus constantly going 
 through them, have no mistrust, and are easily 
 caught. These traps should be made of old 
 wood, and even then it will be some time before 
 they will venture through them. Other muses 
 must be also left open, lest a distaste should 
 make them forsake the place. To my warren I 
 have about twenty of these traps ; though as the 
 stock of hares is great, I seldom have occasion 
 to set more than five or six, and scarcely ever 
 fail of catching as many hares. The warren is 
 paled in, but I found it necessary to make the 
 muses of brick; that is, where the traps are 
 placed. Should you at any time wish to make 
 a hare-warren, it will be necessary for you to see 
 one first, and examine the traps, boxes, and 
 stoppers, to all which there are particularities 
 
HARES HOW CAUGHT. l5^ 
 
 not easy to be described. Should you find the 
 hares, towards the end of the season, shy of the 
 traps, from having been often caught, it will be 
 necessary to drive them in with spaniels. Should 
 this be the case, you will find them very thick 
 round the warren ; for the warren-hares will be 
 unwilling to leave it, and, when disturbed by 
 dogs, will immediately go in. 
 
 If you turn them out before greyhounds, you 
 cannot give them too much law ; if before hounds, 
 you cannot give them too little; for reasons 
 which I will give you presently. Though hares, 
 as I told you before, never run so well before 
 hounds as when they do not know where they 
 are, yet before greyhounds it is the reverse ; 
 and your trap-hares? to run well, should always 
 be turned out within their knowledge : they are 
 naturally timid, and are easily disheartened when 
 they have no point to make to for safety. 
 
 If you turn out any before your hounds, 
 (which, if it is not your wish, I shall by no 
 means recommend,) do not give them much time, 
 but lay on your hounds as soon as they are out 
 of view : if you do not, they will very likely 
 stop, which is often fatal. Views are at all 
 times to be avoided, but particularly with trap- 
 hares ; for, as these know not where they are, 
 
158 METHOD OF HUNTING THEM. 
 
 the hounds have too great an advantage over 
 them. It is best to turn them down the wind ; 
 they hear the hounds better, and seldom turn 
 again. Hounds for this business should not be 
 too fleet. These hares run straight, and make 
 no doubles ; they leave a strong scent, and have 
 other objections in common with animals turned 
 out before hounds : they may give you a gallop, 
 but they will show but little hunting. The 
 hounds are to be hunted like a pack of fox-hounds, 
 as a trap-hare runs very much in the same man- 
 ner, and will even top the hedges. What I 
 should prefer to catching the hares in traps would 
 be a warren in the midst of an open country, 
 which might be stopped close on hunting-days. 
 This would supply the whole country with hares, 
 which, after one turn round the warren, would 
 most probably run straight an end. The num- 
 ber of hares a warren would supply is hardly to 
 be conceived ; I seldom turned out less in one 
 year than thirty brace of trap-hares, besides a 
 great many more killed in the environs, of which 
 no account was taken. My warren is a wood of 
 near thirty acres ; one of half the size would 
 answer the purpose to the full as well. Mine 
 is cut out into many walks ; a smaller warren 
 should have only one, and that round the out- 
 
SEASON WHEN TERMINATED. 159 
 
 side of it. No dog should ever be suffered to 
 go into it ; and traps should be constantly set 
 for stoats and polecats. It is said, parsley makes 
 hares strong: they certainly are very fond of 
 eating it ; it therefore cannot be amiss to sow 
 some within the warren, as it will be a means of 
 keeping your hares more at home. 
 
 I had once some conversation with a gentle- 
 man about the running of my trap-hares, who 
 said he had been told that the catching a hare, 
 and tying a piece of ribbon to her ear, was a 
 sure way to make her run straight. I make 
 no doubt of it, and so would a canister tied to 
 her tail. 
 
 I am sorry you should think I began my first 
 letter on the subject of hare-hunting in a manner 
 that might offend any of my brother sportsmen. 
 It was not hare-hunting I meant to depreciate, 
 but the country I hunted hare in. It is very 
 good diversion in a good country : you are al- 
 ways certain of sport ; and if you really love to 
 see your hounds hunt, the hare, when properly 
 hunted, will show you more of it than any other 
 animal. 
 
 You ask me, what is the right time to leave 
 off hare-hunting ? You should be guided in 
 that by the season : you should never hunt after 
 
160 STAG-HUNTING AT TURIN. 
 
 March ; and, if the season is forward, you should 
 leave off sooner. 
 
 Having now so considerably exceeded the 
 plan I first proposed, you may wonder if I omit 
 to say any thing of stag-hunting. Believe me, 
 if I do, it will not be for want of respect, but 
 because I have seen very little of it. It is true, 
 1 hunted two winters at Turin ; but their hunt- 
 ing, you know, is no more like ours, than is the 
 hot meal you there stand up to eat, to the 
 English breakfast you sit down to here. Were 
 I to describe their manner of hunting, their in- 
 finity of dogs, their number of huntsmen, their 
 relays of horses, their great saddles, great bits, 
 and jack-boots, it would be no more to our pre- 
 sent purpose than the description of a wild-boar 
 chase in Germany, or the hunting of jackals in 
 Bengal. C^est une chasse magnifique, et voila 
 tout. However, to give you an idea of their 
 huntsmen, I must tell you that one day the stag 
 (which is very unusual) broke cover, and left 
 the forest ; a circumstance which gave as much 
 pleasure to me as displeasure to all the rest it 
 put every thing into confusion. I followed one 
 of the huntsmen, thinking he knew the country 
 best ; but it was not long before we were sepa- 
 rated : the first ditch we came to stopped him. 
 
AN ODD ACCIDENT. 161 
 
 I, eager to go on, hallooed out to him, " Allons, 
 piqueur, saute% done? " Non pardi^ replied 
 he, very coolly, " c'est un double fosse : je ne 
 saute pas des double fosses" There was also 
 an odd accident the same day, which, as it hap- 
 pened to a great man, even to the king himself, 
 you may think interesting; besides it was the 
 occasion of a bon mot worth your hearing. The 
 king, eager in the pursuit, rode into a bog, and 
 was dismounted : he was not hurt he was soon 
 on his legs, and we were all standing round him. 
 One of his old generals, who was at some dis- 
 tance behind, no sooner saw the king off his 
 horse, but he rode up full gallop to know the 
 cause : " Qitest ce que c'est ? qu'est ce que 
 c'est ? " cries the old general, and in he tumbles 
 into the same bog. Count Kevenhuller, with 
 great humour, replied, pointing to the place, 
 " VoUa ce que c'est ! voild ce que c'est ! " 
 
 With regard to the stag-hunting in this coun- 
 try, as I have already told you, I know but 
 little of it : you will without doubt think that a 
 good reason for my saying nothing about it. 
 
162 DESCRIPTION OF A 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 IN some of the preceding letters we have, I 
 think, settled the business of the kennel in all 
 its parts, and determined what should be the 
 number, and what are the necessary qualifica- 
 tions of the attendants on the hounds; we also 
 agree in opinion, that a pack should consist of 
 about twenty-five couple. I shall now proceed 
 to give some account of the use of them. You 
 desire I would be as particular as if you were to 
 hunt the hounds yourself: to obey you, there- 
 fore, I think I had better send you a description 
 of an imaginary chase, in which I shall be at 
 liberty to describe such events as probably may 
 happen, and to which your present inquiries 
 seem most to lead ; a further and more circum- 
 stantial explanation of them will necessarily be- 
 come the subject of my future letters. I am at 
 the same time well aware of the difficulties at- 
 tending such an undertaking. A fox^chase is 
 not easy to be described; yet as even a faint 
 description of it may serve, to a certain degree, 
 as an answer to the various questions you are 
 
FOX-CHASE ATTEMPTED. 163 
 
 pleased to make concerning that diversion, I 
 shall prosecute my attempt in such a manner as 
 I think may suit your purpose best. As I fear 
 it may read ill, it shall not be long. A gentle- 
 man, to whose understanding nature had most 
 evidently been sparing of her gifts, as often as 
 he took up a book and met with a passage 
 which he could not comprehend, was used to 
 write in the margin opposite matiere embrouillee, 
 and gave himself no further concern about it. 
 As different causes have been known to produce 
 the same effects, should you treat me in like 
 manner, I shall think it the severest censure that 
 can be passed upon me. Our friend Somervile, 
 I apprehend, was no great fox-hunter ; yet all 
 he says on the subject of hunting is so sensible 
 and just, that I shall turn to his account of fox- 
 hunting, and quote it where I can. The hour 
 in the morning most favourable to the diversion 
 is certainly an early one, nor do 1 think I can 
 fix it better than to say the hounds should be 
 at the cover at sun-rising. Let us suppose we 
 are arrived at the cover side. 
 
 " Delightful scene ! 
 
 Where all around is gay, men, horses, dogs ; * 
 And in each smiling countenance appears 
 Fresh blooming health, and universal joy." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
164 SILENCE WHEN DRAWING. 
 
 Now let your huntsman throw in his hounds 
 as quietly as he can, and let the two whippers- 
 in keep wide of him on either hand, so that a 
 single hound may not escape them ; let them 
 be attentive to his halloo, and be ready to en- 
 courage or rate, as that directs ; he will, of 
 course, draw up the wind, for reasons which I 
 shall give in another place. Now if you can 
 keep your brother sportsmen in order, and put 
 any discretion into them, you are in luck ; 
 they more frequently do harm than good : if 
 it be possible, persuade those who wish to halloo 
 the fox off to stand quiet under the cover side, 
 and on no account to halloo him too soon ; if 
 they do, he most certainly will turn back again : 
 could you entice them all into the cover, your 
 sport, in all probability, would not be the worse 
 for it. 
 
 How well the hounds spread the cover ! 
 the huntsman, you see, is quite deserted, and 
 his horse, which so lately had a crowd at his 
 heels, has not now one attendant left. How 
 steadily they draw! you hear not a single 
 hound, yet none are idle. Is not this better 
 than to be subject to continual disappoint- 
 ment, from the eternal babbling of unsteady 
 hounds ? 
 
THE FOX FOUND. 165 
 
 " See ! how they range 
 Dispersed, how busily this way and that 
 They cross, examining with curious nose 
 Each likely haunt. Hark ! on the drag I hear 
 Their doubtful notes, preluding to a cry 
 More nobly full, and swell'd with every mouth." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 How musical their tongues ! Now as they get 
 nearer to him, how the chorus fills ! Hark ! he 
 is found. Now, where are all your sorrows, 
 and your cares, ye gloomy souls? Or where 
 your pains and aches, ye complaining ones ? 
 One halloo has dispelled them all. What a 
 crash they make ! and echo seemingly takes 
 pleasure to repeat the sound. The astonished 
 traveller forsakes his road, lured by its melody : 
 the listening ploughman now stops his plough ; 
 and every distant shepherd neglects his flock, 
 and runs to see him break. What joy ! what 
 eagerness in every face ! 
 
 *' How happy art thou, man, when thou'rt no more 
 Thyself ! when all the pangs that grind thy soul, 
 In rapture and in sweet oblivion lost. 
 Yield a short interval, and ease from pain !" 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 Mark how he runs the cover's utmost limits, yet 
 dares not venture forth : the hounds are still too 
 near. That check is lucky: now, if our friends 
 head him not, he will soon be off hark ! they 
 halloo : by G d, he's gone. 
 
166 EMULATION OF THE HOUNDS. 
 
 " Hark ! what loud shouts 
 Re-echo through the groves ! he breaks away : 
 Shrill horns proclaim his flight. Each straggling hound 
 Strains o'er the lawn to reach the distant pack. 
 'Tis triumph all, and joy." 
 
 Now, huntsman, get on with the head hounds ; 
 the whipper-in will bring on the others after 
 you : keep an attentive eye on the leading 
 hounds, that should the scent fail them, you 
 may know at least how far they brought it. 
 
 Mind Galloper, how he leads them ! It is 
 difficult to distinguish which is first, they run 
 in such a style ; yet he is the foremost hound. 
 The goodness of his nose is not less excellent 
 than his speed. How he carries the scent ! 
 and when he loses it, see how eagerly he flings 
 to recover it again. There now he's at head 
 again. See how they top the hedge ! Now, 
 how they mount the hill ! Observe what a 
 head they carry ; and show me, if you can, 
 one shuffler or skirter amongst them all : are 
 they not like a parcel of brave fellows, who, 
 when they undertake a thing, determine to 
 share its fatigue and its dangers equally a- 
 mongst them ? 
 
 " Far o'er the rocky hills we range, 
 And dangerous our course ; but in the brave 
 True courage never fails. In vain the stream 
 In foaming eddies whirls, in vain the ditch 
 
EMULATION OF THE HOUNDS. 367 
 
 Wide gaping threatens death. The craggy steep, 
 Where the poor dizzy shepherd crawls with care, 
 And clings to every twig, gives us no pain ; 
 But down we sweep, as stoops the falcon bold 
 To pounce his prey. Then up th' opponent hill, 
 By the swift motion slung, we mount aloft : 
 So ships in winter seas now sliding sink 
 Adown the steepy wave, then toss'd on high, 
 Bide on the billows, and defy the storm." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 It was then the fox I saw as we came down the 
 hill : those crows directed me which way to look, 
 and the sheep ran from him as he passed along. 
 The hounds are now on the very spot ; yet the 
 sheep stop them not, for they dash beyond them. 
 Now see with what eagerness they cross the plain ! 
 Galloper no longer keeps his place. Brusher 
 takes it : see how he flings for the scent, and 
 how impetuously he runs ! How eagerly he 
 took the lead, and how he strives to keep it ! 
 yet Victor comes up apace. He reaches him ! 
 See what an excellent race it is between them ! 
 It is doubtful which will reach the cover first. 
 How equally they run ! how eagerly they strain ! 
 now Victor, Victor ! Ah ! Brusher you are 
 beat : Victor first tops the hedge. See there ! 
 see how they all take it in their strokes ! The 
 hedge cracks with their weight, so many jump 
 at once. 
 
168 THE FOX HEADED BACK. 
 
 Now hastes the whipper-in to the other side 
 the cover : he is right, unless he heads the fox. 
 
 " Heav'ns ! what melodious strains ! how beat our hearts 
 Big with tumultuous joy ! the loaded gales 
 Breathe harmony ; and as the tempest drives 
 From wood to wood, through ev'rv dark recess 
 The forest thunders, and the mountains shake." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 Listen ! the hounds have turned. They are 
 now in two parts. The fox has been headed 
 back, and we have changed at last. 
 
 Now, my lad, mind the huntsman's halloo, 
 and stop to those hounds which he encourages. 
 He is right ! that, doubtless, is the hunted 
 fox. Now they are off again. 
 
 " What lengths we pass ! where will the wand'ring chase 
 Lead us bewilder'd ! Smooth as swallows skim 
 The new-shorn mead, and far more swift, we fly. 
 See my brave pack ! how to the head they press, 
 Jostling in close array, then more diffuse 
 Obliquely wheel, while from their op'ning mouths 
 The vollied thunder breaks. 
 
 Look back and view 
 
 The strange confusion of the vale below, 
 
 Where sore vexation reigns 
 
 ... Old age laments 
 
 His vigour spent : the tall, plump, brawny youth 
 
 Curses his cumbrous bulk ; and envies now 
 
 The short pygmean race, he whilom kenn'd 
 
 With proud insulting leer. A chosen few 
 
 Alone the sport enjoy, nor droop beneath 
 
 Their pleasing toils." SOMERVILE. 
 
A CHECK. 169 
 
 Ha! a check. Now for a moment's patience. 
 We press too close upon the hounds ! Hunts- 
 man, stand still : as yet they want you not. 
 How admirably they spread ! how wide they 
 cast .' Is there a single hound that does not 
 try ? if such a one there be, he ne'er shall hunt 
 again. There, Trueman is on the scent : he 
 feathers, yet still is doubtful: 'tis right ! how 
 readily they join him ! See those wide-casting 
 hounds, how they fly forward to recover the 
 ground they have lost ! Mind Lightning^ how 
 she dashes ; and Mungo, how he works ! Old 
 Frantic, too, now pushes forward : she knows, 
 as well as we, the fox is sinking. 
 
 " Ha ! yet he flies, nor yields 
 To black despair. But one loose more, and all 
 His wiles are vain. Hark ! through yon village now 
 The rattling clamour rings. The barns, the cots, 
 And leafless elms return the joyous sounds. 
 Through ev'ry homestall and through ev'ry yard, 
 His midnight walks, panting, forlorn, he flies : 
 
 th' unerring hounds 
 
 With peals of echoing vengeance close pursue." 
 
 SOMERVILE. 
 
 Huntsman ! at fault at last ? How far did 
 you bring the scent ? Have the hounds made 
 their own cast ? Now make yours. You 
 see that sheep-dog has been coursing the fox : 
 
170 AT FAULT. 
 
 get forward with your hounds, and make a 
 wide cast. 
 
 Hark ! that halloo is indeed a lucky one. 
 If we can hold him on, we may yet recover 
 him; for a fox so much distressed must stop 
 at last. We now shall see if they will hunt 
 as well as run ; for there is but little scent, 
 and the impending cloud still makes that little 
 less. How they enjoy the scent ! See how 
 busy they all are, and how each in his turn 
 prevails ! 
 
 Huntsman, be quiet ! Whilst the scent was 
 good, you pressed on your hounds : it was 
 well done. Your hounds were afterwards at 
 fault ; you made your cast with judgment, 
 and lost no time. You now must let them 
 hunt : with such a cold scent as this you can 
 do no good. They must do it all themselves. 
 Lift them now, and not a hound will stoop 
 again. Ha ! a high road, at such a time as 
 this, when the tenderest-nosed hound can hard- 
 ly own the scent ! Another fault ! That 
 man at work, then, has headed back the fox. 
 Huntsman ! cast not your hounds now ; 
 you see they have over-run the scent : have 
 a little patience, and let them, for once, try 
 back. 
 
LAST SHIFTS. 
 
 We now must give them time. See where 
 they bend towards yonder furze-brake ! I 
 wish he may have stopped there ! Mind that 
 old hound, how he dashes over the furze ; I 
 think he winds him ! Now for a fresh en- 
 tapis ! Hark! they halloo! Ay, there he 
 goes! 
 
 It is near over with him : had the hounds 
 caught view he must have died. He will hardly 
 reach the cover. See how they gain upon him 
 at every stroke ! It is an admirable race ! yet 
 the cover saves him. 
 
 Now be quiet, and he cannot escape us : we 
 have the wind of the hounds, and cannot be 
 better placed. How short he runs ! he is 
 now in the very strongest part of the cover. 
 What a crash ! every hound is in, and every 
 hound is running for him. That was a quick 
 turn ! Again another ! he's put to his last 
 shifts. Now Mischief is at his heels, and death 
 is not far off. Ha ! they all stop at once : all 
 silent, and yet no earth is open. Listen ! now 
 they are at him again ! Did you hear that 
 hound catch view ? They had over-run the 
 scent, and the fox had lain down behind them. 
 Now, Reynard, look to yourself ! How quick 
 i 2 
 
172 DEATH OF THE FOX. 
 
 they all give their tongues ! Little Dread- 
 nought, how he works him ! the terriers, too, 
 they now are squeaking at him. How close 
 Vengeance pursues ! how terribly she presses ! 
 It is just up with him ! Gods ! what a crash 
 they make ! the whole wood resounds ! That 
 turn was very short ! There ! now ay, now 
 they have him ! Who-hoop ! 
 
RETROSPECTIVE REMARKS. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 FOX-HUNTING, however lively and animating 
 it may be in the field, is but a dull, dry subject 
 to write upon ; and I can now assure you, from 
 experience, that it is much less difficult to fol- 
 low a fox-chase than to describe one. You will 
 easily imagine, that to give enough of variety to 
 a single action, to make it interesting, and to 
 describe in a few minutes the events of, perhaps, 
 as many hours, though it pretends to no merit, 
 has at least some difficulty and trouble; and 
 you will as easily conclude that I am glad they 
 are over. 
 
 You desire me to explain that part of my last 
 letter, which says, if we can hold him on, we 
 may now recover him. It means, if we have 
 scent to follow on the line of him, it is probable 
 he will stop, and we may hunt up to him again. 
 You also object to my saying catch a fox : you 
 call it a bad expression, and say it is not sportly : 
 I believe that I have not often used it; and 
 when I have, it has been to distinguish betwixt 
 
174 
 
 MODERN FOX-HUNTING. 
 
 the hunting a fox down, as you do a hare, and 
 the killing of him with hard running. You tell 
 me, I should always kill a fox. I might answer, 
 that I must catch him first. 
 
 You say, I have not enlivened my chase with 
 many halloos : it is true I have not ; and, what 
 is worse, I fear I am never likely to meet your 
 approbation in that particular; for should we 
 hunt together, then I make no doubt you will 
 think I halloo too much ; a fault which every 
 one is guilty of who really loves this animating 
 sport, and is eager in the pursuit of it. Believe 
 me, I never could halloo in my life, unless after 
 hounds ; and the writing a halloo appears to me 
 almost as difficult as to pen a whisper. 
 
 Your friend A , you say, is very severe 
 
 on us fox-hunters. No one is more welcome. 
 However, he ought to have known that the pro- 
 fession of fox-hunting is much altered since the 
 time of Sir John Vanbrugh ; and the intempe- 
 rance, clownishness, and ignorance of the old 
 fox -hunter are quite worn out : a much truer 
 definition of one might now be made than that 
 which he has left. Fox-hunting is now become 
 the amusement of gentlemen ; nor need any 
 gentleman be ashamed of it. 
 
 I shall now begin to answer your various 
 
EARLY HOURS. 
 
 questions, as they present themselves. Though 
 I was glad. of this expedient to methodize, in 
 some degree, the variety we have to treat of, 
 yet I was well aware of the impossibility of suf- 
 ficiently explaining myself in the midst of a 
 fox-chase, whose rapidity, you know very well, 
 brooks no delay. Now is the time, therefore, 
 to make good that deficiency : what afterwards 
 remains on the subject of hunting will serve as 
 a supplement to the rest ; in which I shall still 
 have it in my power to introduce whatever may 
 be now forgotten, or give a further explanation 
 of such parts as may seem to you to require it. 
 For since my sole view in writing these let- 
 ters is to make the instruction they contain of 
 some use to you, if you should want it, if 
 not, to others, the being as clear and as expli- 
 cit as I can will be far beyond all other consi- 
 derations. Repetitions, we know, are shocking 
 things ; yet, in writing so many letters on the 
 same subject, I fear it will be difficult to avoid 
 them. 
 
 First, then, as to the early hour recommended 
 in my former letter : I agree with you, it 
 requires explanation ; but you will please to con- 
 sider, that you desired me to fix the hour most 
 favourable to the sport, and, without doubt, 
 
176 A FAIR SPORTSMAN. 
 
 it is an early one.* You say, I do not go out 
 so early myself. It is true that I do not: do 
 physicians always follow their own prescrip- 
 tions ? Is it not sufficient that their prescrip- 
 tions be good ? However, if my hounds are 
 out of blood, I go out early, for then it becomes 
 necessary to give them every advantage. At an 
 early hour you are seldom long before you find. 
 The morning is the time of the day which gene- 
 rally affords the best scent, and the animal him- 
 self, which in such a case you are more than 
 ever desirous of killing, is then least able to 
 run away from you. The want of rest, and 
 perhaps a full belly, give hounds a great advan- 
 tage over him. I expect, my friend, that you 
 will reply to this, " a fox-hunter, then, is not a 
 fair sportsman" He certainly is not; and, 
 what is more, would be very sorry to be mis- 
 taken for one. He is otherwise from principle. 
 In his opinion, a fair sportsman and a foolish 
 sportsman are synonymous ; he therefore takes 
 every advantage of the fox he can. You will 
 ask, perhaps, if he does not sometimes spoil his 
 own sport by this? It is true he sometimes 
 does, but then he makes his hounds ; the whole 
 
 * An early hour is only necessary where you are not 
 likely to find without a drag. 
 
ANECDOTE. 177 
 
 art of fox-hunting being to keep the hounds 
 well in blood. Sport is but a secondary consi- 
 deration with a true fox-hunter. The first is, 
 the killing of the fox : hence arises the eager- 
 ness of pursuit, and the chief pleasure of the 
 chase. I confess, I esteem blood so necessary 
 to a pack of fox-hounds, that, with regard to 
 myself, I always return home better pleased 
 with an indifferent chase, with death at the end 
 of it, than with the best chase possible, if it 
 ends with the loss of the fox. Good chases, 
 generally speaking, are long chases ; and, if not 
 attended with success, never fail to do more 
 harm to hounds than good. Our pleasures, I 
 believe, for the most part, are greater during 
 the expectation than the enjoyment. In this 
 case, reality itself warrants the idea, and your 
 present success is almost a sure forerunner of 
 future sport. 
 
 I remember to have heard an odd anecdote 
 of the late Duke of R , who was very po- 
 pular in his neighbourhood. A butcher, at 
 Lyndhurst, a lover of the sport, as often as he 
 heard the hounds return from hunting, came 
 out to meet them, and never failed to ask the 
 Duke what sport he had ? " Very good, I 
 thank you, honest friend. 1 ' " Has your Grace 
 i 3 
 
178 ON DRAWING. 
 
 killed a fox?" "No: we have had a good run, 
 but we have not killed." " Pshaw /" cried the 
 butcher, with an arch look, pointing at him at 
 the same time with his finger : and this was so 
 constantly repeated, that the Duke, when he 
 had not killed a fox, was used to say, he was 
 afraid to meet the butcher. 
 
 You ask, why the huntsman is to draw so 
 quietly, and why up the wind ? With regard to 
 his drawing quietly, that may depend on the 
 kind of cover which he is drawing, and also on 
 the season of the year. If your covers are small, 
 or such from which a fox cannot break unseen, 
 then noise can do no hurt; if you draw at a 
 late hour, and when there is no drag, then the 
 more the cover is disturbed the better ; the 
 more likely you are to find. Late in the season 
 foxes generally are wild, particularly in covers 
 that are often hunted. If you do not draw 
 quietly, he will sometimes get off a long way 
 before you: when you have any suspicion of 
 this, send on a whipper-in to the opposite side 
 of the cover, before you throw in your hounds. 
 With regard to the drawing up the wind, that 
 is much more material. You never fail to give 
 the wind to a pointer and setter ; why not to a 
 hound ? Besides, the fox, if you draw up the 
 
PRETENDED SPORTSMEN. 179 
 
 wind, does not hear you coming ; and your 
 hounds by this means are never out of your 
 hearing: besides, if he turns down the wind, 
 as most probably he will, it lets them all in. 
 Suppose yourself acting directly contrary to 
 this, and then see what is likely to be the con- 
 sequence. 
 
 You think I am too severe on my brother 
 sportsmen. If I am more so than they deserve, 
 I am sorry for it. I know many gentlemen 
 who are excellent sportsmen, yet I am sorry to 
 say the greater number of those who ride after 
 hounds are not, and it is those only that I 
 allude to. Few gentlemen will take any pains ; 
 few of them will stop a hound, though he should 
 run riot close beside them ; or will place them- 
 selves for a moment, though it be to halloo a 
 fox. It is true, they will not fail to halloo if he 
 comes in their way ; and they will do the same 
 to as many foxes as they see. Some will encou- 
 rage hounds which they do not know : it is a 
 great fault. Was every gentleman who follows 
 hounds to fancy himself a huntsman, what noise, 
 what confusion would ensue ! I consider many 
 of them as gentlemen riding out, and I am never 
 so well pleased as when I see them ride home 
 again. You may perhaps have thought that I 
 
180 LABOUR IN VAIN 
 
 wished them all to be huntsmen. Most cer- 
 tainly not ; but the more assistance a huntsman 
 has, the better in all probability the hounds will 
 be. Good sense, and a little observation, will 
 soon prevent such people from doing amiss; 
 and I hold it as an almost invariable rule in 
 hunting, that those who do not know how to do 
 good are always liable to do harm.* There is 
 scarce an instant, during the whole chase, when 
 a sportsman ought not to be in one particular 
 place ; and I will venture to say, that if he is 
 not there, he might as well be in his bed. 
 
 I must give you an extraordinary instance of 
 a gentleman's knowledge of hunting. He had 
 hired a house in a fine hunting country, with a 
 good kennel belonging to it, in the neighbour- 
 hood of two packs of fox-hounds, of which mine 
 was one; and that he might offend neither, 
 
 * This is a better reason, perhaps, why gentlemen ought 
 to understand this diversion, than for the good the}' may 
 do in it ; since a pack of hounds that are well manned will 
 seldom need any other assistance. A gentleman, perceiving 
 his hounds to be much confused by the frequent halloos of 
 a stranger, rode up to him, and thanked him with great 
 civility for the trouble he was taking ; but at the same 
 time acquainted him, that the two men he saw in green 
 coats were paid so much a year on purpose to halloo ; it 
 would be needless for him, therefore, to give himself any 
 further trouble. 
 
SINGULAR CHARACTER. 181 
 
 intended, as he said, to hunt with both. He 
 offered me the use of his kennel, which, for some 
 reasons, I chose to decline : it was afterwards 
 also offered to the other gentleman, who accept- 
 ed of it. The first day the hounds hunted his 
 country, he did not appear. The second day, 
 the hounds were no sooner at the cover side than 
 my friend saw an odd figure, strangely accou- 
 tred, riding up, with a spaniel following him. 
 "Sir," said he, "it gave me great concern not 
 to be able to attend you, when you was here 
 before : I hope you was not offended at it ; for, 
 to show you how well I am inclined to assist 
 your hunt, you see, / have brought my little 
 dog." 
 
 There are two things which I particularly 
 recommend to you : the one is to make your 
 hounds steady ; the other, to make them all 
 draw. Many huntsmen are fond of having them 
 at their horses' heels; but, believe me, they 
 never can get so well, or so soon together, as 
 when they spread the cover : besides, I have 
 often known when there have been only a few 
 finders, that they have found their fox, gone 
 down the wind, and been heard of no more 
 that day. 
 
 Never take out an old unsteady hound : young 
 
182 OBSERVATIONS ON THE HOUNDS. 
 
 ones properly awed from riot, and that will stop 
 at a rate, may be put into the pack, a few at a 
 time ; but an old hound that is vicious should 
 not escape hanging : let him be ever so good in 
 other respects, I will not excuse him ; for a 
 pack must be wretched indeed that can stand 
 in need of such assistance. 
 
 There is infinite pleasure in hearing a fox 
 well found. When you get up to his kennel 
 with a good drag, the chorus increasing as you 
 go, it inspires a joy more easy to feel than to 
 describe. With regard to my own feelings, I 
 had sooner hear one fox found in this lively 
 manner, than ride the best hare-chase that was 
 ever run. 
 
 Much depends on the first finding of your 
 fox. Dimidium facti, qui bene coepit, habet, 
 which we learned at Westminster, is verified 
 here ; for I look upon a fox well found to be 
 half killed. I think people generally are in too 
 great a hurry on this occasion. There is an 
 enthusiasm attending this diversion, which, in 
 this instance in particular, ought always to be 
 restrained.^ The hounds are always mad 
 
 * There are but few instances where sportsmen are 
 not too noisy and too fond of encouraging their hounds, 
 which seldom do their business so well as when little is said 
 to them. 
 
A YOUNG SPORTSMAN. 183 
 
 enough when they find their fox; if the men 
 also are mad, they make mad work of it indeed. 
 A gentleman of my acquaintance, who hunts 
 his own hounds, and is not less eager than the 
 rest of us, yet very well knows the bad con- 
 sequences of being so, to prevent this fault in 
 himself, always begins by taking a pinch of 
 snuff; he then sings part of an old song, "Some 
 say care killed the cat" &c. By this time his 
 hounds get together, and settle to the scent. 
 He then halloos, and rides as if the d 1 drove. 
 If the fox breaks cover, you will sometimes 
 see a young sportsman set out after him, to ride 
 him. He never fails to ask such a one, "Do 
 you think you can catch him, sir?" "No? 
 " Why then be so good as to let my hounds try 
 if they can" 
 
184 DIRECTIONS TO THE 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 I LEFT off' just as I had found the fox: I 
 now, therefore, with your leave, will suppose 
 that the hounds are running him. You desire 
 I would be more particular with regard to the 
 men. It was always my intention to be so. 
 To begin, then the huntsman should certainly 
 set off with his foremost hounds, and I should 
 wish him to keep as close to them afterwards as 
 he conveniently can ; nor can any harm arise 
 from it, unless he has not common sense. No 
 hounds then can slip down the wind, and get 
 out of his hearing : he will also see how far they 
 carry the scent; a necessary knowledge, for 
 without it he never can make a cast with any 
 certainty. 
 
 You will find it not less necessary for your 
 huntsman to be active in pressing his hounds 
 forward * while the scent is good, than to be 
 
 * Pressing hounds on is perhaps a dangerous expression ; 
 as more harm may be done by pressing them beyond the 
 scent when it is good, than when it is bad. However, it 
 
HUNTSMAN AND WHIPPER-IN. 185 
 
 prudent in not hurrying them beyond it when it 
 is bad. Yours, you say, is a good horseman ; 
 it is of the utmost consequence to your sport, 
 nor is it possible for a huntsman to be of much 
 use who is not ; for the first thing, and the very 
 sine qua non of a fox-hunter, is to ride up to 
 his head hounds. It is his business to be ready 
 at all times to lend them that assistance they so 
 frequently stand in need of, and which, when 
 they are first at a fault, is then most critical. 
 A fox-hound at that time will exert himself 
 most: he afterwards cools, and becomes more 
 indifferent about his game. Those huntsmen 
 who do not get forward enough to take advan- 
 tage of his eagerness and impetuosity, and direct 
 it properly, seldom know enough of hunting to 
 be of much use to them afterwards. 
 
 You will perhaps find it more difficult to keep 
 your whipper-in back than to get your hunts- 
 man forward;* at least, I always have found it 
 
 means no more than to get forward the tail hounds, and to 
 encourage the others to push on as fast as they can while 
 the scent serves them. 
 
 * Though a huntsman cannot be too fond of hunting, a 
 whipper-in easily may. His business will seldom allow 
 him to be forward enough with the hounds to see much of 
 the sport. His only thought, therefore, should be to keep 
 the hounds together, and to contribute as much as he can 
 to the killing of the fox. 
 
186 BAD HABITS. 
 
 so. It is however necessary ; nor will a good 
 whipper-in leave a cover whilst a single hound 
 remains in it: for this reason there should be 
 two ; one of which should be always forward 
 with the huntsman. You cannot conceive the 
 many ills that may happen to hounds that are 
 left behind. I do not know that I can enume- 
 rate one half of them ; but this you may be 
 certain of, that the keeping them together is the 
 surest means to keep them steady. When left 
 to themselves, they seldom refuse, I believe, any 
 blood they can get ; they acquire many bad 
 habits ; they become conceited, a terrible fault 
 in any animal ; and they learn to tie upon the 
 scent, an unpardonable fault in a fox-hound. 
 Besides this, they frequently get a trick of 
 hunting by themselves, and they seldom are 
 worth much afterwards. The lying out in the 
 cold, perhaps the whole night, can do no good 
 to their constitutions; nor will the being wor- 
 ried by sheep-dogs or mastiffs be of service to 
 their bodies. All this, however, and much 
 more, they are liable to. I believe I menti- 
 oned in my fourth letter, that the straw-house 
 door should be left open when any hounds are 
 missing. 
 
 Every country is soon known, and nine foxes 
 
STYLE OF THE PACK. 187 
 
 out of ten, with the wind in the same quarter, 
 will follow the same track. It is easy, there- 
 fore, for the whipper-in to cut short, and catch 
 the hounds again ; at least it is so in the coun- 
 try where I hunt. With a high scent, you 
 cannot push on hounds too much. Screams 
 keep the fox forward, at the same time that 
 they keep the hounds together, or let in the tail 
 hounds ; * they also enliven the sport, and, if 
 discreetly used, are always of service : but, in 
 cover, they should be given with the greatest 
 caution. 
 
 Most fox-hunters wish to see their hounds 
 run in a good style. I confess I am myself one 
 of those. I hate to see a string of them, nor 
 can I bear to see them creep where they can 
 leap. It is the dash of the fox-hound which 
 distinguishes him, as truly as the motto of 
 William of Wickham distinguishes us. A pack 
 of harriers, if they have time, will kill a fox ; 
 but I defy them to kill him in the style in which 
 a fox ought to be killed : they must hunt him 
 
 * Halloos seldom do any hurt, when you are running up 
 the wind; for then none but the tail hounds can hear you. 
 When you are running down the wind, you should halloo 
 no more than may be necessary to bring the tail hounds 
 forward ; for a hound that knows his business seldom wants 
 encouragement when he is upon a scent. 
 
188 SPEED OF HOUNDS. 
 
 down. If you are to tire him out, you must 
 expect to be tired yourself also. I never wish 
 a chase to be less than one hour, or to exceed 
 two. It is sufficiently long, if properly fol- 
 lowed : it will seldom be longer, unless there is 
 a fault somewhere, either in the day, in the 
 huntsman, or in the hounds. What Lord Chat- 
 ham once said of a battle is particulary applica- 
 ble to a fox-chase: it should be short, sharp, 
 and decisive. 
 
 There is, I believe, but little difference in the 
 speed of hounds of the same size: the great 
 difference is in the head they carry ; and in or- 
 der that they may run well together, you should 
 not keep too many old hounds: after five or six 
 seasons they generally do more harm than good. 
 If they tie upon the scent, and come hunting 
 after, hang them up immediately, let their age 
 be what it may : there is no getting such con- 
 ceited devils on ; they will never come to a 
 halloo, which every hound that is off the scent, 
 or behind the rest, should not fail to do, and are 
 always more likely to draw you back than help 
 you forward.* 
 
 * From this passage, the critic endeavours to prove the 
 sportsman's ingratitude ; and yet conmon sense, I believe, 
 induces most men to rid themselves of that, which, if kept, 
 
THE HUNTED FOX. 189 
 
 You think me too severe on skirters. I must 
 confess that I have but one objection to them, 
 and it is this : I have constantly seen them do 
 more harm than good. 
 
 Changing from the hunted fox to a fresh one, 
 is, one of the worst accidents that can happen to 
 a pack of fox-hounds; and it requires all the 
 observation and all the ingenuity that man is 
 capable of, to guard against it. Could a fox- 
 hound distinguish a hunted fox, as the deer- 
 hound does the deer that is blown, fox-hunting 
 would then be perfect. There are certain rules 
 that ought to be observed by huntsmen. A 
 huntsman should always listen to his hounds, 
 whilst they are running in cover : he should be 
 particularly attentive to the head hounds, and 
 he should be constantly on his guard against a 
 skirter ; for if there are two scents, he must be 
 wrong. Generally speaking, the best scent is 
 least likely to be that of the hunted fox ; and 
 
 would be prejudicial to them. The critic seems to allude 
 to a well-known fable of^Esop, but is not very happy in 
 the application. He has also misquoted the passage the 
 author does not say tire, but tie upon the scent. Good 
 hounds, when they become aged, are liable to the first; 
 bad ones only are guilty of the last. In either case, death 
 is not meant as a punishment, nor is it considered as a 
 misfortune. Vide Monthly Review. 
 
190 RULES TO BE OBSERVED 
 
 as a fox seldom suffers hounds to run up to him 
 as long as he is able to prevent it, so nine times 
 out of ten, when foxes are hallooed early in the 
 day, they are all fresh foxes. The hounds most 
 likely to be right are the hard-running line- 
 hunting hounds, or such as the huntsman knows 
 had the lead before there arose any doubt of 
 changing. With regard to the fox, if he breaks 
 over an open country, it is no sign that he is 
 hard run ; for they seldom at any time will do 
 that, unless they are a great way before the 
 hounds : also, if he runs up the wind they sel- 
 dom ever do that when they have been long 
 hunted, and grow weak; and when they run 
 their foil, that also may direct him. All this, 
 as you must needs perceive, requires a good 
 ear, and nice observation ; and, indeed, in that 
 consists the chief excellence of a huntsman. 
 
 When the hounds divide and are in two parts, 
 the whipper-in, in stopping, must attend to the 
 huntsman, and wait for his halloo, before he at- 
 tempts to stop either: for want of proper ma- 
 nagement in this particular, I have known the 
 hounds stopped at both places, and both foxes 
 lost by it. If they have many scents, and it is 
 quite uncertain which is the hunted fox, let him 
 stop those that are farthest down the wind, as 
 
WHEN THE FOX IS CHANGED. 191 
 
 they can hear the others, and will reach them 
 soonest : in such a case, there will be little use 
 in stopping those that are up the wind. 
 
 When hounds are at a check, let every one be 
 silent : but as I have already said so much on 
 that head in my eleventh letter on hare-hunting, 
 I beg leave to refer you to it. Whippers-in are 
 frequently at this time coming on with the tail 
 hounds. They should never halloo to them 
 when the hounds are at fault: the least thing 
 does hurt at such a time, but a halloo more 
 than any other. The huntsman, at a check, had 
 better let his hounds alone, or content himself 
 with holding them forward, without taking them 
 off their noses. Hounds that are not used to be 
 cast a tout bout de champ, will of themselves 
 acquire a better cast than it is in the power of any 
 huntsman to give theni ; will spread more, and 
 try better for the scent ; and, if they are in health 
 and spirits, they will want no encouragement. 
 
 If they are at fault, and have made their own 
 cast, (which the huntsman should always first 
 encourage them to do,) it is then his business to 
 assist them further ; but except, in some parti- 
 cular instances, I never approve of their being 
 cast, as long as they are inclined to hunt. The 
 first cast I bid my huntsman make is generally 
 
192 ON CASTING. 
 
 a regular one ; not choosing to rely entirely on 
 his judgment: if that does not succeed, he is 
 then at liberty to follow his own opinion, and 
 proceed as observation and genius may direct. 
 When such a cast is made, I like to see some 
 mark of good sense and meaning in it ; whether 
 down the wind, or towards some likely cover, or 
 strong earth : however, as it is at best uncertain, 
 and as the huntsman and the fox may be of 
 different opinions, I always wish to see a regular 
 cast before I see a knowing one ; which, as a 
 last resource, should not be called forth till it 
 is wanted. The letting hounds alone is but a 
 negative goodness in a huntsman ; whereas it is 
 true, that this last shows real genius; 'and, to 
 be perfect, must be born with him. There is a 
 fault, however, which a knowing huntsman is 
 too apt to commit : he will find a fresh fox, and 
 then claim the merit of having recovered the 
 hunted one. It always is dangerous to throw 
 hounds into a cover to retrieve a lost scent ; and, 
 unless they hit him in, is not to be depended on. 
 Driven to the last extremity, should a knowing 
 cast not succeed, your huntsman is in nowise 
 blameable : mine, I remember, lost me a good 
 chase, by persevering too long in a favourite 
 cast but he gave me so many good reasons why 
 
CONDUCT WHEN AT FAULT. 193 
 
 the fox ought to have gone that way, that I 
 returned perfectly well satisfied, telling him at 
 the same time, that if the fox was a fool, he 
 could not help it. 
 
 Gentlemen, when hounds are at fault, are too 
 apt themselves to contribute to their remaining 
 so. They should always stop their horses some 
 distance behind the hounds, and, if it is possible 
 to be silent, this is the time to be so : they 
 should be careful not to ride before the hounds, 
 or ride over the scent ; nor should they ever 
 meet a hound in the face, unless with a design 
 to stop him. Should you at any time be before 
 the hounds, turn your horse's head the way 
 they are going, get out of their way, and let 
 them pass you. 
 
 In dry weather, foxes, particularly in heathy 
 countries, will run the roads. If gentlemen, 
 at such times, will ride close upon the hounds, 
 they may drive them miles without any scent.* 
 High-mettled fox-hounds are seldom inclined to 
 stop whilst horses are close at the heels of them. 
 
 An acquaintance of mine, a good sportsman, 
 but a very warm one, when he sees the company 
 
 * No one should ever ride in a direction which, if persis- 
 ted in, would carry him amongst the hounds, unless he be 
 at a great distance behind them. 
 
194 ANECDOTE. 
 
 pressing too close upon his hounds, begins with 
 crying out, as loud as he can, Hold hard ! If 
 any one persists, after that, he begins mode- 
 rately at first, and says, / beg, sir, you will 
 stop your horse : Pray, sir, stop : God bless 
 you, sir, stop ! God d n your blood, sir, 
 stop your horse ! 
 
 I am now, as you may perceive, in a very vio- 
 lent passion ; so I will e'en stop the continuation 
 of this subject till I am cool again. 
 
CRITICAL MOMENTS. 195 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 I ENDED iny last letter, I believe, in a violent 
 passion. The hounds, I think, were at fault 
 also. I shall now continue the further explana- 
 tion of my thirteenth letter from that time. 
 
 The first moment that hounds are at a fault is 
 a critical one for the sport : people then should 
 be very attentive. Those who look forwards, 
 perhaps, may see the fox ; or the running of 
 sheep, or the pursuit of crows, may give them 
 some tidings of him. Those who listen, may 
 sometimes take a hint which way he is gone 
 from the chattering of a magpie, or perhaps be 
 at a certainty from a distant halloo : nothing 
 that can give any intelligence, at such a time as 
 this, is to be neglected. Gentlemen are too apt 
 to ride all together : were they to spread more, 
 they might sometimes be of service ; particularly 
 such as, from a knowledge of the sport, keep 
 down the wind : it would then be difficult for 
 either hounds or fox to escape their observation.* 
 
 * Those sportsmen only who wish to be of service to the 
 hounds, and know how, should ride wide of them. 
 
 K2 
 
196 OF HALLOOS. 
 
 You should, however, be cautious how you go 
 to a halloo. The halloo itself must, in a great 
 measure, direct you ; and though it affords no 
 certain rule, yet you may frequently guess by it 
 whether it is to be depended on or not. At the 
 sowing time, when boys are bird-keeping, if you 
 are not very much on your guard, their halloo 
 will sometimes deceive you. It is best, when 
 you are in doubt, to send on a whipper-in to 
 know : the worst then that can befal you is the 
 loss of a little time ; whereas, if you gallop away 
 with the hounds to the halloo, and are obliged 
 to return, it is a chance if they try for the scent 
 afterwards : on the other hand, if you are certain 
 of the halloo, and intend going to it, then the 
 sooner you get to it the better. I have been 
 more angry with my huntsman for being slow at 
 such a time as this, than for any other fault 
 whatsoever. Huntsmen who are slow at getting 
 to a halloo, are void of common sense. 
 
 They frequently commit another fault, by 
 being in too great a hurry when they get there. 
 It is hardly credible how much our eagerness is 
 apt, at such a time, to mislead our judgment : 
 for instance, when we get to the halloo, the first 
 questions are natural enough : Did you see the 
 fox ? Which way did he go ? The man points 
 
OF HALLOOS. 19? 
 
 with, his finger, perhaps, and then away you all 
 ride as fast as you can ; and in such a hurry, 
 that not one will stay to hear the answer which 
 you all were so desirous of knowing : the general 
 consequence of which is, you mistake the place, 
 and are obliged to return to the man for better 
 information. Depend upon it, the less hurry 
 you are in on this occasion, the less time you 
 lose ; and wherever the fox was seen for a cer- 
 tainty, whether near or distant, that will not 
 only be the surest, but also the best place to 
 take the scent ; and, besides the certainty of 
 going right, you will also, I believe, get on 
 faster than you would by any other means. 
 
 That halloos are not always to be depended 
 on, will be sufficiently evinced by the following 
 instances : 
 
 My hounds being at a long fault, a fellow hal- 
 looed to^them from the top of a rick, at some 
 distance off. The huntsman, as you will believe, 
 stuck spurs to his horse, hallooed till he was 
 almost hoarse, and got to the man as quickly as 
 he could : the man still kept hallooing ; and as 
 the hounds got near him, * Here" said he 
 " here here the fox is gone!" "Is he far 
 before us ?"' cried the huntsman : " how long 
 ago was it that you saw him ?" " No, master, I 
 
198 REMARKABLE INSTANCES. 
 
 have not seen him ; but / smelt him here this 
 morning, when I came to serve my sheep." 
 
 Another instance was this: we were trying 
 with some deer-hounds for an out-lying stag, 
 when we saw a fellow running towards us in 
 his shirt : we immediately concluded that we 
 should hear some news of the stag, and set out 
 joyfully to meet him. Our first question was, if 
 he had seen the stag ? " No, sir, I have not seen 
 him; but my wife dreamt as how she saw him 
 t'other night" 
 
 Once a man hallooed us back a mile, only to 
 tell us we were right before^ and we lost the 
 fox by it. 
 
 A gentleman, seeing his hounds at fault, rode 
 up to a man at plough, and with great eagerness 
 asked him if he had seen the fox. " The fox, 
 sir?' 11 " Yes, d n you, the fox ! did you never 
 see a fox ?" " Pray, sir, if I may be so bould, 
 what sort of a looking creature may he be ? has 
 he short ears^ and a long tail ?" " Yes" 
 " Why then I can assure you, sir, I have seen 
 no such thing" 
 
 We are agreed that hounds ought not to be 
 cast, as long as they are able to hunt ; and 
 though the idea that a hunted fox never stops is 
 a very necessary one to a fox -hunter, that he 
 
THE LOST SCENT. 199 
 
 may be active, and may lose no time ; yet tired 
 foxes will stop if you can hold them on ; and I 
 have known them stop even in wheel-ruts on the 
 open down, and leap up in the midst of the 
 hounds. A tired fox ought not to be given up, 
 for he is killed sometimes very unexpectedly. 
 If hounds have ever pressed him, he is worth 
 your trouble : perseverance may recover him, 
 and, if recovered, he most probably will be 
 killed ; nor should you despair whilst any 
 scent remains. The business of a huntsman is 
 only difficult when the scent dies quite away ; 
 and it is then he may show Adjudgment, when 
 the hounds are no longer able to show theirs. 
 The recovering a lost scent, and getting nearer 
 to the fox by a long cast, requires genius, and is 
 therefore what few huntsmen are famous for. 
 When hounds are no longer capable of feeling 
 the scent, it all rests with the huntsman : either 
 the game is entirely given up, or is only to be 
 recovered by him, and is the effect of real 
 genius, spirit, and observation. 
 
 When hounds are at cold-hunting with a bad 
 scent, it is then a good time to send a whipper- 
 in forward : if he can see the fox, a little mob- 
 bing, at such a time as this, may reasonably be 
 allowed. 
 
200 RUNNING IN COVER. 
 
 When hounds are put to a check on a high 
 road, by the fox being headed back, if in that 
 particular case you suffer them to try back, it 
 gives them the best chance of hitting oft* the 
 scent again, as they may try on both sides at 
 once. 
 
 When hounds are running in cover, you can- 
 not be too quiet. If the fox be running short, 
 and the hounds are catching him, not a word 
 should then be said: it is a difficult time for 
 hounds to hunt him, as he is continually turn- 
 ing, and will sometimes lie down, and let them 
 pass him. 
 
 I have remarked that the greatest danger of 
 losing a fox is at the first finding of him, and 
 when he is sinking ; at both of which times he 
 frequently will run short, and the eagerness of 
 the hounds is too apt to carry them beyond the 
 scent. When a fox is first found, I wish every 
 one would keep behind the hounds till they are 
 well settled to the scent ; and when the hounds 
 are killing him, I wish them to be as silent as 
 they can. 
 
 When he is caught, I like to see hounds eat 
 
 him eagerly. In some countries, I am told, 
 
 they have a method of treeing him : * it is of 
 
 * The intention of it is, to make the hounds more eager, 
 
WHEN TO EAT A FOX. 201 
 
 use to make the hounds eager ; it lets them all 
 in ; they recover their wind, and eat him more 
 readily. I should advise you, at the same time, 
 not to keep him too long ; as I do not imagine 
 the hounds have any appetite to eat him longer 
 than whilst they are angry with him. 
 
 The same author whom I quoted in my tenth 
 letter, and who tells us how we should not eat a 
 hare-) is also kind enough to tell us when we 
 should eat a fox ; I wish he had also added the 
 best manner of dressing him : he says " La 
 chair du Renard est moins mauvaise que tfelle 
 du loup ; les chiens et meme les hommes en 
 mangent en automne, surtout lorsqu'il s*est 
 nourri et engraisse de raisins." You would 
 have been better pleased, I make no doubt, if 
 the learned gentleman had told you how to 
 hunt him^ rather than when to eat him. 
 
 I shall end this letter with an anecdote of a 
 late huntsman of mine, who was a great Slip- 
 slop, and always called successively, success- 
 fully. One day, when he had been out with 
 the young hounds, I sent for him in, and asked 
 him what sport he had had, and how the 
 
 and to let in the tail hounds. The fox is thrown across 
 the branch of a tree, and the hounds are suffered to bay at 
 him for some minutes before he is thrown amongst them. 
 
 K3 
 
202 ANECDOTE. 
 
 hounds behaved ? " Very good sport, sir, and 
 no hounds could behave any better." " Did 
 you run him long?" "They ran him, an 
 please your honour, upwards of three hours 
 successfully." " So, then, you did kill him?" 
 " Oh no, sir, we lost him at last."" 
 
FOX-HUNTING RESUMED. 203 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 FOX-HUNTING, an acquaintance of mine says, 
 is only followed because you can ride hard, and 
 do less harm in that than in any other hunting. 
 There may be some truth in the observation ; 
 but to such as love the riding part only of 
 hunting, would not a trail scent be much more 
 suitable? Gentlemen who hunt for the sake of 
 a ride, who are indifferent about the hounds, 
 and know little of the business, if they do no 
 harm it is to the full as much as we have 
 reason to expect from them ; whilst those of a 
 contrary description do good, and have much 
 greater pleasure. Such as are acquainted with 
 the hounds, and can at times assist them, find 
 the sport more interesting, and frequently have 
 the satisfaction to think that they themselves 
 contribute to the success of the day.* This is 
 a pleasure you often enjoy ; a pleasure without 
 
 " It is not ]|y a foolish attempt to hunt the hounds that 
 gentlemen can be of service. It is not by riding close upon 
 them, but by keeping wide of them ; when by so doing they 
 may hear a halloo, or view the fox. 
 
204 SUPERIORITY OF HUNTING. 
 
 any regret attending it. I know not what 
 effect it might have on you; but I know that 
 my spirits are always good after good sport in 
 hunting ; nor is the rest of the day ever dis- 
 agreeable to me afterwards. What are other 
 sports compared with this, which is full of 
 enthusiasm ! Fishing is, in my opinion, a dull 
 diversion ; shooting, though it admits of a com- 
 panion, does not allow of many : both, therefore, 
 may be considered as selfish and solitary amuse- 
 ments compared with hunting ; to which as 
 many as please are welcome. The one might 
 teach patience to a philosopher ; and the other, 
 though it occasions great fatigue to the body, 
 seldom affords much occupation to the mind. 
 Whereas fox-hunting is a kind of warfare ; its 
 uncertainties, its fatigues, its difficulties, and 
 its dangers, rendering it interesting above all 
 other diversions. That you may more readily 
 pardon this digression, I return to answer your 
 letter now before me. 
 
 1 am glad to hear that your men have good 
 voices ; mine, unluckily, have not. I have a 
 friend, who hunts his own hounds, who has the 
 strangest voice, and the oddest halloo, I ever 
 heard. He has, however, this advantage : no 
 dog can possibly mistake his halloo for another. 
 
VIEW HALLOOS. 205 
 
 Singularity constitutes an essential part of a 
 huntsman's halloo : it is for that reason alone 
 I prefer the horn, to which, I observe, hounds 
 fly more readily than to the huntsman's voice. 
 Good voices certainly are pleasing ; yet it might 
 be as well, perhaps, if those who have them 
 were less fond of showing them. When a fox 
 is hallooed, those who understand this business, 
 and get forward, may halloo him again ;* yet 
 let them be told, if the hounds go the contrary 
 way, or do not seem to come on upon the line 
 of him, to halloo no more. With regard to its 
 being the hunted fox, the fox which every man 
 halloos is the hunted fox in his own opinion, 
 though he seldom has a better reason for it than 
 because he saw him. Such halloos as serve to 
 keep the hounds together, and to get on the tail 
 hounds, are always of use : halloos of encourage- 
 
 * Should a fox be hallooed in cover, while the hounds 
 are at fault ; if they be long in coming, by getting forward, 
 you may halloo the fox again, perhaps, before the hounds 
 are laid on ; by which means you will get nearer to him. 
 In cases like this, a good sportsman may be of great use to 
 hounds. There are days when hounds will do their business 
 best if let quite alone ; and there are days when they can 
 do nothing without assistance. Let them be assisted at no 
 other time. On a bad scenting day, or when hounds may 
 be over-matched, you cannot assist them too much. 
 
206 VIEW HALLOOS NOT TO BE 
 
 rnent to the leading hounds, if injudiciously 
 given, may spoil your sport. I am sorry to say, 
 view halloos frequently do more harm than good. 
 They are pleasing to sportsmen, but prejudicial 
 to hounds. If a strong cover be full of foxes, 
 and they are often hallooed, hounds seldom 
 take much pains in hunting them; hence arise 
 that coldness and indifference which sometimes 
 may be perceived in fox-hounds whilst pursuing 
 their game. 
 
 You ask me, if I would take off my hounds 
 to a halloo? If they are running with a good 
 scent, I most certainly would not : if otherwise, 
 and I could depend upon the halloo, in some 
 cases, I think, I would : for instance, when the 
 fox is a great way before them, or persists in 
 running his foil ; for such foxes are difficult to 
 kill, unless you endeavour to get nearer to them 
 by some means or other. When you hunt after 
 them, it frequently happens that the longer you 
 run, the further you are behind. 
 
 When hounds are out of blood, and a fox 
 runs his foil, you need not scruple to stop the 
 tail hounds, and throw them in at head ; or, if 
 the cover has any ridings cut in it, and the fox 
 be often seen, your huntsman, by keeping some 
 
TOO FREQUENTLY USED. 
 
 hounds at his horse's heels, at the first halloo 
 that he hears, may throw them in close at him.* 
 This will put him out of his pace, and perhaps 
 put him off his foil. It will be necessary, when 
 you do this, that the whipper-in should stop 
 tlie pack from hunting after, and get forward 
 with them to the huntsman. I have already 
 given it as my opinion, that hounds may be 
 hallooed too much. If they are often used to 
 a halloo, they will expect it, and may trust per- 
 haps to their ears and* eyes more than to their 
 noses. If they are often taken from the scent, 
 it teaches them to shuffle, and probably will 
 make them slack in cover : it should be done, 
 therefore, with great caution ; not too often ; 
 and always should be well timed. Famous 
 huntsmen, I think, by making too frequent a 
 use of this, sometimes hurt their hounds. I 
 have heard of a sportsman who never suffers his 
 hounds to be lifted : he lets them pick along the 
 coldest scent, through flocks of sheep. This is 
 
 * Nothing is meant more than this " that the huntsman 
 should get the tail hounds off the line of the scent, (where 
 they do more harm than good,) and encourage them for- 
 ward : if he should hear a halloo whilst these hounds are 
 off the scent, he should lay them on to it ; if he should not, 
 the tail hounds, by this means, may still stand a chance of 
 getting to the head hounds by the ear, which they never 
 could do, if they continued to run by the nose." 
 
208 PACK TO BE KEPT TOGETHER. 
 
 a particular style of fox-hunting, which, per- 
 1 haps, may suit the country in which that gen- 
 tleman hunts. I confess to you, I do not think 
 it would succeed in a bad scenting country, or 
 indeed in any country where foxes are wild : 
 whilst hounds can get on with the scent, it 
 cannot be right to take them off from it ; but 
 when they are stopped for want of it, it cannot 
 then be wrong to give them every advantage 
 you can. 
 
 It is wrong to suffer *hounds to hunt after 
 others that are gone on with the scent; for 
 how are they to get up to them with a worse 
 scent ? Besides, it makes them tie on the scent, 
 teaches them to run dog, and destroys that 
 laudable ambition of getting forward, which is 
 the chief excellence of a fox-hound. A good 
 huntsman will seldom suffer his head hounds to 
 run away from him : if it should so happen, and 
 they are still within his hearing, he sinks the 
 wind with the rest of the pack, and gets to them 
 as fast as he can. Though I suffer not a pack 
 of fox-hounds to hunt after such as may be a 
 long way before the rest, for reasons which I 
 have just given ; yet, when a single hound is 
 gone on with the scent, I send a whipper-in to 
 stop him. Were the hounds to be taken off the 
 
OF SKIRTERS. 209 
 
 scent to get to him, and he should no longer 
 have any scent when they find him, the fox 
 would be lost by it. This is a reason why, in 
 large covers, and particularly such as have many 
 roads in them, skirting hounds should be left at 
 home on windy days. 
 
 Skirters, I think, you may find hurtful, both 
 in men and dogs. Such as skirt to save their 
 horses often head the fox. Good sportsmen 
 never quit hounds but to be of service to them. 
 With men of this description, skirting becomes 
 a necessary part of fox-hunting, and is of the 
 greatest use. Skirters ! beware of a furze-brake. 
 If you head back the fox, the hounds, most 
 probably, will kill him in the brake. . Such as 
 ride after the hounds, at the same time that they 
 do no good, are least likely to do harm : let such 
 only as understand the business, and mean to be 
 of service to the hounds, ride wide of them. I 
 cannot however allow, that the riding close up 
 to hounds is always a sign of a good sportsman ; 
 if it were, a monkey, on a good horse, would be 
 the best sportsman in the field. Here must I 
 censure (but with respect) that eager spirit 
 which frequently interrupts, and sometimes is 
 fatal to sport in fox-hunting; for, though I 
 cannot subscribe to the doctrine of my friend 
 
210 EAGERNESS PREJUDICIAL. 
 
 * * * *, " that a pack of fox-hounds would do 
 better without a huntsman than with one ; and 
 that, if left to themselves, they would never lose 
 a fox ; " yet, if allowing them their usual attend- 
 ants, he had objected only to the sportsmen who 
 follow them, I must have joined issue with 
 him. Whoever has followed hounds, has seen 
 them frequently hurried beyond the scent ; and 
 whoever is conversant in hunting must know, 
 that the steam of many horses, carried by the 
 wind, and mixed with a cold scent, is preju- 
 dicial to it. 
 
 It sometimes happens that a good horseman 
 is not so well in with the hounds as an indifferent 
 one, because he seldom will condescend to get 
 off his horse. I believe the best way to follow 
 hounds across a country is to keep on the line 
 of them, and to dismount at once when you 
 come to a leap which you do not choose to take ; 
 for in looking about for easier places, much time 
 is lost. In following hounds, it may be useful 
 to you to know, that when in cover they run up 
 the wind, you cannot in reason be too far be- 
 hind them, as long as you have a perfect hear- 
 ing of them, and can command them ; and, on 
 the contrary, when they are running down the 
 wind, you cannot keep too close to them. 
 
HOW TO DISPERSE FOXES 211 
 
 You complain that foxes are in too great 
 plenty : believe me, it is a good fault. I should 
 as soon have expected to have heard your 
 
 neighbour R complain of having too much 
 
 money : however, it is not without a remedy ; 
 hunt the same covers constantly, and you will 
 soon disperse them. If your pack be strong 
 enough, divide it ; hunt every day, and you 
 will catch many tired foxes. I remember to 
 have killed a brace in one morning, in the 
 strongest season ; the first in ten minutes, the 
 second in half an hour. If your own pack be 
 not strong enough to hunt more than every 
 other day, get a pack of harriers to hunt hare 
 in the cover the intermediate day. Foxes thus 
 disturbed will shift their quarters ; they know 
 their enemies, and smell in the night where they 
 have been in the day, and will not stay where 
 they are likely to be disturbed by them. Fol- 
 low them for one week in this manner, and I do 
 not think you will have any reason afterwards 
 to complain that they are in too great plenty. 
 
 When covers are much disturbed, foxes will 
 sometimes break as soon as they hear a hound. 
 Where the country round is very open, the fox 
 least likely to break is the one which you are 
 hunting : he will be very unwilling to quit the 
 
212 A FRENCHMAN'S OPINION 
 
 cover, if it be a large one, unless he can get a 
 great distance before the hounds. If you are 
 desirous to get a run over such a country, the 
 likeliest means will be to post a quiet and skil- 
 ful person to halloo one off, and lay on to him. 
 The further he is before you, the less likely he 
 will be to return. The best method, however, 
 to hunt a cover like this, is to stick constantly 
 to it, not suffering the hounds to break, as 
 long as one fox remains : do this two or three 
 hunting days following ; foxes will then fly, and 
 you will have good chases. 
 
 Nothing is more hurtful to hounds than the 
 frequent changing of their country : should they 
 change from a good scenting country to a bad 
 one, unless they have luck on their sides, they 
 may be some time without killing a fox ; where- 
 as hounds always have a great advantage in a 
 country which they are used to. They not only 
 know better where to find their game, but they 
 will also pursue it with more alacrity afterwards. 
 
 This letter began by a digression in favour 
 of hunting; it will end with the opinion of a 
 Frenchman, not so favourable to it. This gen- 
 tleman was in my neighbourhood on a visit to 
 the late Lord C , who, being a great sports- 
 man, thought he could not oblige his friend 
 
OF A FOX-CHASE. 213 
 
 more than by offering him to partake of an 
 amusement which he himself was so fond of; he 
 therefore mounted him on one of his best horses, 
 and showed him a fox-chase. The Frenchman, 
 after having been well shaken, dirted, tired, run 
 away with, and thrown down, was asked, on his 
 return, " Comment il avoit trouve la chasse? " 
 u Morbleu ! milord" said he, shrugging up 
 his shoulders, " votre chasse est une chasse 
 diabolique" 
 
214 COMPARATIVE MERITS OF THE 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 BEFORE I proceed on my subject, give me 
 leave to set you right in one particular, where 
 I perceive I have been misunderstood by you. 
 You say, you little expected to see the abilities 
 of a huntsman degraded beneath those of a 
 whipper-in. This is a serious charge against 
 me, as a sportsman ; and though I cannot allow 
 that I have put the cart before the horse in the 
 manner you are pleased to mention, yet you 
 have made it necessary for me to explain myself 
 further about it. 
 
 I must therefore remind you, that I speak of 
 my own country only ; a country full of riot, 
 where the covers are large, and where there is a 
 chase full of deer, and full of game. In such 
 a country as this, you that know so well how 
 necessary it is for a pack of fox-hounds to be 
 steady, and to be kept together, ought not to 
 wonder that I should prefer an excellent whip- 
 per-in to an excellent huntsman. No one knows 
 better than you do how essential a good adju- 
 
WHIPPER-IN AND HUNTSMAN. 215 
 
 tant is to a regiment : believe me, a good whip- 
 in is not less so to a pack of fox-hounds. But 
 I must beg you to observe, that I only mean 
 that / could do better with mediocrity in the 
 one than in the other. If I have written any 
 thing in a former letter that implies more, I beg 
 to retract it in this. Yet I must confess to you, 
 that a famous huntsman I am not very ambi- 
 tious to have, unless it necessarily followed that 
 he must have famous hounds ; a conclusion 
 I cannot admit, as long as these so famous 
 gentlemen will be continually attempting to do 
 themselves, what it would be much better if 
 they would permit their hounds to do : besides? 
 they seldom are good servants, are always con- 
 ceited, and sometimes impertinent. I am very 
 well satisfied if my huntsman knows his country, 
 knows his hounds, and rides well up to them, 
 and has some knowledge of the nature of the 
 animal which he is in pursuit of: and so far am 
 I from wishing him to be famous, that I hope 
 he will still continue to think that his hounds 
 know best how to hunt a fox. 
 
 You say you agree with me, that a huntsman 
 should stick close to his hounds. If then his 
 place is fixed, and that of the first whipper-in 
 (where you have two) is not, I cannot but think 
 
216 DUTY OF A WHIPPER-IN. 
 
 genius may be at least as useful in one as in the 
 other : for instance, while the huntsman is rid- 
 ing to his head hounds, the whipper-in, if he 
 has genius, may show it in various ways ; he 
 may clap forward, to any great earth that may, 
 by chance, be open ; he may sink the wind to 
 halloo, or mob a fox, when the scent fails ; he 
 may keep him off his foil ; he may stop the tail 
 hounds, and get them forward ; and has it fre- 
 quently in his power to assist the hounds, with- 
 out doing them any hurt, provided he has sense 
 to distinguish where he is wanted most. Be- 
 sides, the most essential part of fox-hunting, the 
 making and keeping the pack steady, depends 
 entirely upon him ; as a huntsman should sel- 
 dom rate, and never flog a hound. In short, I 
 consider the first whipper-in as a second hunts- 
 man ; and, to be perfect, he should be as capa- 
 ble of hunting the hounds as the huntsman 
 himself. 
 
 You cannot too much recommend to your 
 whipper-in to get to the head of his hounds 
 before he attempts to stop them. The rating 
 behind is to little purpose, and if they are in 
 cover, may prevent him from knowing who the 
 culprits are. When your hounds are running a 
 fox, he then should content himself with stop- 
 
OF DISCIPLINE. 217 
 
 ping such as are riotous, and should get them 
 forward. They may be condemned upon the 
 spot, but the punishment should be deferred till 
 the next day, when they may be taken out on 
 purpose to commit the fault, and suffer the 
 punishment. I agree with you, that young 
 hounds cannot be awed too much ; yet suffer 
 not your punishment of them to exceed their 
 offence. I could wish to draw a line betwixt 
 justice and barbarity.* 
 
 A whipper-in, while breaking-in young 
 hounds, sometimes will rate them before they 
 commit the fault : this prevents them for that 
 time; but they will be just as ready to begin 
 the next opportunity. Had he not better let 
 them quite alone, till he sees what they would 
 be at? The discipline then may be propor- 
 tioned to the degree of the offence. Whether 
 a riotous young hound runs little or much is of 
 small consequence, if he be not encouraged : it 
 
 * I am sorry that it should be necessary to explain what 
 I mean by barbarity : I mean thai punishment which is 
 either unnecessarily inflicted, which is inflicted with 
 severity, or from which no possible good can arise. Punish- 
 ment, when properly applied, is not cruelty, is not revenge 
 it is justice, it is even mercy. The intention of punish- 
 ment is to prevent crimes, and consequently to prevent the 
 necessity of punishing. 
 
218 EXCESSIVE PUNISHMENT 
 
 is the blood only that signifies, which in every 
 kind of riot should carefully be prevented.* 
 
 My general orders to my whipper-in are, if, 
 when he rates a hound the hound does not mind 
 him, to take him up immediately, and give him 
 a severe flogging. Whippers-in are too apt 
 to continue rating, even when they find that 
 rating does not avail. There is but one way to 
 stop such hounds, which is, to get to the heads 
 of them. I also tell him never on any account 
 to strike a hound, unless the hound is at the 
 same time sensible what it is for : never to strike 
 a hound that does not deserve it, and to strike 
 those hard that do. 
 
 It is seldom necessary to flog hounds to make 
 them obedient, since obedience is the first lesson 
 they are taught. Yet, if any are more riotous 
 than the rest, they may receive a few cuts in 
 the morning, before they leave the kennel. 
 
 When hounds are unsteady, every possible 
 means should be taken to make them otherwise. 
 
 * It is not meant that hounds should be suffered to con- 
 tinue on a wrong scent longer than may be necessary to 
 know that the scent is a wrong one. This passage refers to 
 page 87, where the author's meaning is more fully ex- 
 plained. It is introduced here more strongly to mark the 
 danger of encouraging hounds on a wrong scent, and in- 
 dulging them afterwards in the blood of it. 
 
SHOULD BE PREVENTED. 219 
 
 A hare, or a deer, put into the kennel amongst 
 them, may then be necessary. Huntsmen are 
 too fond of kennel discipline. You already 
 know my opinion of it. I never allow it but in 
 cases of great necessity : I then am always pre- 
 sent myself, to prevent the excess of it. To 
 prevent an improper and barbarous use of such 
 discipline, I have already told you, is one of the 
 chief objects of these letters. If what Mon- 
 taigne says be true, " that there is a certain 
 general claim of kindness arid benevolence which 
 every creature has a right to from us," surely 
 we ought not to suffer unnecessary severity to 
 be used with an animal to whom we are obliged 
 for so much diversion : and what opinion ought 
 we to have of the huntsman who inflicts it on an 
 animal to whom he owes his daily bread ? * 
 
 Such of my hounds as are very riotous are 
 taken out by themselves on the days when they 
 do not hunt, and properly punished ; and this 
 
 * " Perhaps it is not the least extraordinary circumstance 
 in these flogging lectures, that they should be given with 
 Montaigne, or any other moral author whatever, in recol- 
 lection at the same instant ! " (Vide Monthly Review.) 
 Perhaps it is not the least extraordinary circumstance in 
 these criticisms, that this passage should have been quoted 
 as a proof of the author's inhumanity. The 'critic ends his 
 strictures with the following exclamation. " Of a truth, a 
 
 L2 
 
220 PROPER MODE OF 
 
 is continued whilst my patience lasts, which of 
 course depends on the value of the dog. It is a 
 trial betwixt the whipper-in and the dog, which 
 will tire first ; and the whipper-in, I think, gene- 
 rally prevails. If this method will not make 
 them steady, no other can : they then are looked 
 upon as incorrigible, and are put away. 
 
 Such hounds as are notorious offenders should 
 also feel the lash, and hear a rate, as they go to 
 the cover : it may be a useful hint to them, and 
 may prevent a severer flogging afterwards. A 
 sensible whipper-in will wait his opportunity to 
 single out his hound ; he will then hit him hard, 
 and rate him well : whilst a foolish one will often 
 hit a dog he did not intend to hit ; will ride full 
 gallop into the midst of the hounds ; will per- 
 haps ride over some of the best of them, and put 
 the whole pack into confusion. This is a ma- 
 noeuvre I cannot bear to see. 
 
 Have a care! are words which seldom do any 
 harm ; since hounds, when they are on a right 
 
 sportsman is the most uniform consistent character, from 
 his own representation, that we ever contemplated ! " and 
 yet, perhaps, there are sportsmen to be found, possessed of 
 as tender feelings of humanity as any critic whatsoever. 
 The motto prefixed to these letters, if it had been attended 
 to, might have entitled the author to more candour than 
 the critic has thought fit to bestow upon him. 
 
PUNTSHIN-G HOUNDS. 221 
 
 scent, will not mind them. Let your whipper- 
 in be careful how he encourages the hounds : 
 that, improperly done, may spoil your pack. 
 
 A whipper-in will rate a hound, and then en- 
 deavour to flog him. A dog after having been 
 rated, will naturally avoid the whip. Tell your 
 whipper-in, whenever a hound deserves the lash, 
 to hit him first, and rate him afterwards. 
 
 When there are two whippers-in, one ought 
 always to be forward. When there is only one, 
 he, to be very perfect, should be a very Mungo, 
 here, there, and every where. 
 
 You will find it difficult to keep your people 
 in their proper places. I have been obliged to 
 stop back myself to bring on hounds, which my 
 servants had left behind. I cannot give you a 
 greater proof how necessary it is that a whipper- 
 in should bring home all his hounds, than by 
 telling you that I have lost an old hound for 
 ten days, and sent all the country over to inquire 
 after him ; and at last, when I thought no more 
 about him, in drawing a large cover in the 
 country where he had been lost, he joined the 
 pack : he was exceedingly emaciated, and it was 
 a long time before he was recovered. How he 
 subsisted all that time I cannot imagine. When 
 any of your hounds are missing, you should 
 
222 HALLOO FORWARD. 
 
 send the v;hipper-in back immediately to look 
 for them : it will teach him to keep them more 
 together. 
 
 The getting forward the tail hounds is a 
 necessary part of fox-hunting, in which you will 
 find a good whipper-in of the greatest use. He 
 must also get forward himself at times, when 
 the huntsman is not with the hounds; but the 
 second whipper-in (who frequently is a young 
 lad, ignorant of his business) on no account 
 ought to encourage or rate a hound, but when 
 he is quite certain it is right to do it ; nor is he 
 ever to get forward, as long as a single hound 
 remains behind. 
 
 Halloo forward, is certainly a necessary and 
 a good halloo ; but is it not used too indiscrimi- 
 nately? it is for ever in the mouth of a whip- 
 per-in. If your hounds are never used to that 
 halloo till after a fox is found, you will see them 
 fly to it. At other times, other halloos will 
 answer the purpose of getting them on as well. 
 
 Most huntsmen, I believe, are jealous of the 
 whipper-in : they frequently look on him as a 
 successor, and therefore do not very readily 
 admit him into the kennel ,- yet, in my opinion, 
 it is necessary he should go there ; for he ought 
 to be well acquainted with the hounds, who 
 
OF STEADINESS. 223 
 
 should know and follow him as well as the 
 huntsman. 
 
 I am sorry to hear your hounds are so un- 
 steady : it is scarcely possible to have sport 
 with unsteady hounds ; they are half tired before 
 the fox is found, and are not to be depended 
 upon afterwards. It is a great pleasure, when 
 a hound challenges, to be certain he is right : it 
 is a cruel disappointment to hear a rate imme- 
 diately succeed it, and the smacking of whips, 
 instead of halloos of encouragement. A few 
 riotous and determined hounds do a deal of 
 mischief in a pack. Never, when you can avoid 
 it, put them among the rest : let them be taken 
 out by themselves, and well chastised ; and if 
 you find them incorrigible, hang them. The 
 common saying, evil communications corrupt 
 good manners, holds good with regard to 
 hounds ; they are easily corrupted. The se- 
 parating of the riotous ones from those which 
 are steady answers many good purposes. It 
 not only prevents the latter from getting the 
 blood they should not, but it also prevents 
 them from being overawed by the smacking of 
 whips, which is too apt to obstruct drawing, 
 and going deep into cover. A couple of 
 hounds, which I received from a neighbour 
 
224 STRANGE HOUNDS TO BE 
 
 last year, were hurtful to my pack. They had 
 run with a pack of harriers; and, as I soon 
 found, were never afterwards to be broken from 
 hare. It was the beginning of the season ; 
 covers were thick, hares in plenty, and we 
 seldom killed less than five or six in the morn- 
 ing. The pack at last got so much blood, that 
 they would hunt them as if they were designed 
 to hunt nothing else. I parted with the two 
 hounds; and the others, by proper manage- 
 ment, are become as steady as they were before. 
 You will remind me, perhaps, that they were 
 draft hounds. It is true, they were so; but 
 they were three or four years hunters; an age 
 when they might be supposed to have known 
 better. I advise you, unless a known good 
 pack of hounds are to be disposed of, not to 
 accept old hounds. I mention this to encou- 
 rage the breeding of hounds, and as the likeliest 
 means of getting a handsome, good, and steady 
 pack. Though I give you this advice, it is 
 true I have accepted draft hounds myself, and 
 some have been very good ; but they were the 
 gift of the friend mentioned by me in a former 
 letter;* and, unless you meet with such ano- 
 
 * The Hon. Mr. Booth Grey, brother to the Earl of 
 Stamford. The hounds here alluded to were from Lord 
 Stamford's kennel. 
 
ADOPTED WITH CAUTION. 225 
 
 ther, old hounds will not prove worthy your 
 acceptance : they never can be very good ; and 
 may bring vices along with them, to spoil your 
 pack. If old hounds are unsteady, it may not 
 be in your power to make them otherwise ; and 
 I can assure you from experience, that an 
 unsteady old hound will give you more trouble 
 than all your young ones. The latter will at 
 least stop; but an obstinate old hound will 
 frequently run mute, if he finds he can run no 
 other way : besides, old hounds, that are unac- 
 quainted with your people, will not readily 
 hunt for them as they ought; and such as 
 were steady in their own pack, may become un- 
 steady in yours. I once saw an extraordinary 
 instance of this, when I kept harriers. Hunt- 
 ing one day on the downs, a well-known fox- 
 hound of a neighbouring gentleman came and 
 joined us ; and as he both ran faster than we 
 did, and skirted more, he broke every fault, and 
 killed many hares. I saw this hound often in 
 his own pack afterwards, where he was per- 
 fectly steady ; and though he constantly hunted 
 in covers, where hares were in great plenty, I 
 never remember to have seen him run one step 
 after them. 
 
 I am sorry to hear so bad an accident has 
 
 L3 
 
226 SHEEP-KILLERS. 
 
 happened to your pack, as that of killing sheep ; 
 but I apprehend, from your account of it, that 
 it proceeded from idleness, rather than vice. 
 The manner in which the sheep were killed may 
 give you some insight into it : old practitioners 
 generally seizing by the neck, and seldom, if 
 ever, behind, This, like other vices, sometimes 
 runs in the blood : in an old hound it is, I 
 believe, incorrigible; the best way, therefore, 
 will be to hang all those which, after two or 
 three whippings, cannot be cured of it. In 
 some countries hounds are more inclined to kill 
 sheep than they are in others. Hounds may be 
 steady in countries where the covers are fenced, 
 arid sheep are only to be seen in flocks, either in 
 large fields, or on open downs ; and the same 
 hounds may be unsteady in forests and heathy 
 countries, where the sheep are not less wild than 
 the deer. However, hounds, should they move 
 but a step after them, should undergo the 
 severest discipline : if young hounds do it from 
 idleness, that, and plenty of work, may reclaim 
 them ; for old hounds, guilty of this vice, I 
 know, as I said before, of but one sure remedy, 
 the halter. 
 
 Though I so strongly recommend to you to 
 make your hounds steady, from having seen 
 
OF STEADINESS. 227 
 
 unsteady packs; yet I must also say, that I 
 have frequently seen the men even more un- 
 steady than the hounds. It is shocking to 
 hear hounds hallooed one minute, and rated 
 the next : nothing offends a good sportsman 
 so much, or is in itself so hurtful. I will 
 give you an instance of the danger of it : My 
 beagles were remarkably steady ; they hunted 
 hare in Cranbourn Chase, where deer are in 
 great plenty, and would draw for hours, with- 
 out taking the least notice of them. When 
 tired of hare-hunting, I was inclined to try if 
 I could find any diversion in hunting of fallow 
 deer. I had been told it would be impossible 
 to do it with the same hounds ; and, to put it 
 to the trial, I took them into a cover of my 
 own, which has many ridings cut in it, and 
 where are many deer. The first deer we saw 
 we hallooed, and by great encouragement, and 
 constant hallooing, there were but few of these 
 steady hounds but would run the scent. They 
 hunted deer constantly from that day, and never 
 lost one afterwards. Dogs are sensible animals ; 
 they soon find out what is required of them, 
 when we do not confuse them by our own 
 heedlessness : when we encourage them to hunt 
 a scent they have been rated from, and per- 
 
228 OF STEADINESS. 
 
 haps severely chastised for hunting, they must 
 needs think us very cruel, capricious, and in- 
 consistent.* 
 
 If you know any pack that is very unsteady, 
 depend upon it, either no care has been taken in 
 entering the young hounds to make them steady, 
 or else the men, afterwards, by hallooing them 
 on improperly and to a wrong scent, have forced 
 them to become so. 
 
 The first day of the season, I advise you to 
 take out your pack where you have least^riot, 
 and where you are most sure to find : for, not- 
 withstanding their steadiness at the end of the last 
 season, long rest may have made them other- 
 wise. If you have any hounds more vicious 
 than the rest, they should be left at home a 
 day or two, till the others are well in blood : 
 your people, without doubt, will be particularly 
 
 * Though all hounds ought to be made obedient, none 
 require it so much as fox-hounds, for without it they will 
 be totally uncontroulable ; yet not all the chastisement that 
 cruelty can inflict will render them obedient, unless they be 
 made to understand what is required of them : when that 
 is effected, many hounds will not need chastisement, if you 
 do not suffer them to be corrupted by bad example. Few 
 packs are more obedient than my own, yet none, I believe 
 are chastised less ; for as those hounds that are guilty of an 
 offence are never pardoned, "so those that are innocent, being 
 by this means less liable to be corrupted, are never punished. 
 
OF STEADINESS. 229 
 
 cautious, at the beginning of the season, what 
 hounds they halloo to ; for if they should be 
 encouraged on a wrong scent, it will be a great 
 hurt to them. 
 
 The first day that you hunt in the forest, be 
 also particularly cautious what hounds you take 
 out. All should be steady from deer : you 
 afterwards may put others to them, a few at 
 a time. I have seen a pack draw steadily 
 enough ; and yet, when running hard, fall on a 
 weak deer, and rest as contented as if they had 
 killed their fox. These hounds were not chas- 
 tised, though caught in the fact, but were suf- 
 fered to draw on for a fresh fox : I had rather 
 they had undergone severe discipline. The 
 finding of another fox with them afterwards 
 might then have been of service ; otherwise, 
 in my opinion, it could only serve to encourage 
 them in the vice, and make them worse and 
 worse. 
 
 I must mention an instance of extraordinary 
 sagacity in a fox beagle, which once belonged 
 to the Duke of Cumberland. I entered him 
 at hare, to which he was immediately so steady, 
 that he would run nothing else. When a fox 
 was found by the beagles, which sometimes 
 happened, he would constantly come to the 
 
230 SAGACITY OF A BEAGLE. 
 
 heels of the huntsman's horse. Some years 
 afterwards I hunted fox only, and though I 
 parted with most of the others, I kept him : 
 he went out constantly with the pack, and as 
 hares were scarce in the country I then hunted, 
 he did no hurt : the moment a fox was found, 
 he came to the horse's heels. This continued 
 some time, till catching view of a fox that 
 was sinking, he ran in with the rest, and was 
 well blooded. He, from that time to the day 
 of his death, was not only as steady a hound 
 to fox as ever I knew, but became also our 
 very best finder. I bred some buck-hounds 
 from him, and they are remarkable for never 
 changing from a hunted deer. 
 
 Your huntsman's weekly return is a very 
 curious one: he is particularly happy in the 
 spelling. My huntsman is author of the in- 
 closed. It may make you laugh, and is per- 
 haps no improper return for yours. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 HONORED I beg your honouers par- 
 don a thousand times my wicked daufter is 
 brout to bed this day God be praisd the child 
 Is dead bar mother nor I new nothing of it nor 
 nobody as I can hear off tis that vile fellow 
 R P at as he has acted such a 
 
A LEARNED EPISTLE. 231 
 
 Roges part she shall not have him by no means 
 I am all most at my wits end I dont now what 
 to do. I bag your honouer will Consider me 
 and Let har stay in har place I dont hear but 
 that all har fellow sarvants likes har very well 
 I have been out with the hounds this day to 
 aver the frost is very bad the hounds are all 
 pure well at prasent and horses shepard has 
 had a misfortin with his mare she hung har- 
 self with the holter and throd har self and 
 broak her neck, and frac tard skul so we was 
 forsd to knock har In the head from your 
 
 ever dutyful Humbel Sarvant, 
 
 **** ****** 
 
 Wednesday evening. 
 
232 
 
 HINTS RESPECTING THE 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 FINDING, by your last letter, that an early 
 hour does not suit you, I will mention some 
 particulars which may be of use to you when 
 you hunt late. An early hour is only necessary 
 where covers are large, -and foxes scarce ; where 
 they are in plenty, you may hunt at any hour 
 you please. When foxes are weak, by hunting 
 late you have better chases; when they are 
 strong, give me leave to tell you, you must 
 hunt early, or you will not always kill them. 
 I think, however, when you go out late, you 
 should go immediately to the place where you 
 are most likely to find ; which, generally speak- 
 ing, is the cover that hounds have been least in. 
 If the cover be large, you should draw only 
 such parts of it as a fox is likely to kennel in ; 
 it is useless to draw any other at a late hour. 
 Besides, though it is always right to find as 
 soon as you can, yet it is never so necessary 
 as when the day is far advanced ; if you do not 
 find soon, a long and tiresome day is generally 
 
TIME OF HUNTING. 233 
 
 the consequence. Where the cover is thick, 
 you should draw it as exactly as if you were 
 trying for a hare, particularly if it be furzy ; 
 for when there is no drag, a fox, at a late hour, 
 will lie till the hounds come close upon him. 
 Having drawn one cover, let your huntsman 
 stay for his hounds, and take them along with 
 him to another : I have known hounds find 
 a fox after the huntsman had left the cover. 
 The whippers-in are not to be sparing of their 
 whips or voices on this occasion, and are to 
 come through the middle of the cover, to be 
 certain that they leave no hounds behind. 
 
 A huntsman will complain of hounds for stay- 
 ing behind in cover. It is a great fault, and 
 makes the hound that has it of little value ; 
 a fault frequently occasioned by his own mis- 
 management. Having drawn one cover, he 
 hurries away to another, and leaves the whip- 
 per-in to bring on the hounds after him : but 
 the whipper-in is seldom less desirous of getting 
 forward than the huntsman ; and, unless they 
 come off easily, it is not often that he gives him- 
 self much concern about them. Also, hounds 
 that are left too long at their walks will acquire 
 this trick from hunting by themselves, and are 
 not easily broken of it. Having said all I can 
 
234 DUTY OF A HUNTSMAN. 
 
 at present recollect of the duty of a whipper-in, 
 I shall now proceed to give you a further ac- 
 count of that of a huntsman. What has been 
 said on the subject of drawing and casting r , 
 related to the fox-chase described in a former 
 letter. Much, without doubt, is still left to 
 say ; and I will endeavour, as well as I am 
 able, to make good the deficiency. I shall con- 
 sider, first, in what manner he should draw ; 
 and, afterwards, how he should cast his hounds. 
 
 The fixing on the country you intend to 
 hunt, a day or two before, is a great hinderance 
 to sport in fox-hunting. You, that hav 7 e the 
 whole country to yourself, and can hunt on 
 either side of your house, as you please, should 
 never (when you can help it) fix your place 
 of hunting till you see what the weather is.* 
 The most probable means to have good chases 
 is to choose your country according to the 
 wind. 
 
 Hounds that lie idle are always out of wind, 
 and are easily fatigued. The first day you go 
 out after a long frost, you cannot expect much 
 
 * When the scent lies badly, small covers, or those in 
 which a fox cannot move unseen, are most favourable to 
 hounds. In such covers, good sportsmen will kill foxes in 
 almost any weather. 
 
CARE IN DRAFTING. 235 
 
 sport; take, therefore, considerably more than 
 your usual number of hounds, and throw them 
 into the largest cover that you have: if any foxes 
 are in the country, it is there you will find 
 them. After once or twice going out in this 
 manner, you should reduce your number.* 
 
 Before a huntsman goes into the kennel to 
 draft his hounds, let him determine within 
 himself the number of hounds he intends to 
 take out ; as likewise the number of young 
 hounds that he can venture in the country 
 where he is going to hunt. Different coun- 
 tries may require different hounds : some may 
 require more hounds than others. It is not 
 an easy matter to draft hounds properly ; nor 
 can any expedition be made in it without some 
 method. f 
 
 * During a frost, hounds may be exercised on downs, or 
 the turnpike-roads; nor will it do any material injury to 
 their feet. Prevented from hunting, they should be fed 
 sparingly ; and such as can do without flesh should have 
 none given them ; a course of vegetables, sulphur, and thin 
 meat, is the likeliest means to keep them healthy. 
 
 j* No hound ought to be left at home, unless there be a 
 reason for it ; it is therefore that I say, great nicety is re- 
 quired to draft hounds properly Many huntsmen, I be- 
 lieve, think it of no great consequence which they take out 
 and which they leave, provided they have the number 
 requisite. A perfect knowledge in feeding and drafting 
 hounds are the two most essential parts of fox-hunting : 
 
236 PUNCTUAL ATTENDANCE. 
 
 I seldom suffer many unsteady hounds to be 
 taken out together ; and when I do, I take care 
 that none shall go with them but such as they 
 cannot spoil. 
 
 When the place of meeting and time are 
 fixed, every huntsman ought to be as exact to 
 them as it is possible for him to be. On no 
 account is he to be before the time ; yet, on 
 some occasions, it might be better, perhaps, for 
 the diversion, were he permitted to be after 
 it.* The course your huntsman intends to take 
 in drawing ought also to be well understood be- 
 fore he leaves the kennel. 
 
 good hounds will require but little assistance afterwards. 
 By feeding, I mean the bringing the hound into the field 
 in his highest vigour ; by drafting, I particularly mean the 
 taking out no unsteady hound, nor any that are not likely 
 to be of service to the pack. When you intend to hunt two 
 days following, it is then that the greatest nicety will be 
 requisite to make the most of a small pack. Placing 
 hounds to the greatest advantage, as mentioned page 234 
 may also be considered as a necessary part of fox-hunting. 
 
 Hounds that are intended to hunt the next day, and are 
 drafted oft' into the hunting-kennel as soon as they are fed, 
 should be let out again into the outer court in the evening : 
 my hounds have generally some thin meat given them at 
 this time, while the feeder cleans out their kennel. (Vide 
 note, page 45.) I have already said that cleanliness is not 
 less essential than food. 
 
 * When there is a white frost, for instance, at the going 
 off of which the scent never lies. 
 
HAUNTS OF THE FOX. 23? 
 
 If your huntsman, without inconvenience, can 
 begin drawing at the farthest cover down the 
 wind, and so draw from cover to cover up the 
 wind till you find, let him do it : it will have 
 many advantages attending it: he will draw 
 the same covers in half the time ; your people 
 cannot fail of being in their proper places ; you 
 will have less difficulty in getting your hounds 
 off; and as the fox will most probably run the 
 covers that have been already drawn, you are 
 certain not to change. 
 
 Judicious huntsmen will observe where foxes 
 like best to lie. In chases and forests, where 
 you have a great tract of cover to draw, such 
 observation is necessary, or you will lose much 
 time in finding. Generally speaking, I think 
 they are fondest of such as lie high, and are dry 
 and thick at bottom ; such also as lie out of the 
 wind ; and such as are on the sunny side of 
 hills.* The same cover where you find one 
 fox, when it has remained quiet any time, will 
 probably produce another. 
 
 It is to little purpose to draw hazel coppices 
 at the time when nuts are gathered ; furze 
 
 * This must of course vary in different countries: a 
 huntsman who has been used to a country knows best 
 where to find his game. 
 
238 ON THE MANNER AND 
 
 covers, or two or three years coppices, are then 
 the only quiet places a fox can kennel in : they 
 also are disturbed when pheasant-shooting be- 
 gins, and older covers are more likely. The 
 season when foxes are most wild and strong is 
 about Christmas : a huntsman, then, must lose 
 no time in drawing ; he must draw up the wind, 
 unless the cover be very large ; in which case it 
 may be better perhaps to cross it, giving the 
 hounds a side-wind, lest he should be obliged to 
 turn down the wind at last: in either case, let 
 him draw as quietly as he can. 
 
 Young coppices, at this time, are quite bare : 
 the most likely places are four or five years cop- 
 pices, and such as are furzy at bottom. 
 
 It is easy to perceive, by the account you 
 give of your hounds, that they do not draw 
 well ; your huntsman, therefore, must be parti- 
 cularly attentive to them after a wet night. 
 The best drawing hounds are shy of searching 
 a cover when it is wet ; yours, if care is not 
 taken, will not go into it at all : your huntsman 
 should ride into the likeliest part of the cover, 
 and, as it is probable there will be no drag, the 
 closer he draws the better : he must not draw 
 too much an end, but should cross the cover 
 backwards and forwards, taking care at the 
 
IMPORTANCE OF DRAWING. 239 
 
 same time to give his hounds as much the wind 
 as possible.* 
 
 It is not often you will see a pack perfectly 
 steady where there is much riot, and yet draw 
 well : some hounds will not exert themselves 
 till others challenge, and are encouraged .) 
 
 I fear the many harriers you have in your 
 neighbourhood will be hurtful to your sport : 
 by constantly disturbing the covers, they will 
 make the foxes shy ; and when the covers 
 become thin, there will be but little chance of 
 finding foxes in them : furze covers are then 
 the most likely places. Though I like not to see 
 a huntsman to a pack of hounds ever off his 
 horse, yet, at a late hour, he should draw a 
 furze cover as slowly as if he were himself on 
 foot. I am well convinced that huntsmen, by 
 drawing in too great a hurry, leave foxes some- 
 times behind them. I once saw a remarkable 
 instance of it with my own hounds : we had 
 drawn (as we thought) a cover, which, in the 
 
 * Hounds that are hunted constantly at an early hour 
 seldom, I think, draw well : they depend too much upon a 
 drag, and it is not in the strongest part of the cover that 
 they are accustomed to try for it. 
 
 t This relates to making hounds steady only, which 
 always causes confusion, and interrupts drawing. When 
 once a pack are become steady, they will be more likely to 
 draw well than if they were not 
 
240 THE LARGE COVERS 
 
 whole, consisted of about ten acres ; yet, whilst 
 the huntsman was blowing his horn, to get his 
 hounds off, one young fox was hallooed, and 
 another was seen immediately after : it was a 
 cover on the side of a hill, and the foxes had 
 kennelled close together at an extremity of it, 
 where no hound had been. Some huntsmen 
 draw too quick, some too slow. The time of 
 the day, the behaviour of his hounds, and the 
 covers they are drawing, will direct an observing 
 huntsman in the pace which he ought to go. 
 When you try a furze-brake, let me give you 
 one caution ; never halloo a fox till you see he 
 is got quite clear of it. When a fox is found in 
 such places, hounds are sure to go off well with 
 him ; and it must be owing either to bad scent, 
 bad hounds, bad management, or bad luck, if 
 they fail to kill him afterwards. 
 
 It is usual in most packs to rate, as soon as a 
 young hound challenges. They often are wrong, 
 yet, since it is not impossible that they may 
 sometimes be right, is it not better to have a 
 little patience, in order to see whether any of 
 the old ones will join, before any thing is said 
 to tli em ? 
 
 Never hunt your small covers till you have 
 well rattled the large ones ; for until the foxes 
 
SHOULD FIRST BE TRIED. 241 
 
 are thinned and dispersed where they are in 
 plenty, it must be bad policy to drive others 
 there to increase the number. If you would 
 thin your foxes, you must throw off at the same 
 cover as long as you can find a fox. If you 
 come off with the first fox that breaks, you do 
 not disturb the cover, and may expect to find 
 there again the next day ; but where they are 
 scarce, you should never draw the same cover 
 two days following. 
 
 When a fox slinks from his kennel, gets 
 a great way before the hounds, and you are 
 obliged to hunt after him with a bad scent ; if 
 you are in a country where foxes are in plenty, 
 and you know where to find another, you had 
 better do it.* 
 
 While hounds are drawing for a fox, let your 
 people place themselves in such a manner that 
 he cannot go off unseen. I have known them 
 lie in sheep's scrapes on the side of hills, and 
 in small bushes, where huntsmen never think of 
 looking for them ; yet, when they hear a hound, 
 they generally shift their quarters, and make 
 for closer covers. Gentlemen should take this 
 
 * Yet, if this were practised often, it might make the 
 hounds indifferent when upon a cold scent. Hounds 
 should be made to believe they are to kill that game which 
 they are first encouraged to pursue. 
 
242 KULES FOR DRAWING. 
 
 necessary part of fox-hunting on themselves, for 
 the whipper-in has other business to attend to.* 
 
 I approve not of long drags in large covers ; 
 they give too great an advantage to the fox, 
 who frequently sets off a long way before you. 
 This may be prevented by throwing your 
 hounds into that part of the cover in which 
 he is most likely to kennel: for want of this 
 precaution, a fox sometimes gets so far the start 
 of hounds, that they are not able to do any 
 thing with him afterwards. Also, when hounds 
 first touch on a drag, some huntsmen are so 
 careless, that while they are going on with it the 
 wrong way themselves, a single hound finds the 
 fox, and is not caught any more by the pack till 
 he has lost him again. 
 
 Foxes are said to go down the wind to their 
 kennel ; but, I believe, they do not always ob- 
 serve that rule. 
 
 Huntsmen, whilst their hounds are drawing, 
 or are at a fault, frequently make so much noise 
 themselves, that they can hear nothing else : 
 they should always have an ear to a halloo. I 
 once saw an extraordinary instance of the want 
 
 * Upon these occasions, when you see two gentlemen 
 together, you may reasonably conclude that one of them, at 
 least, knows nothing of the matter. 
 
RULES FOR DRAWING. 243 
 
 of it in my own huntsman, who was making so 
 much noise with his hounds, which were then at 
 a fault, that a man hallooed a long while before 
 he heard him ; and when he did hear him, so 
 little did he know whence the halloo came, that 
 he rode a couple of miles the wrong way, and 
 lost the fox. 
 
 When hounds approach a cover which it is 
 intended they should draw, and dash away to- 
 wards it, whippers-in ride after them to stop 
 them. It is too late, and they had better let 
 them alone ; it checks them in their drawing, 
 and is of no kind of use : it will be soon enough 
 to begin to rate when they have found, and hunt 
 improper game. If a huntsman has his hounds 
 under good command, and is attentive to them, 
 they will not break off till he chooses they should. 
 If he goes by the side of a cover which he does 
 not intend to draw, his whippers-in must be in 
 their proper places ; but if he rides up to a co- 
 ver with them unawed, uncontrouled, a cover 
 where they have been used to find, they must 
 be slack indeed if they do not dash into it. It 
 is for that reason better, I think, not to come 
 to a cover always the same way ; hounds, by 
 not knowing what is going forward, will be less 
 likely to break off, and will draw more quietly. 
 M 2 
 
244 
 
 DRAWING A COVER. 
 
 I have seen hounds so flashy, that they would 
 break away from the huntsman as soon as they 
 saw a cover ; and I have seen the same hounds 
 stop when they got to the cover side, and not 
 go into it. It is want of proper discipline which 
 occasions faults like these. Hounds that are 
 under such command as never to leave their 
 huntsman till he encourages them to do it, will 
 then be so confident that they will not return 
 to him again. 
 
 Were fox-hounds to stop, like stop-hounds, 
 at the smack of a whip, they would not do their 
 business the worse for it, and it would give you 
 many advantages very essential to your sport : 
 such as, when they have to wait under a cover 
 side ; when they run riot ; when they change 
 scents ; when a single hound is on before; and 
 when a fox is headed back into a cover. Hounds 
 that are not under good command subject you 
 to many inconveniences ; and you may, at times, 
 be obliged to go out of your way, or be made 
 to draw a cover against your will. A famous 
 pack of hounds in my neighbourhood, I mean 
 
 the late Lord C n"s, had no fault but what 
 
 had its rise from bad management; nor is it 
 possible to do any .thing with a pack of fox- 
 hounds, unless they are obedient. They should 
 
THE BUCK-HOUND. 245 
 
 both love and fear the huntsman ; they should 
 fear him much, yet they should love him more. 
 Without doubt hounds would do more for 
 huntsmen, if they loved them better. Dogs 
 that are constantly with their masters acquire a 
 wonderful deal of penetration, and much may 
 be done through the medium of their affections. 
 I attribute the extraordinary sagacity of the 
 buck-hound to the manner in which he is 
 treated. He is the constant companion of his 
 instructor and benefactor; the man whom he 
 was first taught to fear, and has since learned 
 to love. Can we wonder that he should be 
 obedient to him ? Oft have we viewed, with 
 surprise, the hounds and the deer amusing 
 themselves familiarly together on the same 
 lawn, living, as it were, in the most friendly 
 intercourse ; and with no less surprise have we 
 heard the keeper give the word, when instantly 
 the very nature of the dog seemed changed: rous- 
 ed from his peaceful state, he is urged on with 
 a relentless fury, which only death can satisfy 
 the death of the very deer he is encouraged 
 to pursue. The business of the day over, see 
 him follow, careless and contented, his master's 
 steps, to repose on the same lawn, where the 
 frightened deer again return, and are again in- 
 
246 ON DRAWING WITH 
 
 debted to his courtesy for their wonted pasture. 
 Wonderful proofs of obedience, sagacity, and 
 penetration ! The many learned dogs and learn- 
 ed horses that so frequently appear, and astonish 
 the vulgar, sufficiently evince what education 
 is capable of; and it is to education I must 
 chiefly attribute the superior excellence of the 
 buck-hound, since I have seen high-bred fox- 
 hounds do the same under the same good mas- 
 ters. But to return to my subject. 
 
 Young foxes, that have been much disturbed, 
 will lie at ground. I once found seven or eight 
 in a cover, where, the next day, I could not 
 find one ; nor were they to be found elsewhere : 
 the earths, at such times, should be stopped 
 three or four hours before day, or you will find 
 no foxes. 
 
 The first day you hunt a cover that is full 
 of foxes, and you want blood, let them not be 
 checked back into the cover, which is the usual 
 practice at such times, but let some of them get 
 off: if you do not, what with continual chang- 
 ings, and sometimes running the heel, it is pro- 
 bable you will not kill any. Another precaution, 
 I think, may be also necessary that is, to stop 
 such earths only as you cannot dig. If some 
 foxes should go to ground, it will be as well ; 
 
UNSTEADY HOUNDS. 24*7 
 
 and if you should be in want of blood at last, 
 you will then know where to get it. 
 
 It is usual, when people are not certain of 
 the steadiness of their hounds from deer, to find 
 a fox in an adjacent cover, that they may be on 
 their right scent when they come where deer 
 are. I have my doubts of the propriety of this 
 proceeding. If hounds have not been well awed 
 from deer, it is not fit they at any rate should 
 come among them ; but if hounds are tolerably 
 steady, I had rather find a fox with them 
 amongst deer, than bring them afterwards into 
 covers where deer are. By drawing amongst 
 them, they in some degree will be awed from 
 the scent, and possibly may stick to the fox 
 when once he is found; but should unsteady 
 hounds, when high on their mettle, run into a 
 cover where deer are in plenty, there is no doubt 
 that, the first check they come to, they will all 
 fall off. I always have found hounds most in- 
 clined to riot when most upon their mettle : 
 such as are given to sheep, will then kill sheep ; 
 and such as are not quite steady from deer, will 
 then be most likely to break off after them. 
 When hounds are encouraged on a scent, if they 
 lose that scent, it is then an unsteady hound is 
 ready for any kind of mischief. 
 
248 ON THE SILENCE 
 
 I have been more particular than I otherwise 
 should have been, upon a supposition that your 
 hounds draw ill; however, you need not ob- 
 serve all the cautions I have given, unless 
 your hounds require them. 
 
 Some art may be necessary to make the most 
 of the country that you hunt. I would advise 
 you not to draw the covers near your house, 
 while you can find elsewhere : it will make 
 them certain places to find in, when you go out 
 late, or may otherwise be in want of them. 
 For the same reason, I would advise you not 
 to hunt those covers late in the season : they 
 should not be much disturbed after Christmas. 
 Foxes will then resort to them, will breed there, 
 and you can preserve them with little trouble. 
 This relates to the good management of a pack 
 of hounds, which is a business distinct from 
 hunting them.* 
 
 Though a huntsman ought to be as silent as 
 possible at going into a cover, he cannot be too 
 noisy at coming out of it again ; and if at any 
 time he should turn back suddenly, let him give 
 
 * Breeding, feeding, steadying, drafting, and placing, 
 are the essential parts of fox-hunting. When these are 
 properly attended to, the hounds will require but little 
 assistance from the huntsman, whose chief business then 
 will be to keep with them, say little, and do nothing. 
 
OF HUNTSMEN. 249 
 
 as much notice of it as he can to his hounds, or 
 he will leave many of them behind him ; and 
 should he turn down the wind, he may see no 
 more of them. 
 
 I should be sorry that the silence of my 
 huntsman should proceed from either of the fol- 
 lowing causes. A huntsman that I once knew 
 (who, by the by, I believe is, at this time, a 
 drummer in a marching regiment) went out one 
 morning so very drunk, that he got off his horse 
 in the midst of a thick cover, laid himself down, 
 and went to sleep. He was lost ; nobody knew 
 what was become of him; and he was at last 
 found in the situation I have just described. 
 He had, however great good luck on his side ; 
 for, at the very instant he was found, a fox was 
 hallooed; upon which he mounted his horse, 
 rode desperately, killed his fox handsomely, 
 and was forgiven. 
 
 1 remember another huntsman silent from a 
 different cause ; this was a sulky one. Things 
 did not go on to please him ; he therefore 
 alighted from his horse in the middle of a wood, 
 and, as quietly as he could, collected his hounds 
 about him. He then took an opportunity, 
 when the coast was clear, to set off silently, and 
 by himself, for another cover: however, his 
 M 3 
 
250 ANECDOTE. 
 
 master, who knew his tricks, sent others after 
 him to bring him back: they found him run- 
 ning a fox most merrily, and to his great 
 astonishment, they stopped the hounds, and 
 made him go back along with them. This fel- 
 low had been often very severely beaten, but 
 was stubborn and sulky to the last. 
 
 To give you an idea, before I quit this 
 subject, how little some people know of fox- 
 hunting, I must tell you that, not long ago, a 
 gentleman asked me if I did not send people 
 out the day before, to find where the foxes lay. 
 
 What relates to the casting of hounds shall 
 be the subject of my next letter. 
 
OF CASTING. 251 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 IN my seventeenth letter, I gave you the 
 opinion of my friend ****, " that a pack of 
 fox-hounds, if left entirely to themselves, would 
 never lose a fox" I am always sorry when I 
 differ from that gentleman in any thing : yet 
 I am so far from thinking they never would 
 lose a fox, that I doubt much if they would 
 ever kill one. There are times when hounds 
 should be helped, and at all times they must 
 be kept forward : hounds will naturally tie 
 on a cold scent when stopped by sheep, or 
 other impediments ; and when they are no 
 longer able to get forward, will oftentimes 
 hunt the old scent back again, if they find 
 that they can hunt no other. It is the ju- 
 dicious encouraging of hounds to hunt when 
 they cannot run, and the preventing them 
 from losing time by hunting too much, when 
 they might run, that distinguishes a good 
 sportsman from a bad one.* Hounds that 
 
 * In hunting a pack of hounds, a' proper medium should 
 be observed; for though too much help will make them 
 
252 HOW A HUNTSMAN 
 
 have been well taught will cast forward to a 
 hedge of their own accord : but you may assure 
 yourself this excellence is never acquired by 
 such as are left entirely to themselves. To 
 suffer a pack of fox-hounds to hunt through 
 a flock of sheep, when it is so easy to make 
 a regular cast round them, is, in my judg- 
 ment, the height of absurdity : it is wilfully 
 losing time to no purpose. I have indeed 
 been told, that hounds at no time should be 
 taken off their noses : I shall only say, in an- 
 swer to this, that a fox-hound who will not bear 
 lifting is not worth the keeping ; and I will 
 venture to say, it should be made part of his 
 education. 
 
 Though I like to see fox-hounds cast wide 
 and forward, and dislike to see them pick a 
 cold scent through flocks of sheep to no pur- 
 pose, yet I must beg leave to observe, that I 
 dislike still more to see that unaccountable 
 hurry which huntsmen will sometimes put 
 themselves into the moment their hounds are 
 at a fault. Time ought always to be allowed 
 them to make their own cast ; and if a hunts- 
 man is judicious, he will take that opportunity 
 
 slack, too little will make them tie on the scent, and hunt 
 back the heel. 
 
SHOULD CAST HIS HOUNDS. 253 
 
 to consider what part he himself has next to 
 act: but instead of this, I have seen hounds 
 hurried away the very instant they came to 
 a fault, a wide cast made, and the hounds 
 at last brought back again to the very place 
 from whence they were so abruptly taken, and 
 where, if the huntsman had had a minuted 
 patience, they would have hit off the scent 
 themselves. It is always great impertinence 
 in a huntsman to pretend to make a cast him- 
 self, before the hounds have made theirs. Pru- 
 dence should direct him to encourage, and I 
 may say, humour his hounds, in the cast they 
 seem inclined to make, and either to stand still 
 or trot round with them, as circumstances may 
 require. 
 
 I have seen huntsmen make their cast on bad 
 ground, when they might as easily have made 
 it on good. I have seen them suffer their 
 hounds to try in the midst of a flock of sheep, 
 when there was a hedge near, where they might 
 have been sure to take the scent ; and I have 
 seen a cast made with every hound at their 
 horse^s heels. When a hound tries for the 
 scent, his nose is to the ground : when a 
 huntsman makes a cast, his eye should be on 
 his hounds ; and when he sees them spread 
 
254 OF CASTING. 
 
 wide, and try as they ought, his cast may then 
 be quick. 
 
 When hounds are at a fault, and the hunts- 
 man halloos them off the line of the scent, the 
 whippers-in smacking their whips, and rating 
 them after him, if he trots away with them, 
 may not they think the business of the day 
 is over ? Hounds never, in my opinion, (unless 
 in particular cases, or when you go to a hal- 
 loo,) should be taken entirely off their noses ; 
 but when lifted, should be constantly made 
 to try as they go. Some huntsmen have a 
 dull, stupid way of speaking to their hounds : 
 at these times little should be said, and that 
 should have both meaning and expression in it. 
 
 When your huntsman makes a cast, I hope 
 he makes it perfect one way before he tries 
 another, as much time is lost by going back- 
 wards and forwards. You will see huntsmen, 
 when a forward cast does not succeed, come 
 slowly back again : they should return as fast 
 as they can. 
 
 When hounds are at a fault, and it is pro- 
 bable that the fox has headed back, your cast 
 forward should be short and quick ; for the 
 scent is then likely to be behind you : too 
 obstinate a perseverance forward has been the 
 
OF CASTING. 255 
 
 loss of many foxes. In heathy countries, if 
 there are many roads, foxes will always run 
 them in dry weather ; when hounds, therefore, 
 over-run the scent, if your huntsman returns to 
 the first cross road, he probably will hit off the 
 scent again. 
 
 In large covers, if there are many roads, in 
 bad scenting days when these roads are dry, 
 or after a thaw, when they carry, it is necessary 
 your huntsman should be near to his hounds to 
 help them and hold them forward. Foxes will 
 run the roads at these times, and hounds cannot 
 always own the scent. When they are at a 
 fault on a dry road, let not your huntsman 
 turn back too soon ; let him not stop till he 
 can be certain that the fox is not gone on. 
 The hounds should try on both sides the road 
 at once ; if he perceives that they try on one 
 side only, on his return let him try the other. 
 
 If a fox runs up the wind when first found, 
 and afterwards turns, he seldom, if ever, turns 
 again. This observation may not only be of 
 use to your huntsman in his cast, but may 
 be of use to you, if you should lose the 
 hounds. 
 
 When you are pursuing a fox over a country, 
 the scent being bad, and the fox a long way 
 
256 A HUNTSMAN SHOULD NOT 
 
 before, without ever having been pressed, if 
 his point should be for strong earths that are 
 open, or for large covers, where game is in 
 plenty, it may be acting wisely to take off' 
 the hounds at the first fault they come to ; 
 for the fox will go many miles to your one, 
 and probably will run you out of all scent ; 
 but if he should not, you will be likely to 
 change at the first cover you come into : when 
 a fox has been hard pressed, I have already 
 given it as my opinion, that he never should be 
 given up. 
 
 When you would recover a hunted fox, and 
 have no longer a scent to hunt him by, a long 
 cast to the first cover which he seems to point 
 to is the only resource you have left : get there 
 as fast as you can ; and then let your hounds 
 try as slowly and as quietly as possible: if 
 hunting after him is hopeless, and a long cast 
 does not succeed, you had better give him up. 
 Need I remind you that when the scent lies 
 badly, and you find it impossible for hounds 
 to run, you had better return home, since the 
 next day may* be more favourable.* It surely 
 
 * Though I would not go out on a very windy day, yet 
 & bad scenting day is sometimes of service to a pack of 
 fox-hounds : they acquire patience from it, and method of 
 hunting. 
 
PERSEVERE IN BAD WEATHER. 257 
 
 is a great fault in a huntsman to persevere 
 in bad weather, when hounds cannot run, and 
 when there is not a probability of killing a fox. 
 Some there are, who, after they have lost one 
 fox for want of scent to hunt him by, will 
 find another ; this makes their hounds slack, 
 and sometimes vicious : it also disturbs the co- 
 vers to no purpose. Sortie sportsmen are more 
 lucky in their days than others. If you hunt 
 every other day, it is possible they may be all 
 bad, and the intermediate days all good ; an 
 indifferent pack, therefore, by hunting on good 
 days, may kill foxes, without any merit ; and 
 a good pack, notwithstanding all their exertion, 
 may lose foxes which they deserve to kill. 
 Had I a sufficiency of hounds, I would hunt 
 on every good day, and never on a bad one.* 
 
 A perfect knowledge of his country certainly 
 is a great help to a huntsman : if yours, as 
 yet, has it not, great allowance ought to be 
 
 * On windy days, or such as are not likely to afford any 
 scent for hounds, it is better, I think, to send them to be 
 exercised on the turnpike-road ; it will do them less harm 
 than hunting with them might do, and more good than if 
 they were to remain confined in their kennel : for though 
 nothing makes hounds so handy as taking them out often, 
 nothing inclines them so much to riot as taking them out 
 to hunt when there is little or no scent, and particularly on 
 windy days, when they cannot hear one another. 
 
258 HINTS TO THE HUNTSMAN. 
 
 made. The trotting away with hounds, to 
 make a long and knowing cast, is a privilege 
 which a new huntsman cannot pretend to : an 
 experienced one may safely say a fox has made 
 for such a cover, when he has known, perhaps, 
 that nine out of ten, with the wind in the same 
 quarter, have constantly gone thither. 
 
 In a country where*there are large earths, a 
 fox that knows the country, and tries any of 
 them, seldom fails to try the rest. A huntsman 
 may take advantage of this ; they are certain 
 casts, and may help him to get nearer to 
 his fox. 
 
 Great caution is necessary when a fox runs 
 into a village : if he is hallooed there, get 
 forward as fast as you can. Foxes, when tired, 
 will lie down any where,* and are often lost 
 by it. A wide cast is not the best to recover 
 a tired fox with tired hounds ; they should 
 hunt him out, inch by inch, though they are 
 ever so long about it, for the reason I have just 
 given, that he will lie down any where. 
 
 In chases and forests, where high fences are 
 made to preserve the coppices, I like to see 
 a huntsman put only a few hounds over, enough 
 to carry on the scent, and get forward with the 
 rest : it is a proof that he knows his business. 
 
HINTS TO THE HUNTSMAN. 259 
 
 A huntsman must take care, where foxes are 
 in plenty, that he does not run the heel ; for it 
 frequently happens that hounds can run the 
 wrong way of the scent better than they can 
 the right, when one is up the wind, and the 
 other down. 
 
 Fox-hunters, I think, are never guilty of 
 the fault of trying up the wind, before they 
 have tried down. I have known them lose 
 foxes, rather than condescend to try up the 
 wind at all. 
 
 When a huntsman hears a halloo, and has 
 five or six couple of hounds along with him, the 
 pack not running, let him get forward with 
 those which he has : when they are on the scent, 
 the others will soon join them. 
 
 Let him lift his tail hounds, and get them 
 forward after the rest: it can do no hurt. 
 But let him be cautious how he lifts any 
 hounds to get them forward before the rest: 
 it always is dangerous, and foxes are some- 
 times lost by it. 
 
 When a fox runs his foil in cover, if you 
 suffer all your hounds to hunt on the line 
 of him, they will foil the ground, and tire 
 themselves to little purpose. I have before 
 told you that your huntsman, at. such a time, 
 
260 ACTIVITY INDISPENSABLE 
 
 may stop the tail hounds, and throw them in 
 at head. I am almost inclined to say, it is the 
 only time it should be done. Whilst hounds 
 run straight, it cannot be of any use ; for they 
 will get on faster with the scent than they would 
 without it. 
 
 When hounds are hunting a cold scent, and 
 point towards a cover, let a whipper-in get for- 
 ward to the opposite side of it. Should the fox 
 break before the hounds reach the cover, stop 
 them, and get them nearer to him. 
 
 When a fox persists in running in a strong 
 cover, lies down often behind the hounds, and 
 they are slack in hunting him, let the hunts- 
 man get into the cover to them: it may 
 make the fox break ; it may keep him off 
 his foil; or may prevent the hounds from 
 giving him up. 
 
 It is not often that slow huntsmen kill 
 many foxes : they are a check upon their 
 hounds, whijch seldom kill a fox but with a 
 high scent, when it is out of their power to 
 prevent it. What avails it to be told which 
 way the fox is gone, when he is so far before 
 that you cannot hunt him ? A Newmarket 
 boy, with a good understanding and a good 
 voice, might be preferable, perhaps, to an in- 
 
IN FOX-HUNTING- 261 
 
 different and slack huntsman : he would press 
 on his hounds whilst the scent was good, and 
 the foxes he killed he would kill handsomely. 
 A perfect knowledge of the intricacies of hunt- 
 ing is chiefly of use to slow huntsmen, and 
 bad hounds; since they more often stand in 
 need of it. Activity is the first requisite in 
 a huntsman to a pack of fox-hounds: a want 
 of it no judgment can make amends for; but 
 the most difficult of all his undertakings is 
 the distinguishing betwixt different scents, and 
 knowing with any certainty the scent of his 
 hunted fox. Much speculation is here re- 
 quired ; the length of time hounds remain at 
 fault ; difference of ground ; change of wea- 
 ther; all these contribute to increase the diffi- 
 culty, and require a nicety of judgment, and 
 a precision, much above the comprehension of 
 most huntsmen. 
 
 When hounds are at fault, and cannot make 
 it out of themselves, let the first cast be quick ; 
 the scent is then good, nor are the hounds 
 likely to go over it: as the scent gets worse, 
 the cast should be slower, and be more cauti- 
 ously made. This is an essential part of hunt- 
 ing, and which, I am sorry to say, few hunts- 
 men attend to. I wish thev would remember 
 
262 HUNTING MAXIMS. 
 
 the following rules, viz. that, with a good scent, 
 their cast should be quick; with a bad scent, 
 slow ; and that when the hounds are picking 
 along a cold scent, they are not to cast them 
 at all. 
 
 When hounds are at fault, and staring about, 
 trusting solely to their eyes and to their ears, 
 the making a cast with them, I apprehend, 
 would be to little purpose. The likeliest place 
 for them to find a scent is where they left it ; 
 and when the fault is evidently in the dog, 
 a forward cast is least likely to recover the 
 scent.* 
 
 When hounds are making a good and regu- 
 lar cast, trying for the scent as they go, suffer 
 not your huntsman to say a word to them : 
 it cannot do any good, and probably may make 
 them go over the scent 
 
 When hounds come to a check, a huntsman 
 should observe the tail hounds : they are least 
 likely to over-run the scent, and he may see 
 by them how far they brought it. In most 
 packs there are some hounds that will show 
 the point of the fox, and, if attended to, will 
 
 * Hounds know where they left the scent, and, if let 
 alone, will try to recover it. Impatience in the hunts- 
 man, at such times, seldom fails in the end to spoil the 
 hounds. 
 
HUNTING MAXIMS. 263 
 
 direct his cast. When such hounds follow 
 unwillingly, he may be certain the rest of the 
 pack* are running without a scent. 
 
 When he casts his hounds, let him not cast 
 wide, without reason ; for of course it will take 
 more time. Huntsmen, in general, keep too 
 forward in their casts ; or, as a sailor would 
 say, keep too long on one tack. They should 
 endeavour to hit off the scent by crossing the 
 line of it. Two parallel lines, you know, can 
 never meet.* 
 
 When he goes to a halloo, let him be care- 
 ful lest his hounds run the heel, as much 
 time is lost by it. I once saw this mistake 
 made by a famous huntsman : after we had 
 left a cover, which we had been drawing, a 
 disturbed fox was seen to go into it: he was 
 hallooed, and we returned. The huntsman, 
 who never inquired where the fox was seen, 
 or on which side the cover he entered, threw 
 his hounds in at random ; and, as it happen- 
 ed, on the opposite side: they immediately 
 took the heel of him, broke cover, and hunt- 
 ed the scent back to his very kennel. 
 
 * By attending to this, a huntsman cannot fail to make 
 a good cast ; for, if he observe the point of the fox, he may 
 always cross upon the scent of him. 
 
264 HINTS TO THE HUNTSMAN. 
 
 Different countries require different casts : 
 such huntsmen as have been used to a wood- 
 land and inclosed country, I have seen' lose 
 time in an open country, where wide casts 
 are always necessary. 
 
 When you want to cast round a flock of 
 sheep, the whipper-in ought to drive them the 
 other way, lest they should keep running on 
 before you. 
 
 A fox seldom goes over or under a gate, 
 when he can avoid it. 
 
 Huntsmen are frequently very conceited, and 
 very obstinate. Often have I seen them, when 
 their hounds came to a check, turn directly 
 back, on seeing hounds at head, which they 
 had no opinion of. They supposed the fox 
 was gone another way ; in which case Mr. 
 Bayes's remark in the Rehearsal always occurs 
 to me, " that if he should not, what then 
 becomes of their suppose." Better, surely, 
 would it be, to make a short cast forward 
 first ; they then might be certain the hounds 
 were wrong, and of course could make their 
 own cast with greater confidence. The ad- 
 vantage, next to that of knowing where the 
 fox is gone, is that of knowing, with certainty, 
 where he is not. 
 
OF HEADING THE FOX. 265 
 
 Most huntsmen like to have all their hounds 
 turned after them, when they make a cast: I 
 wonder not at them for it, but I am always 
 sorry when I see it done ; for till I find a 
 huntsman that is infallible, I shall continue 
 to think the more my hounds spread the bet- 
 ter: as long as they are within sight or hear- 
 ing, it is sufficient. Many a time have I seen 
 an obstinate hound hit off the scent, when an 
 obstinate huntsman, by casting the wrong way, 
 has done all in his power to prevent it. Two 
 foxes I remember to have seen killed in one 
 day by skirting hounds, whilst the huntsman 
 was making his cast the contrary way. 
 
 When hounds, running in cover, come into a 
 road, and horses are on before, let the huntsman 
 hold- them quickly on beyond where the horses 
 have been, trying the opposite side as he goes 
 along. Should the horsemen have been long 
 enough there to have headed back the fox, let 
 them then try back. Condemn me not for suf- 
 fering hounds to try back, when the fox has 
 been headed back ; I recommend it at no 
 other time. 
 
 When your hounds are divided into many 
 parts, you had better go off with the first fox 
 that breaks. The ground will soon get tainted, 
 
 N 
 
266 LAME HOUNDS. 
 
 nor will hounds like a cover where they are 
 often changing. 
 
 The heading a fox back at first, if the cover 
 be not a large one, is oftentimes of service to 
 hounds, as he will not stop, and cannot go off 
 unseen. When a fox has been hard run, I have 
 known it turn out otherwise ; and hounds that 
 would easily have killed him out of the cover, 
 have left him in it. 
 
 When a fox has been often headed back on 
 one side of a cover, and a huntsman knows there 
 is not any body on the other side to halloo him, 
 the first fault his hounds come to, let him cast 
 that way, lest the fox should be gone off; and 
 if he is in the cover, he may still recover him. 
 
 Suffer not your huntsman to take out a lame 
 hound. If any are tender-footed, he will tell 
 you, perhaps, that they will not mind it when 
 they are out : probably they may not; but how 
 will they be on the next day ? A hound, not 
 in condition to run, cannot be of much service 
 to the pack ; and taking him out at that time 
 may occasion him a long confinement after- 
 wards. Put it not to the trial. 
 
 I have seen huntsmen hunt their young 
 hounds in couples. Let me beg of you not to 
 suffer it. I know you would be sorry to see 
 
DUTIES OF HUNTSMEN. 26? 
 
 your hounds hanging across a hedge, grinning 
 at each other : yet it is an accident that often 
 has happened ; and it is an accident so likely 
 to happen, that I am surprised any man of 
 common sense will run the risk of it. If ne- 
 cessary, I had much rather they should be held 
 in couples at the cover side till the fox is found. 
 
 The two principal things which a huntsman* 
 has to attend to, are the keeping of his hounds 
 healthy and steady. The first is attained by 
 cleanliness and proper food ; the latter, by put- 
 ting as seldom as possible any unsteady ones 
 amongst them. 
 
 When a fox is lost, the huntsman, on his 
 return home, should examine himself, and en- 
 deavour to find in what he might have done 
 better^ he may by this means make the very 
 losing of a fox of use to him. 
 
 Old tieing hounds, and a hare-hunter turned 
 fox-hunter, are both as contrary to the true 
 spirit of fox-hunting as any thing can possibly 
 be. One is continually bringing the pack back 
 again ; the other as constantly does his best 
 to prevent them from getting forward. The 
 natural prejudices of mankind are such, that 
 a man seldom alters his style of hunting, let 
 him pursue what game he may ; besides, it may 
 u 2 
 
268 QUALITIES OF HUNTSMEN. 
 
 be constitutional, as he is himself slow or active, 
 dull or lively, patient or impatient: it is for 
 that reason I object to a hare-hunter for a pack 
 of fox-hounds ; for the same ideas of hunting 
 will most probably stick by him as long as 
 he lives. 
 
 Your huntsman is an old man : should he 
 have been working hard all his life on, wrong 
 principles, he may be now incorrigible. 
 
 Sometimes you will meet with a good kennel 
 huntsman; sometimes an active and judicious 
 one in the field : some are clever at finding a 
 fox, others are better after he is found ; whilst 
 perfection in a huntsman, like perfection in any 
 thing else, is scarcely any where to be met with : 
 there are not only good, bad, and indifferent 
 huntsmen, but there are perhaps a few others, 
 who, being as it were of a different species, 
 should be classed apart ; I mean such as have 
 real genius. It is this peculiar excellence, 
 which I told you in a former letter I would 
 rather wish my first whipper-in to be possessed 
 of, than my huntsman; and one reason among 
 others is, that he, I think, would have more 
 opportunities of exercising it. 
 
 The keeping hounds clean and healthy, and 
 bringing them into the field in their fullest 
 
EXCELLENCE IN HUNTSMEN. 269 
 
 vigour, is the excellence of a good kennel hunts- 
 man ;* if, besides this, he makes his hounds 
 both love and fear him ; if he is active, and 
 presses them on whilst the scent is good, always 
 aiming to keep as near to the fox as he can ; if, 
 when his hounds are at fault, he makes his cast 
 with judgment, not casting the wrong way first, 
 and blundering on the right at last, as many do : 
 if, added to this, he is patient and persevering, 
 never giving up a fox whilst there remains a 
 chance of killing him, he then is a perfect 
 huntsman, 
 
 Did I not know your love of this diversion, I 
 should think, by this time, I must have tired 
 you completely. You are not particular, how- 
 ever, in your partiality to it ; for to show you 
 
 * To make the most of a pack of hounds, and bring them 
 into the field in their fullest vigour, is an excellence that 
 huntsmen are very deficient in. To obtain a knowledge of 
 the different constitutions of so many animals, requires 
 more discernment than most of them are endowed with. 
 To apply that knowledge, by making separate drafts when 
 they feed them, would also take up more time than they 
 choose to bestow : hence it is that they generally are fed 
 all together : they may be well fed, but I much doubt 
 whether they are ever made the most of; such as require 
 to be* fed a little at\a time and often, must, I believe, be con- 
 tented with a little only. Few huntsmen seem fond of their 
 hounds ; one reason of it, perhaps, may be, that they are 
 paid for looking after them. 
 
270 ANECDOTE. 
 
 the effect which fox-hunting has on those who 
 are really fond of it, I must tell you what hap- 
 pened to me not long ago. My hounds, in 
 running a fox, crossed the great western road, 
 where I met a gentleman travelling on horse- 
 back, a servant, with a portmanteau, following 
 him. He no sooner saw me, than he rode up to 
 me with the greatest eagerness. " Sir" said he, 
 " are you after a fox ?" When I told him we 
 were, he immediately stuck spurs to his horse, 
 took a monstrous leap, and never quitted us 
 any more till the fox was killed. I suppose, 
 had I said we were after a hare, my gentleman 
 would have pursued his journey. 
 
THE HARE-HUNTER. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 YOUR huntsman, you say, has hunted a pack 
 of harriers. It might have been better, per- 
 haps, had he never seen one ; since fox-hunting 
 and hare-hunting differ almost in every particu- 
 lar : so much so, that I think it might not be 
 an improper negative definition of fox-hunting 
 to say, it is, of all hunting, that which resem- 
 bles hare-hunting the least. A good huntsman 
 to a pack of harriers seldom succeeds in fox- 
 hunting : like old hounds, they dwell upon the 
 scent, and cannot get forward; nor do they 
 ever make a bold cast, so much are they afraid 
 of leaving the scent behind them. Hence it is 
 that they poke about, and try the same place 
 ten times over, rather than they will leave it ; 
 and when they do, are totally at a loss which 
 way to go, for want of knowing the nature of 
 the animal they are in pursuit of. As hare- 
 hounds should scarcely ever be cast, hallooed, 
 or taken ofTtheir noses, they think to hunt their 
 fox-hounds in the same manner ; but it will not 
 
272 THE BEAGLE, THE HARRIER, 
 
 do ; nor could it please you, if it would. Take 
 away the spirit of fox-hunting, and it is no 
 longer fox-hunting ; it is stale small beer com- 
 pared to brisk champaign. You would also find 
 in it more fatigue than pleasure. It is said, 
 there is a pleasure in being mad which only 
 madmen know ; and it is the enthusiasm, I 
 believe, of fox-hunting which is its best sup- 
 port: strip it of that, and you then, I think, 
 had better let it quite alone. 
 
 The hounds themselves also differ in their 
 manner of hunting. The beagle, who has 
 always his nose to the ground, will puzzle an 
 hour on one spot sooner than he will leave the 
 scent ; while the fox-hound, full of life and 
 spirit, is always dashing and trying forward. A 
 high-bred fox-hound, therefore, shows himself 
 to most advantage when foxes are at their 
 strongest, and run an end. A pack of harriers 
 will kill a cub better, perhaps, than a pack of 
 fox-hounds ; but when foxes are strong, they 
 have not the method of getting on with the 
 scent which fox-hounds have, and generally tire 
 themselves before the fox. To kill foxes when 
 they are strong, hounds must run; as well as 
 hunt ; besides, the catching of a fox by hard 
 running is always preferred, in the opinion of 
 
AND THE FOX-HOTJND. 273 
 
 a fox-hunter. Much depends, in my opinion, on 
 the style with which it is done ; and I think, 
 without being sophistical, a distinction might 
 be made betwixt the hunting of a fox and fox- 
 hunting. Two hackneys become not racers by 
 running round a course ; nor does the mere 
 hunting of a fox change the nature of the 
 harrier. I have also seen a hare hunted by 
 high-bred fox-hounds ; but I confess to you, it 
 gave me not the least idea of what hare-hunting 
 ought to be. Certain ideas are necessarily an- 
 nexed to certain words ; this is the use of lan- 
 guage : and when a fox-hound is mentioned, I 
 should expect not only a particular kind of 
 hound, as to make, size, and strength, by which 
 the fox-hound is easy to be distinguished ; but 
 I should also expect by fox-hunting a lively, 
 animated, and eager pursuit, as the very essence 
 of it.* Eagerness and impetuosity are such 
 essential parts of this diversion, that I am never 
 more surprised than when I see a fox-hunter 
 without them. One hold hard! or reproof un- 
 
 * The six following lines may have a dangerous ten- 
 dency. Only a good sportsman can know when a reproof 
 is given unnecessarily, and only a bad one will be deserving 
 of reproof. This passage, therefore, should be compared 
 with pages 150, 191, 193, 209, where the meaning of the 
 author is very clearly expressed. 
 
 N3 
 
274 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 necessarily given, would chill me more than a 
 north-east wind ; it would damp my spirits, and 
 send me home. The enthusiasm of a fox-hunter 
 should not be checked in its career, for it is the 
 very life and soul of fox-hunting. It is the ea- 
 gerness with which you pursue your game that 
 makes the chief pleasure of the chase ; and what 
 animal do you pursue with the same eagerness 
 you do a fox ? 
 
 Knowing your partiality to hounds that run 
 in a good style, I advise you to observe strictly 
 yours, when a fox is sinking in a strong cover ; 
 that is the time to see the spirit of a fox-hound. 
 If they spread not the cover, but run tamely on 
 the line of one another, I shall fear it is a sort 
 that will not please you long. A fox-hound 
 that has not spirit and ambition to get forward 
 at such a time as this, is at no time likely to do 
 much good. 
 
 You talked, in your last letter, of pretty 
 hounds: certainly I should not pretend to criti- 
 cise others, who am so incorrect myself; yet, 
 with your leave, I think I can set you right in 
 that particular. Pretty is an epithet improperly 
 applied to a f ox -hound ; we call a foxhound 
 handsome when he is strong, bony, of a proper 
 size, and of exact symmetry ; and fitness is 
 
 
OF THE FOX-HOUND. 
 
 made essential to beauty. A beagle may be 
 pretty, but, according to my idea of the word, 
 a fox-hound cannot : but as it is not to be sup- 
 posed that you will keep a pack of fox-hounds 
 for the pleasure of looking at them, without 
 doubt you will think goodness more necessary 
 than beauty. Should you ever be ambitious to 
 have a handsome pack of hounds, on no account 
 must you enter an ugly dog, lest you should be 
 tempted to keep him afterwards. 
 
 I once heard an old sportsman say, that he 
 thought a fox, to show sport, should run four 
 hours at least ; and I suppose he did not care 
 how slow his hounds went after him. This 
 idea, however, is not conceived in the true 
 spirit of fox hunting ; which is not to walk 
 down a fox, or starve him to death, but to 
 keep close at him, and kill him as soon as 
 you can. I am convinced a fox-hound may 
 hunt too much : if tender-nosed, and not over- 
 hurried, he will always hunt enough; whilst 
 the highest-bred hounds may be made to tie 
 on the scent by improper management.* 
 
 It is youth and good spirits which suit best 
 
 * It more frequently is owing either to want of patience 
 or want of mettle than to want of nose, that a hound does 
 not hunt well. 
 
276 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FOX 
 
 with fox-hunting; slackness in the men occa- 
 sions slackness in the hounds ; and one may 
 see, by the manner in which hounds hunt, 
 what kind of men they have been accustomed 
 to. The speediest hounds may, by degrees, 
 be rendered slow ; and it is impossible for 
 the best to do their business as they ought, 
 unless they are followed with life and spirit. 
 Such men as are slack themselves will be al- 
 ways afraid of hurrying their hounds too 
 much; and by carrying this humour too far, 
 commit a fault which has nothing to excuse 
 it. The best method to hunt a fox, they say, 
 is never, on any account, to cast the hounds ; 
 but, on the contrary, to let them tie upon 
 the scent as long as they will, and that they 
 will hit it off at last. I agree with them 
 partly : it certainly must be the best method 
 to hunt a fox, for by this means you may 
 hunt him from morning till night ; and if 
 you have the luck to find him, may hunt 
 him again the next day : the likeliest method, 
 however, to catch him, is to take every ad- 
 vantage of him you can. 
 
 All hounds go fast enough with a good 
 scent; but it is the particular excellence of a 
 fox-hound, when rightly managed, to get on 
 
AND HARE-HUNTING. 277 
 
 faster with an indifferent scent than any other 
 hound : * it is the business of a huntsman to 
 encourage this ; and here-, most probably ^ the 
 hare-hunter will fail. He has been used to 
 take his time; he has enjoyed a cold scent, 
 like a southern hound ; and has sat patiently 
 upon his horse to see his hounds hunt. It 
 is, to be sure, very pretty to see; and when 
 you consider that the hare is all the time, 
 perhaps, within a few yards of you, and may 
 leap up the next minute, you are perfectly 
 contented with what you are about : but it 
 is not so in fox-hunting. Every minute you 
 lose is precious, and increases your difficul- 
 ties ; and while you are standing still, the 
 fox is running miles. It is a satisfaction to 
 a hare-hunter to be told where his game was 
 seen, though a long while before; but it is 
 melancholy news to a fox-hunter, whose game 
 is not likely to stop. I believe I mentioned 
 to you, in a former letter on hare-hunting, a 
 great fault which I had observed in some 
 harriers from being let too much alone, that 
 of running back the heel. I have seen a 
 
 * It is a quick method of hunting that I mostly value in 
 any hound : such as are possessed of it are seldom long off 
 the scent : it is the reverse of slackness. 
 
278 HOUNDS SHOULD BE 
 
 pack of high-bred fox-hounds do the same, 
 for the same reasons. 
 
 When hounds flag from frequent changes, 
 and a long day, it is necessary for a hunts- 
 man to animate them as much as he can: he 
 must keep them forward, and press them on; 
 for it is not likely, in this case, that they 
 should over-run the scent: at these times the 
 whole work is generally done by a few hounds, 
 and he should keep close to them : here I 
 also fear the hare-hunter will fail : * if they 
 come to a long fault, it is over, and you had 
 better then go home. 
 
 * It is at a time like this that good sportsmen may be of 
 great service to hounds : it is the only time when they 
 want encouragement ; and it is (I am sorry to say) almost 
 the only time when they do not receive it. Those who ride 
 too forward in the morning will, in the evening, perhaps, 
 be too far behind, and thereby lose an opportunity that 
 is offered them of making some amends for the mischiefs 
 they have already done. When hounds flag from frequent 
 changes, and the huntsman's horse sinks under the fatigue 
 of a tiresome day, then it is that sportsmen may assist 
 them. Such as know the hounds should then ride up to 
 them : they should endeavour, by great encouragement, to 
 keep them running, and get ' those forward that may be 
 behind ; for when hounds that are tired once come to 
 hunting, they tie upon the scent, and, by losing time, 
 lose every chance they had of killing the fox : great en- 
 couragement, and proper and timely assistance, only can 
 prevent it. 
 
KEPT NEAR TO THE FOX. 279 
 
 The many chances that are against you in 
 fox-hunting ; the changing frequently ; the 
 heading of the foxes ; their being coursed by 
 sheep-dogs; long faults; cold hunting, and 
 the dying away of the scent, make it neces- 
 sary to keep always as near to the fox as 
 you can ; which should be the first and inva- 
 riable principle of fox-hunting. Long days 
 do great hurt to a pack of fox-hounds. I set 
 out one day last winter from the kennel at 
 half-past seven, and returned home a quarter 
 before eight at night, the hounds running 
 hard the greatest part of the time. The 
 huntsman killed one horse and tired another, 
 and the hounds did not recover it for more 
 than a week :* we took them off at last, when 
 they were running with a better scent than 
 they had the whole day. I remember, after 
 it was quite dark, to have heard a better view 
 halloo from an owl than I ever heard from 
 a sportsman in my life, though I hope that 
 I shall never hear such another. A long day, 
 nevertheless, once or twice in a season, is of 
 
 * Hounds, after a very hard day, should have two clear 
 days to rest : it does them less hurt to hunt two days fol- 
 lowing, when their work is easy, than to hunt, before they 
 may be perfectly recovered, after having been hard run. 
 
280 KNOWLEDGE OF COUNTRY, 
 
 use to a huntsman: it shows the real good- 
 ness and stoutness of his hounds. 
 
 I am glad to hear that your huntsman knows 
 the country which he is to hunt : nothing in 
 fox-hunting is more essential than that ; and 
 it may make amends for many faults. Foxes 
 are not capricious; they know very well what 
 they are about ; are quick, I believe, at de- 
 termining, and resolute in perseverance. They 
 generally have a point to go to ; and, though 
 headed and turned directly from it, seldom 
 fail to make it good at the last : this, there- 
 fore, is a great help to an observing huntsman. 
 
 Suffer not your huntsman to encourage his 
 hounds too much on a bad scenting day ; par- 
 ticularly in covers, where there is much riot. 
 Hark, hark, hark! which injudicious huntsmen 
 are so fond of upon every occasion, must often 
 do mischief, and cannot do good : whilst hounds 
 are near together, they will get sooner to the 
 hound that challenges without that noise than 
 with it. If it be a right scent, they will be 
 ready enough to join ; and if it be a wrong 
 one, provided you let them alone, they will 
 soon leave it : injudicious encouragement, on 
 a bad day, might make them run something 
 or other, right or wrong. 
 
AND OF THE PACK. 281 
 
 I know of no fault so bad in a hound as that 
 of running false ; it should never be forgiven : 
 such as are not stout, that are stiff-nosed, or 
 that have other faults, may at times do good, 
 and at their worst may do no harm ; whilst 
 such as run false, most probably, will spoil 
 your sport. A hound capable of spoiling one 
 day's sport is scarcely worth your keeping. In- 
 different ones, such as I have above described, 
 may be kept till you have better to supply their 
 places. 
 
 A huntsman should know how to marshal 
 every hound in his pack, giving to each his 
 proper rank and precedence; for, without this 
 knowledge, it is not possible he should make 
 a large draft, as he ought. There are, in most 
 packs, some hounds that assist but little in kill- 
 ing the fox ; and it is the judicious drafting off 
 of such hounds that is a certain sign of a good 
 huntsman. 
 
 My huntsman is very exact : he carries al- 
 ways a list of his hounds in his pocket, and 
 when in a distant country, he looks it over 
 to see if any of them are missing. He has 
 also a book, in which he keeps a regular ac- 
 count where every fox is found, and where he 
 is killed. 
 
282 DISCRIMINATION. 
 
 Your huntsman, you say, knows perfectly 
 the country he has to hunt : let him then ac- 
 quire as perfect a knowledge of his hounds : 
 good sense and observation will do the rest, at 
 least will do as much as you seem to require 
 of him ; for I am glad to find you had rather 
 depend upon the goodness of your hounds for 
 sport, than on the genius of your huntsman. It 
 is, believe me, a much surer dependence. 
 
NECESSITY OF BLOOD. 283 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 ARE not your expectations somewhat too san- 
 guine, when you think you shall have no oc- 
 casion for bag-foxes to keep your hounds in 
 blood the first season? It may be as well, 
 perhaps, not to turn them all out till you are 
 more certain that your young pack will keep 
 good and steady without them. When blood 
 is much wanted, and they are tired with a hard 
 day, one of these foxes will put them into spi- 
 rits, and give them, as it were, new strength 
 and vigour. 
 
 You desire to know what I call being out of 
 blood? In answer to which, I must tell you 
 that, in my judgment, no fox-hound can fail of 
 killing more than three or four times follow- 
 ing, without being visibly the worse for it. 
 When hounds are out of blood, there is a 
 kind of evil genius attending all they do ; 
 and though they may seem to hunt as well 
 as ever, they do not get forward : whilst a 
 pack of fox-hounds well in blood, like troops 
 
284 HOW TO PROCURE IT. 
 
 flushed with conquest, are not easily withstood. 
 What we call ill luck, day after day, when 
 hounds kill no foxes, may frequently, I think, 
 be traced to another cause, viz. their being out 
 of blood ; nor can there be any other reason as- 
 signed why hounds, which we know to be good, 
 should remain so long as they sometimes do 
 without killing a fox.* Large packs are least 
 subject to this inconvenience : hounds that are 
 quite fresh, and in high spirits, least feel the 
 want of blood. The smallest packs, therefore, 
 should be able to leave at least ten or twelve cou- 
 ple of hounds behind them, to be fresh against 
 the next hunting day. If your hounds are 
 much out of blood, give them rest: take this 
 opportunity to hunt with other hounds, to see 
 how they are managed, to observe what stallion 
 hounds they have, and to judge yourself whe- 
 ther they are such as it is fit for you to breed 
 from or not. If what I have now recommended 
 should not succeed ; if a little rest and a fine 
 morning do not put your hounds into blood again, 
 I know of nothing else that will ; and you must 
 attribute your ill success, I fear, to another cause. 
 
 * A pack of hounds that had been a month without kill- 
 ing a fox, at last ran one to ground, which they dug, and 
 killed upon the earth : the next seven days that they hunted, 
 they killed a fox each day. 
 
LATE TRYING HURTFUL. 285 
 
 You say, you generally hunt at a late hour : 
 after a tolerably good run, try not to find 
 another fox. Should you be long in finding, 
 and should you not have success afterwards, it 
 will hurt your hounds : should you try a long 
 time, and not find, that also will make them 
 slack. Never try to find a fox after one 
 o'clock ; you had better return home, and hunt 
 again on the next day. Not that I, in general, 
 approve of hunting two days following with the 
 same hounds : the trying so many hours in vain, 
 and the being kept so long off their food, both 
 contribute to make them slack, and nothing 
 surely is more contrary to the true spirit of fox- 
 hunting ; for fox-hounds ought always to be 
 above their work. This is another particular, 
 in which hare-hunting and fox-hunting totally 
 differ; for harriers cannot be hunted too much, 
 as long as they are able to hunt at all. The 
 slower they go, the less likely they will be to 
 over-run the scent, and the sooner, in all pro- 
 bability* will they kill their game. 1 have a 
 friend who hunted his five days following, and 
 assured me he had better sport with them the 
 last day than he had the first. 
 
 I remember to have heard, that a certain 
 pack of fox-hounds, since become famous, were 
 
286 BEST METHOD OF 
 
 many weeks, from a mixture of indifferent 
 hounds, bad management, and worse luck, with- 
 out killing a fox. However, they killed one at 
 last, and tried to find another. They found 
 him and they lost him ; and were then, as you 
 may well suppose, another month without kill- 
 ing another fox. This was ill-judged: they 
 should have returned home immediately. 
 
 When hounds are much out of blood, some 
 men proceed in a method that must necessarily 
 keep them so : they hunt them every day, as if 
 the tiring them out was a means to give them 
 strength and spirit : this, however, proceeds 
 more from ill-nature and resentment than sound 
 judgment.* As I know your temper to be the 
 reverse of this, without doubt you will adopt a 
 different method ; and should your hounds ever 
 be in the state here described, you will keep 
 them fresh for the first fine day ; when, sup- 
 posing they are all perfectly steady, I do not 
 question that they will kill their fox. 
 
 When hounds are in want of blood, give 
 them every advantage : go out early ; choose a 
 good quiet morning; and throw off your hounds 
 
 * It is not the want of blood only that is prejudicial to 
 hounds : the trying long in vain to recover a lost scent no 
 less contributes to make them slack. 
 
BLOODING THE HOUNDS. 28? 
 
 where they are likely to find, and are least 
 likely to change. If it is a small cover, or 
 furze-brake, and you can keep the fox in, it is 
 right to do it ; for the sooner you kill him, 
 when you are in want of blood, the better. 
 
 When hounds* are in want of blood, and you 
 get a fox into a small cover, it must be your 
 own fault if you do not kill him there. Place 
 your people properly, and he cannot get off 
 again. You will hear, perhaps, that it is im- 
 possible to head back a fox. No animal is so 
 shy, consequently no animal is so easily headed 
 back by those who understand it. When it is 
 your intention to check a fox, your people must 
 keep at a little distance from the cover side, nor 
 should they be sparing of their voices; for, since 
 you cannot keep him in, if he be determined to 
 come out, prevent him, if you can, from being 
 so inclined. All kind of mobbing is advisable, 
 when hounds are out of blood ; * and you may 
 keep the fox in cover, or let him out, as you 
 think the hounds will manage him best. 
 
 Though I am a great advocate for blood, so 
 necessary, in my judgment, to a pack of fox- 
 hounds, yet I by no means approve of it to the 
 
 * Yet, how many foxes owe their lives to the too great 
 eagerness of the pursuers ? 
 
288 BLOOD ALSO NECESSARY 
 
 extent to which it is sometimes carried. . I 
 have known three young foxes chopped in a 
 furze-brake in one day, without any sport ; a 
 wanton destruction of foxes scarcely answering 
 the purpose of blood, since that blood does 
 hounds most good, that is most dearly earned. 
 Such sportsmen richly deserve blank days ; 
 and, without doubt, they often meet with them. 
 Mobbing a fox, indeed, is only allowable when 
 hounds are not likely to be a match for him 
 without it. One would almost be inclined to 
 think blood as necessary to the men as to the 
 hounds, since the best chase is flat unless you 
 kill the fox. When you ask a fox-hunter what 
 sport he has had, and he replies it was good ; I 
 think the next question generally is, Did your 
 hounds kill ? If he says they did not, the con- 
 versation ends ; but if, on the contrary, he tells 
 you that they did, you then ask a hundred 
 questions, and seldom are satisfied till he has 
 told you every particular of the chase. 
 
 When there is snow on the ground, foxes 
 will lie at earth. * Should your hounds be in 
 
 * Earths should be watched when there is snow upon the 
 ground ; for foxes then will lie at earth. Those who are 
 inclined to destroy them can track them in, and may dig 
 them out. 
 
THE FOX-HIT NTEE . 
 
 frequently attends i T 
 
 me often "' , J aSSU ; e JO". ^ has p ro . 
 
 but the 
 
 nstant, a brace of f ' e 
 
 cover, and they both br t ' '" the S8me 
 
 . The 
 
 g this, such 
 hunted f ox 
 
 *> 
 
290 ANECDOTES OF FOX-HUNTING. 
 
 scent worsted, and were going to stop the 
 hounds ; but the going off' of a white frost 
 deceived us in that also. 
 
 Many a fox have I known lost by running 
 into houses and stables. It is not long since 
 my hounds lost one, when hunting in the New 
 Forest; and, after trying the country round, 
 had given him up, and were returned home; 
 when, just as they were going to be fed, in rode 
 a farmer, full gallop, with news of the fox : he 
 had found him, he said, in his stable, and had 
 shut him in. The hounds returned : the fox, 
 however, stood but a little time afterwards, as 
 he was quite run up befpre. 
 
 Some years ago, my hounds running a fox 
 across an open country in a thick fog, the fox 
 scarcely out of view, three of the leading hounds 
 disappeared all of a sudden ; and the whipper- 
 in, luckily, was near enough to see it happen. 
 They fell into a dry well, near a hundred feet 
 deep : they and the fox remained there toge- 
 ther till the next day ; when, with the greatest 
 difficulty, we got them all four out. 
 
 Another time, having run a fox a burst of 
 an hour and a quarter, the severest, I think, I 
 ever knew, the hounds, at last, got up to him 
 by the side of a river, where he had staid for 
 
FATAL ACCIDENT. 291 
 
 them. One hound seized him as he was swim- 
 ming across, and they both went down together. 
 The hound came up again, but the fox appeared 
 no more. By means of a boat and a long pole, 
 we got the fox out. Had he not been seen to 
 sink; he would hardly have been tried for under 
 water ; and, without doubt, we should have 
 wondered what had become of him. 
 
 Now we are at the chapter of accidents, I 
 must mention another, that lately happened to 
 me on crossing a river, to draw a cover on the 
 other side of it. The river Stower frequently 
 overflows its banks, and is also very rapid, and 
 very dangerous. The flood, that morning, 
 though sudden, was extensive. The neighbour- 
 ing meadows were all laid under water, and 
 only the tops of hedges appeared. There were 
 posts to direct us to the bridge, but we had a 
 great length of water to pass before we could 
 get at it : it was, besides, so deep, that our 
 horses almost swam ; and the shortest-legged 
 horses, and longest-legged riders, were worst off. 
 The hounds dashed in as usual ; and were im- 
 mediately carried, by the rapidity of the cur- 
 rent, a long way down the stream. The hunts- 
 man was far behind them ; and as he could go 
 but slow, he was constrained to see his hounds 
 o 2 
 
292 FATAL ACCIDENT. 
 
 wear themselves out in an useless contention 
 with the current, in endeavouring to get to him 
 It was a shocking scene : many of the hounds, 
 when they reached the shore, had entirely lost 
 the use of their limbs ; for it froze, and the cold 
 was intolerable. Some lay as if they were dead, 
 and others reeled as if they had been drinking 
 wine. Our distress was not yet complete : the 
 weakest hounds, or such as were most affected 
 by the cold, we now saw entangled in the tops 
 of the hedges, and heard their lamentations. 
 Well-known tongues ! and such as I had never 
 before heard without pleasure. It was shock- 
 ing to see their distress, and not know how to 
 relieve them. A number of people, by this 
 time, were assembled by the river side; but 
 there was not one amongst them that would 
 venture in. However, a guinea, at last, tempt- 
 ed one man to fetch out a hound that was 
 entangled in a bush, and would otherwise have 
 perished. Two hounds remained upon a hedge 
 all night, yet they got together before the morn- 
 ing ; when, the flood abating, they were found 
 closely clasping each other, and without doubt 
 it was the little heat they could afford each 
 other that kept both alive. We lost but one 
 hound by this unlucky expedition, but we lost 
 
WHEN HUNTING SHOULD CEASE. 293 
 
 all our terriers. They were seen to sink, their 
 strength not being sufficient to resist the two 
 enemies they had to encounter powerful when 
 combined, the severity of the cold, and the 
 rapidity of the stream. 
 
 You ask, at what time you should leave off 
 hunting ? It is a question which I know not 
 how to answer ; as it depends as well on the 
 quantity of game that you have, as on the 
 country that you hunt. However, in my 
 opinion, no good country should be hunted 
 after February, nor should there be any hunt- 
 ing at all after March. Spring hunting is sad 
 destruction of foxes : in one week you may 
 destroy as many as would have shown you sport 
 for a whole season. We killed a bitch-fox one 
 morning, with seven young ones, which were all 
 alive : I can assure you we missed them very 
 much the next year, and had many blank days, 
 which we need not to have had, but through 
 our own fault. I should tell you, that this 
 notable feat was performed literally on the first 
 of April. If you will hunt late in the season, 
 you should, at least, leave your terriers behind 
 you. I hate to kill any animal out of season. 
 A hen-pheasant with egg, I have heard, is fa- 
 mous eating; yet I can assure you I never 
 
294* WANTON DESTRUCTION 
 
 mean to taste it : and the hunting a bitch-fox 
 big with young, appears to me cruel and un- 
 natural. A gentleman of my acquaintance, who 
 killed most of his foxes at this season, was 
 humorously called midwife to the foxes. 
 
 Are not the foxes' heads, which are so pom- 
 pously exposed to view, often prejudicial to 
 sport in fox-hunting? How many foxes are 
 wantonly destroyed, without the least service to 
 the hounds or sport to the master, that the 
 huntsman may say he has killed so many brace ! 
 How many are digged out and killed, when 
 blood is not wanted, for no better reason ! 
 foxes that, another day, perhaps, the earths 
 well stopped, might have run hours, and died 
 gallantly at last. I remember myself to have 
 seen a pack of hounds kill three in one day ; 
 and though the last ran to ground, and the 
 hounds had killed two before, therefore could 
 not be supposed to be in want of blood, the 
 fox was digged out, and killed upon the earth. 
 However, it answered one purpose you would 
 little expect, it put a clergyman present in 
 mind that he had a corpse to bury, which other- 
 wise had been forgotten. 
 
 I should have less objection to the number of 
 foxes' heads that are to be seen against every 
 
OF FOXES CENSURED. 2Q5 
 
 kennel door, did it ascertain with more precision 
 the goodness of the hounds: which may more 
 justly be known from the few foxes they lose, 
 than from the number that they kill. When 
 you inquire after a pack of fox-hounds, whether 
 they are good or not, and are told they seldom 
 miss a fox, your mind is perfectly satisfied 
 about them, and you inquire no further : it is 
 not always so, when you are told the number of 
 foxes they have killed. If you ask a Frenchman 
 what age he is of, he will tell you that he is in 
 good health. In like manner, when I arfn asked 
 how many brace of foxes my hounds have 
 killed, I feel myself inclined to say, the hounds 
 are good ; an answer which, in my opinion, goes 
 more immediately to the spirit of the question 
 than any other I could give; since the number 
 of foxes 1 heads is at best but a presumptive 
 proof of the goodness of the hounds. In a 
 neighbouring country to mine, foxes are diffi- 
 cult to kill, and not easy to find ; and the gen- 
 tlemen who hunt that country are very well 
 contented when they kill a dozen brace of foxes 
 in a season. My hounds kill double that num- 
 ber : ought it to be inferred from thence that 
 they are twice as good ? 
 
 All countries are not equally favourable to 
 
296 EFFECT OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. 
 
 \ 
 
 hounds. I hunt in three, all as different as it is 
 possible to be ; and the same hounds that be- 
 have well in one, sometimes appear to behave 
 indifferently in another. Were the most famous 
 pack, therefore, to change their good country 
 for the bad one I here allude to, though 
 without doubt they would behave well, they 
 certainly would meet with less success than they 
 are at present used to : our cold flinty hills 
 would soon convince them that the difference 
 betwixt one fox and another the difference of 
 goodness betwixt one hound and another are 
 yet but trifles when compared with the more 
 material difference of a good scenting country 
 and a bad one.* 
 
 I can hardly think you serious, when you ask 
 me if the same hounds can hunt both hare and 
 fox: however, thus far you may assure your- 
 
 * Great inequality of scent is very unfavourable to 
 hounds. In heathy countries the scent always lies ; yet I 
 have remarked that the many roads which cross them, and 
 the many inclosures of poor land that surround them, 
 render hunting in such countries, at times, very difficult to 
 hounds. The sudden change from a good scent to a bad 
 one puzzles their noses, and confuses their understand- 
 ings ; and many of them, without doubt, follow the scent 
 unwillingly, owing to the little credit that they give to it. 
 In my opinion, therefore, a scent which is less good, but 
 more equal, is more favourable to hounds. 
 
ADVANTAGE OF EDUCATION. 29? 
 
 self, that it cannot be done with any degree 
 of consistency. As to your other question of 
 hunting the hounds yourself, that is an under- 
 taking, which, if you will follow my advice, 
 you will let alone. It is your opinion, I find, 
 that a gentleman might make the best hunts- 
 man : I have no doubt that he would, if he 
 chose the trouble of it. I do not think there is 
 any profession, trade, or occupation, to which a 
 good education would not be of service; and 
 hunting, notwithstanding it is at present exer- 
 cised by such as have not had an education, 
 might, without doubt, be carried on much better 
 by those that have. I will venture to say, 
 fewer faults would then be committed ; nor is it 
 probable the same faults would be committed 
 over and over again, as they now are. Hunts- 
 men never reason by analogy, nor are they 
 much benefited by experience. 
 
 Having told you, in a former letter, what a 
 huntsman ought to be ; the following, which I 
 can assure you is a true copy, will show you, in 
 some instances at least, what he ought not to be. 
 
 SIR 
 
 YOURS I received the 24th of this pre- 
 sent Instant June and at your request I will 
 o3 
 
298 CHARACTER OF A HUNTSMAN. 
 
 give you an impartial account of my man John 
 Grey's Character. He is a Shoemaker or Cord- 
 wainer which you please to call it by trade and 
 now in our town he is following the Carding 
 Business for every one that wants him he ser- 
 ved his Time at a Town called Brigstock in 
 Northamptonshire and from thence in great 
 Addington Journeyman to this Occupation as 
 before mentioned and used to come to my house 
 and found by rideing my horses to water that 
 he rode a horse pretty well which was not at all 
 mistaken for he rides a horse well and he looks 
 after a kennel of hounds very well and finds a 
 hare very well he hath no judgment in hunting 
 a pack of hounds now tho he rides well he dont 
 with discretion for he dont know how to make 
 the most of a horse but a very harey starey fel- 
 low will ride over a church if in his way tho 
 may prevent the leap by having a gap within 
 ten yards of him and if you are not in the field 
 with him yourself when you are a hunting to 
 tutor him about riding he will kill all the horses 
 you have in the stable in one month for he hath 
 killed downright and lamed so that will never 
 be fit for use no more than five horses since he 
 hath hunted my hounds which is two years and 
 upwards he can talk no dog language to a 
 
CHARACTER OF A HUNTSMAN. 299 
 
 hound he hath no voice speaks to a hound just 
 as if his head were in a drum nor neither does 
 he know how to draw a hound when they are 
 "at a loss no more than a child of 2 years old as 
 to his honesty I always found him honest till 
 about a week ago and have found him dishonest 
 now for about a week ago I sent my servant 
 that I have now to fetch some sheep's feet from 
 Mr. Stanjan of Higham Ferrers where Grey 
 used to go for feet and I always send my money 
 by my man that brings the feet and Stanjan 
 told my man that I have now that I owed him 
 money for feet and when the Boy came home 
 he told me and I went to Stanjan and when I 
 found the truth of the matter Grey had kept 
 my money in his hands and had never paid 
 Stanjan he had been along with me once for a 
 letter in order for his character to give him one 
 but I told him I could not give him a good one 
 so I would not write at all Grey is a very great 
 drunkard can't keep a penny in his pocket a 
 sad notorious lyar if you send him upon a mile 
 or two from Uppingham he will get drunk stay 
 all day and never come home while the middle 
 of the night or such time as he knows his mas- 
 ter is in bed he can nor will not keep any secret 
 neither hath he so much wit as other people for 
 
300 CHARACTER OF A 
 
 the fellow is half a fool for if you would have 
 business done with Expedition if he once gets 
 out of the town or sight of you shall see him 
 no more while the next morning he serves me 
 so and so you must expect the same if you hire 
 him I use you just as I would be used myself 
 if I desired a character of you of a servant that 
 I had designed to hire of yours as to let you 
 know the truth of every thing about him. 
 
 I am Sir 
 Your most humble servant to command 
 
 P. S. 
 
 He takes good care of his horses with good 
 looking after him as to the dressing e'm but if 
 you dont take care he will fill the manger full 
 of corn so that he will cloy the horses and ruin 
 the whole stable of horses. 
 
 Great Addington 
 June the 28th 1?34. 
 
BAG FOXES. 301 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 1 TOLD you, I believe, at the beginning of 
 our correspondence, that I disliked bag-foxes ; 
 I shall now tell you what my objections to them 
 are: the scent of them is different from that of 
 other foxes : it is too good, and makes hounds 
 idle ; besides, in the manner in which they 
 generally are turned out, it makes hounds 
 very wild. They seldom fail to know what 
 you are going about before you begin, and 
 if often used to hunt bag-foxes, will become 
 riotous enough to run any thing. A fox that 
 has been confined long in a small place, and 
 carried out afterwards, many miles perhaps, in 
 a sack, his own ordure hanging about him, 
 must needs stink extravagantly. You are also 
 to add to this account, that he most probably is 
 weakened for want of his natural food and usual 
 exercise ; his spirit broken by despair, and his 
 limbs stiffened by confinement : he then is turn- 
 ed out in open ground, without any point to go 
 to. He runs down the wind, it is true ; but he 
 
302 OBJECTIONS TO 
 
 is so much at a loss all the while, that he loses 
 a deal of time in not knowing what to do ; while 
 the hounds, who have no occasion to hunt, pur- 
 sue as closely as if they were tied to him. I 
 remember once to have hunted a bag-fox with 
 a gentleman, who, not thinking these advan- 
 tages enough, poured a whole bottle of aniseed 
 on the fox's back. I cannot say I could have 
 hunted the fox, but I assure you I could very 
 easily have hunted the aniseed. Is it to be 
 expected that the same hounds will have pa- 
 tience to hunt a cold scent the next day over 
 greasy fallows, through flocks of sheep, or on 
 stony roads ? However capable they may be 
 of doing it, I should much doubt their giving 
 themselves the trouble. If, notwithstanding 
 these objections, you still choose to turn one 
 out, turn him into a small cover, give him 
 what time you judge necessary, and lay on 
 your hounds as quietly as you can ; and, if 
 it be possible, let them think they find him. 
 If you turn out a fox for blood, I should, in 
 that case, prefer the turning him into a large 
 cover, first drawing it well, to prevent a 
 change. The hounds should then find him 
 themselves; and the sooner he is killed the 
 better. Fifteen or twenty minutes is as long 
 
BAG-FOXES. 303 
 
 as I should ever wish a bag-fox to run, that 
 is designed for blood : the hounds should then 
 go home. 
 
 Bag-foxes always run down the wind : such 
 sportsmen, therefore, as choose to turn them 
 out, may at the same time choose what country 
 they shall run. Foxes that are found, do not 
 follow this rule invariably. Strong earths and 
 large covers are great inducements to them, and 
 it is no inconsiderable wind that will keep them 
 from them. A gentleman, who never hunts, 
 being on a visit to a friend of his in the coun- 
 try, who hunts a great deal, heard him talk 
 frequently of bag-foxes : as he was unwilling 
 to betray his ignorance, his discretion and cu- 
 riosity kept him for some time in suspense, 
 till at last he could not refrain from asking, 
 "what kind of an animal a bag-fox was?" 
 and if it was not "a species of fox peculiar 
 to that country ?" 
 
 A pack of hounds having run a fox to ground 
 immediately after he was found, he was dug 
 and turned out again ; and that the operation 
 of turning him out might be better performed, 
 the master of the hounds undertook it him- 
 self. You will hardly believe me when 1 tell 
 
304 FOX-COURTS RECOMMENDED. 
 
 you, that he forgot the place where he turned 
 him out, and they never once could hit upon 
 the scent. 
 
 If you breed up cubs, you will find a fox- 
 court necessary : they should be kept there 
 till they are large enough to take care of them- 
 selves. It ought to be open at the top, and 
 walled in. I need not tell you that it must 
 be every way well secured, and particularly 
 the floor of it, which must be either bricked 
 or paved. A few boards fitted to the corners 
 will also be of use to shelter and to hide them. 
 Foxes ought to be kept very clean, and have 
 plenty of fresh water : birds and rabbits are 
 their best food : horse-flesh might give them 
 the mange ; for they are subject to this dis- 
 order. I remember a remarkable instance of 
 it. Going out to course, I met the whipper- 
 in returning from exercising his horses, and 
 asked him if he had found any hares ? " No, 
 sir," he replied ; " but I have caught a fox. I 
 saw him sunning himself under a hedge, and 
 finding he could not run, I drove him up into 
 a corner, got off my horse, and took him up ; 
 but he is since dead." I found him at the place 
 he directed me to, and he was indeed a curiosity. 
 
TREATMENT OF CUBS. 305 
 
 He had not a single hair on his brush, and very 
 few on his body. 
 
 I have kept foxes too long : I also have turned 
 them out too young. The safest way, I believe, 
 will be to avoid either extreme. When cubs 
 are bred in an earth near you, if you add two 
 or three to the number, it is not improbable 
 that the old fox will take care of them. Of 
 this you may be certain, that if they live they 
 will be good foxes ; for the others will show 
 them the country. Those which you turn 
 into an earth should be regularly fed. If 
 they are once neglected, it is probable they 
 will forsake the place, wander away, and die 
 for want of food. When the cubs leave the 
 earth, (which they may soon do,) your game- 
 keeper should throw food for them in parts 
 of the cover where it may be most easy for 
 them to find it ; and when he knows their 
 haunt, he should continue to feed them there. 
 Nothing destroys so much the breed of foxes 
 as buying them to turn out, unless care is taken 
 of them afterwards. 
 
 Your country being extensive, probably it 
 may not be all equally good : it may be worth 
 your while, therefore, to remove some of the 
 cubs from one part of it into the other : it is 
 
306 TREATMENT OF CUBS. 
 
 what I frequently do myself, and find it an- 
 swer.* A fox-court, therefore, is of great use : 
 it should be airy, or I would not advise you to 
 keep them long in it. I turned out one year 
 ten brace of cubs, most of which, by being kept 
 till they were tainted before they were turned 
 out, were found dead in the covers, with scarce 
 any hair upon them ; whilst a brace, which had 
 made their escape by making a hole in the sack 
 in which they were brought, lived, and showed 
 excellent sport. If the cubs are large, you may 
 turn them out immediately ; a large earth will 
 be best for that purpose, where they should be 
 regularly fed with rabbits, birds, or sheep's 
 henges, whichever you can most conveniently 
 get. I believe, when a fox is once tainted, 
 he never recovers it. The weather being re- 
 markably hot, those that I kept in my fox- 
 
 * Though turned-out foxes may sometimes answer the 
 purpose of entering young hounds, yet they seldom show 
 any diversion. Few of those I have turned into my woods 
 have I ever seen again ; besides, the turning out of foxes, 
 and alarming the neighbourhood, may hasten their destruc- 
 tion. Foxes will be plentiful enough where traps are not 
 set to destroy them. Should they do any injury to the 
 farmer, make satisfaction for it : encourage the neighbour- 
 ing game-keepers to preserve them, by paying them hand- 
 somely for every litter of cubs that they take care of for 
 you. If you act in this manner, you may not have occasion 
 to turn any out. 
 
TREATMENT OF CUBS. 307 
 
 court (which at that time was a very close 
 one) all died, one after the other, of the same 
 disorder. 
 
 Where rabbits are plentiful, nature will soon 
 teach them how to catch the young ones ; and, 
 till that period of abundance arrives, it may be 
 necessary to provide food for them.* Where 
 game is scarce, wet weather will be most fa- 
 vourable to them : they can then live on beetles, 
 Chafers, worms, &c. which they will find great 
 plenty of. I think the morning is the best time 
 to turn them out : if turned out in the evening, 
 they will be more likely to ramble ; but if 
 turned out early, and fed on the earth, I think 
 there is little doubt of their remaining there.-)- 
 I also recommend to you to turn them into large 
 covers and strong earths: out of small earths 
 they are more liable to be stolen, and from 
 small covers are more likely to wander away. 
 
 * If a sheep die, let it be carried to the earth, and it will 
 afford the cubs food for some time. 
 
 t A more certain method, perhaps, might be to pale in 
 part of a copse which has an earth in it. It might be well 
 stocked with rabbits ; the young ones of which, the cubs 
 would soon learn to catch. You might have muses in 
 the pale, and let them out when capable of getting their 
 own food. Foxes turned out answer best when left to 
 breed. 
 
308 FURZE-COVERS USEFUL. 
 
 Your game-keepers, at this time of the year, 
 having little else to do, may feed and take care 
 of them. When you stop any of these earths, 
 remember to have them opened again, as I 
 have reason to think I lost some young foxes 
 one year by not doing it. For your own 
 satisfaction, put a private mark on every fox 
 which you turn out, that you may know him 
 again. Your cubs, though they may get off 
 from the covers where they were bred, when* 
 hunted, will seldom fail to return to them. 
 
 Gentlemen who buy foxes do great injury to 
 fox-hunting : they encourage the robbing of 
 neighbouring hunts ; in which case, without 
 doubt, the receiver is as bad as the thief. It' 
 is the interest of every fox-hunter to be cau- 
 tious how he behaves in this particular : indeed, 
 I believe most gentlemen are so; and it may 
 be easy to retaliate on such as are not. I 
 am told, that in some hunts it is the constant 
 employment of one person to watch the earths 
 at the breeding time, to prevent the cubs from 
 being stolen. Furze-covers cannot be too much 
 encouraged, for that reason, for there they 
 are safe. They have also other advantages 
 attending them : they are certain places to 
 
DIGGING OF FOXES. 309 
 
 find in : foxes cannot break from them un- 
 seen ; nor are you so liable to change as in 
 other covers.* 
 
 Acquainted as I am with your sentiments, it 
 would be needless to desire you to be cautious 
 how you buy foxes. The price some men pay 
 for them might well encourage the robbing of 
 every hunt in the kingdom, their own not ex- 
 cepted. But you despise the soi disant gen- 
 tleman who receives them, more than the poor 
 thief who takes them. Some gentlemen ask no 
 questions, and flatter themselves they have 
 found out that convenient mezzo termino to 
 settle their consciences by. 
 
 With respect to the digging of foxes that you 
 run to ground, what I myself have observed 
 in that business I will endeavour to recollect. 
 My people usually, I think, follow the hole, 
 except when the earth is large, and the terriers 
 have fixed the fox in an angle of it ; for they 
 
 * A fox, when pressed by hounds, will seldom go into a 
 furze-brake. Rabbits, which are the fox's favourite food, 
 may also be encouraged there, and yet do little damage. 
 Were they suffered to establish themselves in your woods, 
 it would be difficult to destroy them afterwards. Thus far 
 I obfject to them as a farmer : I object to them also as a fox- 
 hunter ; since nothing is more prejudicial to the breeding of 
 foxes, than disturbing your woods late in the season to de- 
 stroy the rabbits. 
 
310 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 
 
 then find it a more expeditious method to sink 
 a pit as near to him as they can. You should 
 always keep a terrier in at the fox, for if you 
 do not, he not only may move, but also, in loose 
 ground, may dig himself further in. In digging, 
 you should keep room enough ; and care should 
 be taken not to throw the earth where you may 
 have it to move again. In following the hole, 
 the surest way not to lose it is to keep below it. 
 When your hounds are in want of blood, stop 
 all the holes, lest the fox should bolt out unseen. 
 It causes no small confusion when this happens. 
 The hounds are dispersed about, and asleep in 
 different places : the horses are often at a consi- 
 derable distance ; and many a fox, by taking 
 advantage of this favourable moment, has saved 
 his life. 
 
 If hounds are in want of blood, and they 
 have had a long run, it is the best way, 
 without doubt, to kill the fox upon the earth ; 
 but if they have not run long, if the fox is 
 easy to be digged, and the cover is such a 
 one as they are not likely to change in, it 
 does the hounds more good to turn him out 
 upon the earth, and let them work for nim. 
 It is the blood that will do them most good, 
 and may be serviceable to the hounds, to the 
 
DIGGING OF FOXES. 311 
 
 horses, and to yourself. Digging a fox is 
 cold work, and may require a gallop after- 
 wards to warm you all again. Before you do 
 this, if there are any other earths in the cover, 
 they should be stopped, lest the fox should go 
 to ground again. 
 
 Let your huntsman try all around, and let 
 him be perfectly satisfied that the fox is not 
 gone on, before you try an earth : for want 
 of this precaution, I dug three hours to a 
 terrier that lay all the time at a rabbit : there 
 was another circumstance which I am not 
 likely to forget, "that I had twenty miles 
 to ride home afterwards." A fox sometimes 
 runs over an earth, and does not go into it: 
 he sometimes goes in, and does not stay : he 
 may find it too hot, or may not like the 
 company he meets with there. I make no 
 doubt that he has good reasons for every thing 
 he does, though we are not always acquainted 
 with them. 
 
 Huntsmen, when they get near the fox, will 
 sometimes put a hound in to draw him. This 
 is, however, a cruel operation, and seldom 
 answers any other purpose than to occasion 
 the dog a bad bite, the fox's head generally 
 being towards him ; besides a few minutes' 
 
312 BADGERS MISCHIEVOUS. 
 
 digging will make it unnecessary. If you let 
 the fox first seize your whip, the hound will 
 draw him more readily.* 
 
 You should not encourage badgers in your 
 woods : they make strong earths, which will 
 be expensive and troublesome to you to stop, 
 or fatal to your sport if you do not. You, 
 without doubt, remember an old Oxford toast : 
 
 Hounds stout, and horses healthy ; 
 Earths well stopp'd, and foxes plenty. 
 
 All certainly very desirable to a fox-hunter; 
 yet I apprehend the earths stopped to be the 
 most necessary, *for the others, without that, 
 would be useless. Besides, I am not certain 
 that earths are the safest places for foxes to 
 breed in; for frequently, when poachers can- 
 not dig them, they will catch the young 
 foxes in trenches, dug at the mouth of the 
 hole, which I believe they call tunning them. 
 A few large earths near to your house are 
 certainly desirable, as they will draw the foxes 
 thither, and, after a long day, will sometimes 
 bring you home. 
 
 * You may draw a fox by fixing a piece of whipcord, 
 made into a noose, at the end of a stick ; which, when the 
 fox seizes, you may draw him out by. 
 
METHOD OF UNEARTHING. 313 
 
 If foxes are bred in an earth which you think 
 unsafe, you had better stink them out : that, or 
 indeed any disturbance at the mouth of the 
 hole, will make the old one carry them off to 
 another place. 
 
 In open countries, foxes, when they are much 
 disturbed, will lie at earth. If you have diffi- 
 culty in finding, stinking the earths will some- 
 times produce them again. The method which 
 I use to stink an earth is as follows : Tbree 
 pounds of sulphur and one pound of asafce- 
 tida are boiled up together ; matches are then 
 made of brown paper, and lighted in the holes, 
 which are afterwards stopped very close. Earths 
 that are not used by badgers may be stopped 
 early, which will answer the same purpose ; 
 but where badgers frequent, it would be use- 
 less, as they would open them again. 
 
 Badgers may be caught alive in sacks, pla- 
 ced at the mouth of the hole: setting traps 
 for them would be dangerous, as you might 
 catch your foxes also. They may be caught 
 by stinking them out of a great earth, and 
 afterwards following them to a smaller one, 
 and digging them. 
 
 Your country requires a good terrier. I 
 should prefer the black or white terrier : some 
 p 
 
314 SAGACITY OF A FOX. 
 
 there are so like a fox, that awkward people 
 frequently mistake one for the other. If you 
 like terriers to run with your pack, large ones, 
 at times, are useful; but in an earth they do 
 but little good, as they cannot always get up 
 to the fox. You had better not enter a young 
 terrier at a badger: young terriers have not 
 the art of shifting like old ones; and, if they 
 are good for any thing, most probably will go 
 up Boldly to him at once, and get themselves 
 most terribly bitten: for this reason, you 
 should enter them at young foxes when you 
 can. Before I quit this subject, I must men- 
 tion an extraordinary instance of sagacity in 
 a bitch-fox, that was digged out of an earth 
 with four young ones, and brought in a sack 
 upwards of twenty miles to a gentleman in 
 my neighbourhood, to be turned out the next 
 day before his hounds. This fox, weak as 
 she must have been, ran in a straight line 
 back again to her own country, crossed two 
 rivers, and was at last killed near to the 
 earth she was digged out of the day before. 
 Foxes that are bred in the cliffs near the sea 
 seldom are known to ramble any great dis- 
 tance from them ; and sportsmen, who know 
 the country where this fox was turned out, 
 
REYNARD'S INVETERATE FOES. 315 
 
 will tell you, that there is not the least rea- 
 son to think that she could have had any 
 knowledge of it. 
 
 Besides the digging of foxes, by which 
 method many young ones are taken, and old 
 ones destroyed, traps, &c. too often are fatal 
 to them. Farmers, for their lambs, (which, 
 by the by, few foxes ever kill,) gentlemen 
 for their game, and old women for their 
 poultry, are their inveterate enemies. I must, 
 however, give an instance of civility I once 
 met with from a farmer. The hounds had 
 found, and were running hard : the farmer 
 came up in high spirits, and said, " I hope, 
 sir, you will kill him ; he has done me much 
 damage lately : he carried away all my ducks 
 last week. I would not gin him, though : 
 too good a sportsman for that." So much for 
 the honest farmer. 
 
 In the country where I live, most of the 
 gentlemen are sportsmen ; and even those who 
 are not, show every kind attention to those 
 who are. I am sorry it is otherwise with you ; 
 and that your old gouty neighbour should, 
 destroy your foxes, I must own, concerns me. 
 I know some gentlemen, who, when a neigh- 
 bour had destroyed all their foxes, and thereby 
 
316 LEX TALIONIS. 
 
 prevented them from pursuing a favourite 
 amusement, loaded a cart with spaniels, and 
 went all together and destroyed his pheasants. 
 I think they might have called this, very pro- 
 perly, lex talionis ; and it had the desired 
 effect; for as the gentleman did not think it 
 prudent to fight them all, he took the wiser 
 method, he made peace with them. He gave 
 an order that no more foxes should be destroy- 
 ed, and they never afterwards killed any of 
 his pheasants. 
 
THE SUBJECT CONCLUDED. 317 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 I AM now, my friend, about to take leave 
 of you ; and at the same time that I give re- 
 pose to you, let me entreat you to show the 
 same favour to your hounds and horses. It 
 is now the breeding season, a proper time, 
 in my opinion, to leave off hunting ; since it 
 is more likely to be your servants 1 amusement 
 than yours; and is always to the prejudice 
 of two noble animals, which we sportsmen are 
 bound in gratitude to take care of. 
 
 After a long and tiresome winter, surely 
 the horse deserves some repose. Let him then 
 enjoy his short-lived liberty; and as his feet 
 are the parts which suffer most, turn him out 
 into a soft pasture. Some there are who dis- 
 approve of grass, saying, that when a horse 
 is in good order, the turning him out undoes 
 it all again. It certainly does. Yet this, at 
 the same time, I believe, that no horse can 
 be fresh in his limbs, or will last you long, 
 without it. Can standing in a hot stable do 
 
318 ON THE MANAGEMENT 
 
 him any good? and can hard exercise, parti- 
 cularly in the summer, be of any advantage 
 to him? Is it not soft ground and long rest 
 that will best refresh his limbs, while the 
 night air and morning dews will invigorate 
 his body? Some never physic their hunters; 
 only observing, when they first take them up 
 from grass, to work them gently : some turn 
 out theirs all the year. It is not unusual for 
 such as follow the latter method, to physic 
 their horses at grass; they then are taken 
 up, well fed, and properly exercised, to get 
 them into order: this done, they are turned 
 out for a few hours every day when they are 
 not ridden. The pasture should be dry, 
 and should have but little grass: there they 
 will stretch their limbs and cool their bodies, 
 and will take as much exercise as is necessary 
 for them. I have remarked, that, thus treat- 
 ed, they catch fewer colds, have the use of 
 their limbs more freely, and are less liable to 
 lameness than other horses. Another advan- 
 tage attends this method, which, in the horses 
 you ride yourself, you will allow to be very 
 material: your horse, when once he is in 
 order, will require less strong exercise than 
 grooms generally give their horses; and his 
 
OF A. HUNTER. 319 
 
 mouth, in all probability, will not be the 
 worse for it. 
 
 The Earl of Pembroke, in his Military 
 Equitation, is, I find, of the same opinion : 
 he tells us, "It is of the greatest conse- 
 quence for horses to be kept clean, regularly 
 fed, and as regularly exercised : but whoever 
 chooses to ride in the way of ease and plea- 
 sure, without any fatigue on horseback, or, 
 in short, does not like to carry his horse, in- 
 stead of his horse's carrying him, must not 
 suffer his horse to -be exercised by a groom; 
 standing up on his stirrups, holding himself 
 on by means of the reins, and thereby hang- 
 ing his whole dead weight on the horse's 
 mouth, to the entire destruction of all that 
 is good, safe, or pleasant about the animal." 
 And in another place he says, "Horses 
 should be turned loose somewhere, or walked 
 about every day, when they do not work, 
 particularly after hard exercise: swelled legs, 
 physic, &c. will be saved by these means, 
 and many distempers avoided." He also ob- 
 serves, that "it is a matter of the greatest 
 consequence, though few attend to it, to feed 
 horses according to their work. When the 
 work is hard, food should be in plenty; when 
 
320 OF PHYSICKING. 
 
 it is otherwise, the food should be diminished 
 immediately, the hay particularly." 
 
 I have no doubt that the noble author is 
 perfectly right in these observations: I am 
 also of opinion that a handful or two of clean 
 wheaten straw, chopped small, and mixed 
 with their corn, would be of great service to 
 your horses, provided that you have interest 
 enough with your groom to prevail on him 
 to give it them. 
 
 Such of rny horses as are physicked at grass 
 have two doses given them when they are 
 turned out, and three more before they are 
 taken up. Grass physic is of so mild a kind, 
 that you will not find this quantity too much ; 
 nor have I ever known an accident happen 
 from it, though it has been given in very 
 indifferent weather. I should tell you, that 
 my horses are always taken in the night after 
 they take their physic, though the printed 
 directions, I believe, do not require it. Such 
 horses as are full of humours should be 
 physicked at house, since they may require 
 stronger doses than grass physic will admit 
 of, which, I think, is more proper to prevent 
 humours than to remove them. The only 
 use I know in physicking a horse that does 
 
USEFUL RECIPE. 321 
 
 not appear to want it, is to prevent, if pos- 
 sible, his requiring it at a time when you 
 cannot so well spare him, I mean the hunt- 
 ing season. Should an accident of this kind 
 happen, Stibium's balls, of which I send you 
 the receipt, you will find of the greatest use. 
 
 Crocus metallorum, levigated 2 ozs. 
 
 Stibium's ditto 2 
 
 Flower of brimstone .... 1 
 
 Castile soap 1 
 
 Liquorice powder 1 
 
 Honey q. s. to make it into a paste. 
 
 A ball of one ounce weight is to be given 
 three mornings following. The horse must 
 be kept fasting for two hours after he has 
 taken it: he then may have a feed of corn, 
 and soon after that, moderate exercise. The 
 same should be repeated four days after- 
 wards. These balls purify the blood, and 
 operate upon the body by insensible per- 
 spiration. 
 
 I frequently give nitre to such of my 
 hunters as are not turned out to grass : it 
 cools their bodies, and is of great service to 
 them. It may be given them either in their 
 water or in their corn ; I sometimes give an 
 ounce in each. 
 
 p3 
 
322 OF SHOEING. 
 
 I think you are perfectly in the right to 
 mount your people well : there is no good 
 economy in giving them bad horses; they 
 take no care of them, but wear them out as 
 soon as they can, that they may have others. 
 
 The question you ask me about shoeing, 
 I am unable to answer: yet I am of opinion, 
 that horses should be shod with more or less 
 iron, according as the country where they 
 hunt requires ; but in this a good farrier will 
 best direct you. Nothing certainly is more 
 necessary to a horse than to be well shod. 
 The shoe should be a proper one, and it 
 should fit his foot. Farriers are but too apt 
 to make the foot fit the shoe.* My groom 
 carries a false shoe, which just serves to save 
 a horse's hoof, when he loses a shoe, till it 
 can be put on again. In some countries you 
 
 * I venture to give the following rules on shoeing, in a 
 short and decisive manner, as founded on the strictest ana- 
 tomical and mechanical principles laid down by the best 
 masters : The shoe should be flat, and not turned up at 
 the heel, or reach beyond that or the toe; but the mid- 
 dle part should extend rather beyond the outward edge 
 of the hoof, that the hoof may not be contracted ; the 
 outward part of which may be pared, to bring it down 
 to an even surface, to fit it for the fixing on of the 
 shoe. If the foot be too long, the toe may be pared, 
 or rasped down ; which, in many cases, may even be 
 
SUMMER HUNTING. 323 
 
 see them loaded with saws, hatchets, &c. I 
 am glad that the country in which I hunt 
 does not require them. In the book I have 
 just quoted, you will find the shoeing of hor- 
 ses treated of very much at large. I beg 
 leave, therefore, if you want further infor- 
 mation on that head, to refer you to it. 
 
 Having declared my disapprobation of 
 summer hunting, on account of the horses, 
 I must add, that I am not less an enemy to 
 it on account of the hounds also: they, I 
 think, should have some time allowed them 
 to recover the strains and bruises of many a 
 painful chase; and their diet, in which the 
 adding to their strength has been, perhaps, 
 too much considered, should now be altered. 
 No more flesh should they now eat; but in 
 its stead, should have their bodies cooled with 
 
 necessary to preserve the proper shape of the hoof, and 
 bring the foot to a stroke and bearing the most natu- 
 ral and advantageous. Neither the horny sole or frog, 
 (meant by nature for the guard of the foot and safety 
 of the horse,) are upon any account to be pared, or cut 
 away. The small, loose, ragged parts that at times 
 appear, should be cut off' with a pen-knife; but that 
 destructive instrument called the butteris, which, in the 
 hands of stubborn ignorance, has done more injury to 
 the feet of horses than all the chases of the world, 
 should be banished for ever. 
 
324 CONTENTMENT AND FELICITY 
 
 whey, greens, and thin meat : without this 
 precaution, the mange, most probably, would 
 be the immediate consequence of hot weather, 
 perhaps madness direful malady ! 
 
 As a country life has been recommended 
 in all ages, as much for the contentment of 
 the mind as health of the body, it is no won- 
 der that hunting should be considered by so 
 many as a necessary part of it, since nothing 
 conduces more to both. A great genius has 
 told us, that it is 
 
 Better to hunt in fields for health unbought, 
 Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught. 
 
 With regard to its peaceful state, a modern 
 poet tells us, 
 
 No fierce unruly senate threatens here, 
 No axe or scaffold to the view appear, 
 No envy, disappointment, and despair. 
 
 And for the contentment which is supposed 
 to accompany a country life, we have not 
 only the best authority of our own time to 
 support it, but even that of the best poets of 
 the Augustan age. Virgil surely felt what 
 he wrote, when he said, " O fortunatos ni- 
 mium, sua si bona norint, agricolas T and 
 Horace's famous ode, "Beatus ille qui procul 
 negotiis" seems not less to come from the 
 
OF A COUNTRY LIFE. 325 
 
 heart of a man who is generally allowed to 
 have had a perfect knowledge of mankind, 
 and this even at the time when he was the 
 favourite of the greatest emperor, and in the 
 midst of all the magnificence of the greatest 
 city in the world. 
 
 The elegant Pliny also, in his epistle to 
 Minutius Fundanus, which is admirably trans- 
 lated by the Earl of Orrery, whilst he arraigns 
 the life he leads at Rome, speaks with a 
 kind of rapture of a country life : " Wel- 
 come," says he, " thou life of integrity and 
 virtue ! Welcome, sweet and innocent amuse- 
 ment ! Thou art almost preferable to business 
 and employment of every kind !" And it was 
 here, we are told, that the great Bacon expe- 
 rienced his truest felicity. With regard to 
 the otium cum dignitate, so much recommen- 
 ded, no one, I believe, understands the true 
 meaning of it better, or practises it more 
 successfully than you do. 
 
 A rural life, I think, is better suited to 
 this country than to any other; because the 
 country in England affords pleasures and 
 amusements unknown in other countries ; and 
 because its rival, our English town (or ton) 
 life, perhaps is a less pleasant one than may 
 
326 HUNTING NOT OFTEN 
 
 be found elsewhere. If this, upon a nice in- 
 vestigation of the matter, should appear to be 
 strictly true, the conclusion that would neces- 
 sarily result from it might prove more than 
 I mean it should; therefore we will drop the 
 subject. Should you, however, differ from me 
 in opinion of your town life, and disapprove 
 what I have said concerning it, you may 
 excuse me, if you please, as you would a 
 lawyer who does the best he can for the 
 party for whom he is retained. I think you 
 will also excuse any expressions I may have 
 used, which may not be current here; if you 
 find, as I verily believe you may, that I 
 have not made use of a French word, but 
 when I could not have expressed my mean- 
 ing so well by an English one. It is only 
 an unnecessary and affected application of a 
 foreign language that, in my opinion, is de- 
 serving of censure. 
 
 To those who may think the danger which 
 attends on hunting a great objection to the 
 pursuit of it, I must beg leave to observe, 
 that the accidents which are occasioned by it 
 are very few. I will venture to say, that 
 more bad accidents happen to shooters in 
 one year, than to those who follow hounds in 
 
A DANGEROUS SPORT. 327 
 
 seven. You will remind me, perhaps, of the 
 
 death of T k, and the fall of D 1 ; 
 
 but do accidents never happen on the road? 
 The most famous huntsman and boldest rider 
 of his time, after having hunted a pack of 
 hounds for several years unhurt, lost his life 
 at last by a fall from his horse, as he was 
 returning home. A surgeon of my acquaint- 
 ance has assured me, that in thirty years' 
 practice in a sporting country, he had not 
 once an opportunity of setting a bone for a 
 sportsman, though ten packs of hounds were 
 kept in the neighbourhood. This gentleman, 
 surely, must have been much out of luck, 
 or hunting cannot be so dangerous as it is 
 thought. Besides, they are all timid animals 
 that we pursue, nor is there any danger in 
 attacking them : they are not like the furious 
 beasts of the Gevaudan, which, as a French 
 author informs us, twenty thousand French 
 chasseurs went out in vain to kill. 
 
 If my time in writing to you has not been so 
 well employed as it might have been, you at 
 least will not find that fault with it : nor shall 
 I repent of having employed it in this manner, 
 unless it were more certain than it is that / 
 should have employed it better. It is true, 
 
328 
 
 these letters are longer than I first intended 
 they should be : they would have been shorter , 
 could I have bestowed more time upon them. 
 Some technical words have crept in imper- 
 ceptibly, and with them some expressions 
 better suited to the field than to the closet; 
 nor is it necessary, perhaps, that a sportsman, 
 when he is writing to a sportsman, should 
 make excuses for them. In some of my 
 letters you will have found great variety of 
 matter : the variety of questions contained in 
 yours, made it sometimes unavoidable. I know 
 there must be some tautology : it scarcely is 
 possible to remember all that has been said 
 in former letters ; let that difficulty, if you 
 please, excuse the fault. I fear there may 
 be some contradictions for the same reason, 
 and I doubt there should be many exceptions. 
 I trust them all to your candour, nor can they 
 be in better hands. I hope you will not find 
 that I have at different times given different 
 opinions ; but should that be the case, without 
 doubt you will follow that opinion which coin- 
 cides most with your own. If on any points I 
 have differed from great authorities, I am sorry 
 for it. I have never hunted with those who are 
 looked up to as the great masters of this science; 
 
EULOGIUM ON SOMERVILE. 329 
 
 and, when I differ from them, it is without de- 
 sign. Other methods, without doubt, there are, 
 to make the keeping of hounds much more ex- 
 pensive ; which, as I do not practise myself, I 
 shall not recommend to you : treated after the 
 manner here described, they will kill foxes, and 
 show you sport. I have answered all your ques- 
 tions as concisely as I have been able, and it has 
 been my constant endeavour to say no more than 
 I thought the subject required. The time may 
 come when more experienced sportsmen, and 
 abler pens, may do it greater justice ; till then, 
 accept the observations that I have made : take 
 them read them try them. There was a 
 time when I should readily have received the 
 information they give, imperfect as it may 
 be ; for experience is ever a slow teacher, and 
 I have had no other. With regard to books, 
 Somervile is the only author whom I have 
 found of any use on this subject. You will 
 admire the poet, and esteem the man ; yet I 
 am not certain that you will be always satisfied 
 with the lessons of the huntsman. Proud of 
 the authority, I have quoted from him as often 
 as it would suit your purpose ; and for your 
 sake have I braved the evident disadvantage 
 that attended it. I wish this elegant poet 
 
330 ODD NOTIONS. 
 
 had answered all your questions : you then 
 would have received but one letter from me, 
 to refer you to him. That no other writer 
 should have followed his steps, may thus, 
 I think, be accounted for : those gentle- 
 men who make a profession of writing live 
 chiefly in town, consequently cannot be sup- 
 posed to know much of hunting; and those 
 who do know any thing of it are either ser- 
 vants who cannot write, or country gentlemen 
 who will not give themselves the trouble. How- 
 ever, I have met with some curious remarks, 
 which I cannot help communicating to you. 
 One author tells us, that, " coursing is more 
 agreeable than hunting, because it is sooner 
 over ; " that " a terrier is a mongrel grey- 
 hound ; " arid that " dogs have often coughs 
 from eating Jish-bones. " 
 
 Another (a French author) advises us to 
 give a horse, after hunting, " a soup made 
 of bread and wine, and an onion." I fear an 
 English groom would eat the onion, and drink 
 the wine. 
 
 The same author has also a very particular 
 method of catching rabbits, which you will 
 please to take in his own words : he calls it 
 Chasse du lapin a Vtcrevisse. " Cette chasse 
 
CHASSE DU LAPIN. 331 
 
 convient aux personnes qui ne veulent employer 
 ni furets ni armes a feu : on tend des poches a 
 une extremite d'un terrier, et a Pautre on glisse 
 une crevisse ; cet animal arrive peu-a-peu au 
 fond de la retraite du lapin, le pique s'y attache 
 avec tant de force, que le quadrupede est oblige 
 de fuir, emportant avec lui son ennemi, et vient 
 se faire prendre dans le filet qu'on lui a tendu 
 a 1'ouverture du terrier. Cette chasse demande 
 beaucoup de patience : les operations de Fecre- 
 visse sont lentes, mais aussi elles sont quelquefois 
 plus sures que celles du furet." 
 
 This gentleman's singular method of hunting 
 rabbits with a lobster, reminds me of a method 
 harlequin* has of killing hares, not less inge- 
 nious, with Spanish snuff. Brighella tells him, 
 that the hares eat up all his master's green 
 wheat, and that he knows not how to kill them. 
 " Nothing more easy," replies harlequin : " I 
 will engage to kill them all with two-penny- 
 worth of snuff. They come in the night, you 
 say, to feed on the green wheat : strew a little 
 snuff over the field before they come ; it will 
 set them all a sneezing; nobody will be by to 
 say, God bless you ! and of course they will 
 all die." 
 
 * The harlequin of the Italian theatre, whose tongue is 
 at liberty as well as his heels. 
 
332 CANDOUR OF AUTHORS. 
 
 I believe, during our present correspondence, 
 that I have twice quoted the Encyclopedic with 
 some degree of ridicule. I must, notwithstand- 
 ing, beg leave to say, in justice to myself, that 
 I have great esteem for that most valuable work. 
 
 On opening a very large book, called the 
 Gentleman's Recreation, I met with the follow- 
 ing remarkable passage : " Many have written 
 of this subject, as well the antients as moderns, 
 yet but few of OUT countrymen to any purpose ;- 
 and had one all the authors on this subject, (as 
 indeed on any other,) there would be more trou- 
 ble to pass by than to retain ; most books being 
 fuller of words than matter, and of that which 
 is for the most part very erroneous. 1 " All who 
 have written on the subject of hunting seem to 
 agree in this at least, to speak indifferently of 
 one another. 
 
 You have observed in v one of your letters, 
 that I do not always follow my own rules ; and, 
 as a proof of it, you have remarked that many 
 of my hounds are oddly named. I cannot deny 
 the charge. I leave a great deal to my hunts- 
 man ; but if you aim at perfection, leave as 
 little as you can help to yours. It is easier, I 
 believe, in every instance, to know what is 
 right, than it is to follow it : but if the rules 
 
CANINE FIDELITY. 333 
 
 I have given are good, what does it signify to 
 you whether I follow them or not ? A country 
 fellow used to call every directing post he saw 
 a doctor. He was asked why he called them 
 so ? " Why, master," said he, "I never see 
 them but they put me in mind of the parson 
 of our parish, who constantly points out a road 
 to us he does not follow himself."" 
 
 If I can add to the amusement of such as 
 follow this diversion, I shall not think that I 
 have been ill employed ; and if the rules which 
 are here given may any way tend to preserve 
 that friendly animal, the hound, from one un- 
 necessary lash, I shall not think that they have 
 been written in vain.* It never was my expec- 
 tation to be able to send you a complete trea- 
 
 * Strangely unfortunate should I think myself, if, while 
 I profess to be a friend to dogs, I should prove their bit- 
 terest enemy, and if those rules, which were intended to 
 lessen, should increase their sufferings ; convinced as I am 
 by experience, that a regular system of education is the 
 surest means to render correction unnecessary. Hard is 
 that heart (if any such there be) which can ill-use a crea- 
 ture so affectionate and so good ; who has renounced his 
 native liberty to associate with man, to whose service his 
 whole life is dedicated ; who, sensible of every kindness, 
 is grateful for the smallest favour ; while the worst usage 
 cannot estrange his affection, in which he is, beyond all 
 example, constant, faithful and disinterested ; who guards 
 him by night, and amuses him by day ; and is, perhaps, the 
 only companion that will not forsake him in adversity. 
 
334 THE CEITIC ANTICIPATED. 
 
 tise: Thoughts on Hunting, in a Series of 
 familiar Letters, were all I proposed to myself 
 the pleasure of sending to you. The trouble 
 I have taken in writing 'them entitles me to 
 some indulgence ; nor need I, therefore, whilst 
 I endeavour to render them of use, stand in 
 any dread of criticism. Yet if any man, as 
 idle as I have already declared myself to be, 
 should^take the trouble to criticise these letters, 
 tell him this : An acquaintance of mine, who 
 had bestowed much time in improving his place, 
 whenever he heard it found fault with, asked 
 " where the critic lived ? whether he had any 
 place of his own ? whether he had attempted 
 any improvements ? and concluded with pro- 
 mising a peep at it" The gentleman here 
 alluded to had less humility than your humble 
 servant. Take, therefore, my sentiments in the 
 following lines : 
 
 Si quid novisti rectius istis, 
 Candidas imperti ; si non, his utere mecum. 
 
 HOR. 
 
 FAREWELL. 
 
 The inclosed curious manuscript was called 
 by its author a hunting song : it is worth your 
 notice. Once more, farewell. 
 
A HUNTING SONG. 335 
 
 HARK ! hark to the notes of the melodious French horn 
 
 How sweetly she calls you out in the morn 
 
 She tells you Jemme is mounted on Tartar his steed 
 
 And invites you all to the cover with speed 
 
 Of all pleasures or pastimes ever heard or seen 
 
 There 's none in the world like to merry hunting 
 
 Hark ! cover hark ! the hounds are all in 
 The fox they have found and to his kennel they fling 
 He's forced now thorow the woods for to fly 
 Tho' nothing can save him between the earth and the sky 
 Of all pleasures 
 
 Hark { tally hark ! out of cover they all break 
 And tell you the fox they ever will seek 
 They surely will run him until that he die 
 Unless some kind earth save him in his way 
 Of all pleasures 
 
 The fox now panting sees he must die 
 
 The hounds with their ingoys resound to the sky 
 
 There's Stately and Empress the earth scarce touch with 
 
 the feet 
 
 There's Chasir and Trimmer all together as fleet 
 Of all pleasures 
 
 Triumph and Driver now push to head the whole pack 
 Whipster being stole his place for to take 
 I think such rascally treatment as these 
 Should be reproach'd by all those who seek for to please 
 Of all pleasures 
 
 Bold Reynard now finding his speed will not do 
 Betakes to the woods the hounds may not him pursue 
 But the hounds as at first to the cover they fly 
 And swear old Reynard in the field of honour shall die 
 Of all pleasures 
 
330 A HUNTING SONG. 
 
 There's Trimbush and Chirrup and others as good 
 Ralley Cleanly and Comfort drives on thorow the wood 
 Emperor and Conqueror will never him forsake 
 But drives on full speed thorow every breake 
 Of all pleasures 
 
 Old Reynard finding the cover can't save him 
 Lurkes on for the earth that us'd to preserve him 
 But Smiler he sees him and soon overtake 
 And poor Reynard his exit in the field of honour doth make 
 Of all pleasures 
 
 The hounds how eager to enjoy their reward 
 The huntsman as eager checks them with a word 
 He beheads old Reynard and takes off his brush 
 And to the hounds gives his karcass a toss 
 Of all pleasures 
 
 The hounds now well pleased wallow on the ground 
 The huntsman as well pleased to see his company around 
 He buckles Reynard's head to his saddle with a strap 
 And with his ribbon tyes the brush to his cap 
 Of all pleasures 
 
 Our sport being ended and our horses full jaded 
 
 We return home well pleased with our sport quite amazed 
 
 Saying was there ever such hounds as these 
 
 Or ever such hunting on weares 
 
 Of all pleasures or pastimes ever heard or seen 
 There's none in the world like to merry hunting. 
 
COURSING. 
 
COURSING. 
 
 THIS popular amusement, which can be par- 
 ticipated in more generally, and with less risk, 
 than any other species of hunting, is of great 
 antiquity, being described by Arrian in the 
 second century. It appears, from his account, 
 the practice of coursing the hare was much the 
 same as at the present period ; only a brace of 
 hounds were suffered to pursue her, and she was 
 also allowed some distance at starting, a rule 
 which ought never to be infringed ; for if the 
 hare is terrified by the hounds being let loose 
 immediately upon finding her, she is prevented 
 from using her speed, and killed without diver- 
 sion to the spectator ; the object of the sports- 
 man is to enjoy the contest of swiftness, and 
 the hounds having decidedly the advantage, the 
 allowance of four or five score yards' law ought 
 to be strictly enforced. The improved method 
 of slips for the hounds admitting of their being 
 
340 COURSING MEETINGS. 
 
 instantaneously let loose, the distance can be 
 most accurately adhered to, and it is impossible 
 for either dog to have the advantage in starting, 
 except from accident. The extraordinary speed 
 of greyhounds, and the wonderful facility with 
 which the hare eludes them by doubling or turn- 
 ing, afford the greatest sport to the spectator: 
 killing the hare ought always to be a secondary 
 consideration, except, as Daniel remarks, with 
 those " who think no course worth seeing unless 
 there is a hare at the end of it." 
 
 At a coursing meeting, properly conducted, 
 a person is appointed to hold the dogs in the 
 slip, and the company must keep behind him 
 until a hare is found ; the judge should be in a 
 situation to see the hounds leave the slip, and 
 the owners of them alone allowed to follow 
 them with him. The judge has to decide the 
 merits of the course according to the number of 
 points gained by each hound, as hereafter de- 
 scribed in the laws and rules. 
 
 Notwithstanding the superiority of speed in 
 the greyhound, the hare frequently escapes after 
 a severe course ; the average number killed in 
 fair coursing does not perhaps exceed one in 
 three : those found on marshes and downs are 
 the stoutest runners. The following instances 
 
EXTRAORDINARY COURSES. 341 
 
 of extraordinary courses will prove the distance 
 for which such great speed can be exerted. 
 
 A brace of greyhounds in Lincolnshire ran a 
 hare from her seat, and killed her at a distance, 
 measuring straight, of upwards of four miles in 
 twelve minutes : during the course there were a 
 great number of turns, which very considerably 
 increased the space gone over. Daniel says he 
 recollects a hare being found in Cambridgeshire, 
 which, after a severe course, was found dead 
 some yards before the greyhounds, who were 
 obliged to be bled to recover them ; and, out of 
 twenty-two horses which started, only one could 
 make a gallop at the conclusion of the course. 
 The same writer also mentions an instance of a 
 brace of greyhounds coupled together coursing 
 a hare, and killing her at a distance of between 
 three and four miles ; the hare had, of course, 
 considerable advantage in the turns, as the dogs 
 hindered each other in changing the direction. 
 
 It is very desirable that one uniform system 
 of rules and laws should be adopted, and the 
 following are those established at the principal 
 Clubs in the kingdom. 
 
 1 A hare to be coursed with one brace of 
 greyhounds only. 
 
 2. The hare to have four or five score yards 1 
 law before the hounds are loosed from the slips. 
 Q2 
 
342 RULES AND LAWS 
 
 3. The slipper to loose the hounds at a signal 
 from the judge. 
 
 4. The slipper should run a short distance 
 with the hounds, so that they press forward in 
 the slips before he loosens them. 
 
 5. The hare, when found, should be so-ho'd, 
 to attract the hounds' attention to her, and hal- 
 loo 'd gently when started. 
 
 6. A cote is when one hound goes end-way 
 by the other, and turns the hare, for which he 
 is allowed two points. 
 
 7- A turn is reckoned one point; a partial 
 turn or wrench half a point : tripping or jerking 
 one point. 
 
 8. A go-by to be counted two points, half a 
 go-by, unless reckoned in a cote, one point. 
 
 9. If one dog gives the first turn and the 
 other kills, the latter to win. If neither dog 
 turns the hare, the one first leading to covert 
 wins. 
 
 10. If a dog falls in a course when leading, 
 he is to be allowed one point. 
 
 11. A dog killing the hare without advantage 
 from the other, to be considered two points ; but 
 if the hare be turned upon the dog which kills, 
 to be allowed only one point, or no point if from 
 some casual circumstance without merit. 
 
 12. If a dog, from any accidental circum- 
 
OF COURSING. 343 
 
 stance, does not see the hare when slipped, the 
 course to be void unless he be in fault, and 
 then he loses, although the other dog may not 
 turn, or kill the hare. 
 
 13. If a dog loses ground at starting from 
 any cause not his fault, and afterwards gain 
 upon the other, he is to be allowed one point 
 in case the foremost dog gains one, and the 
 hare escapes without any other advantage being 
 obtained. 
 
 14. If a dog come to a stand in a course, he 
 loses any points he may afterwards gain if he' 
 continue the course ; if the points are equal at 
 the end of the course, the dog standing to have 
 it given against him. 
 
 15. A dog refusing to fence, which the other 
 has taken, only to be allowed the points he has 
 made up to the fence ; if he endeavour to fence 
 and cannot, the course to end there ; if the 
 points are equal, the best fencer to win. 
 
 16. If a fence, or other obstacle, prevents the 
 judge from seeing the conclusion of a course, it 
 is to end at the obstruction. 
 
 17. If a dog be ridden-over or disabled, the 
 course to end there ; if done by the fault of the 
 owner of the other dog or his servant, the course 
 to be decided against such owner. 
 
344 f LAWS OF COURSING 
 
 18. Should a fresh hare be started during a 
 course and one dog pursue it, the course to be 
 there ended and decided by the points gained 
 or greater speed shown ; the same if another 
 dog gets loose and joins in the course, unless 
 he belong to the owner of either of the other 
 dogs, and then he is to lose the course. 
 
 19. If a course be equal, any decided supe- 
 riority of speed shown, to give the casting point. 
 
 20. The brace of dogs next to run to be 
 taken by the slipper as soon as he has loosed 
 the preceding ones; but they are not to be 
 slipped at a hare until the other dogs have been 
 taken up. 
 
 21. The judge to give his decision only to 
 the person appointed, without holding commu- 
 nication with any one ; if the owner of either 
 dog interfere before he has given his judgment, 
 the course should be decided against him. 
 
 22. The decision to be given in favour of the 
 dog gaining most points. 
 
 THE END. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Antiquity of hunting 8 
 
 Badgers mischievous 312 
 
 Coursing, description of 339 
 
 laws of 341 
 
 Fox-hunt, description of 162 
 
 changing the fox 190 
 
 Frenchman's opinion of 213 
 
 time of hunting 235 
 
 drawing cover 240 
 
 activity indispensable 260 
 
 maxims 262 
 
 accidents 290 
 
 time of leaving off 293 
 
 Foxes, haunts of 237 
 
 wanton destruction censured 295 
 
 bag-foxes, objections to 301 
 
 directions for treating cubs 305 
 
 caution in buying 308 
 
 digging for 309 
 
 sagacity of 314 
 
 Hare-hunting . , 133 
 
 hounds best suited for 134 
 
 finders 139 
 
 general advice on 147 
 
 shifts and doubles of hares 148 
 
 hare warren 156 
 
 time of leaving off 159 
 
 difference between fox and hare-hunting . . 276 
 Hounds, choice of speed number .... 2736 
 
 feeding 37-53 
 
 management in kennel 38 
 
 breeding 54 
 
 treatment of young 58-74 
 
 naming 62 
 
 list of names 67 
 
346 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Hounds, entering young 76, 92 
 
 instruction of 86 
 
 diseases and remedies ........ 107 
 
 drawing of 178, 232 
 
 casting 192, 251 
 
 discipline 217 
 
 killing sheep 226 
 
 buck-hound 245 
 
 difference of harrier and fox-hound .... 272 
 
 characteristics of fox-hound 274 
 
 necessity of blood to ........ 283 
 
 Hunter, management of 317 
 
 Hunting, theory of 3 
 
 recommended 10 
 
 scent 127 
 
 Huntsman, qualities necessary for 6 
 
 duties of 122, 234, 267 
 
 directions to 184, 264 
 
 merits of 214 
 
 character of 297 
 
 Kennel, general observations on 16 
 
 plan, duties, discipline, &c 17-26 
 
 management 37 
 
 Whipper-in, duties of 123,216 
 
 directions to 184 
 
 merits of 214 
 
 LONDON: 
 Printed by Maurice & Co., Fenchurch Street. 
 
NEW AND USEFUL WORKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 COWIE, JOLLAND, AND CO., 
 
 31, POULTRY, LONDON. 
 
 PALEY'S WORKS, COMPLETE. 
 
 A new Edition, in 5 vols. 8vo. printed in a large and beautiful 
 type, with a fine Portrait, and Life by the Rev. D. S. WAY- 
 LAND, bound in embossed cloth and lettered, only I/.. 5s. 
 
 *** The Publishers were induced to print this work with the view of 
 submitting to the public an edition which could be read with ease and 
 pleasure at a low price, and they now offer it at II. 5s., being little 
 more than is charged for compressed editions printed in small type. 
 
 JAHN'S HISTORY OF THE HEBREW 
 COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 From the earliest times to the destruction of Jerusalem, with 
 a continuation to the time of Adrian. Third Edition, re- 
 vised throughout, and handsomely printed with large type, 
 in one handsome volume 8vo. price 12s. bound in cloth and 
 lettered. 
 
 *** This work of the late Professor Jahn contains the most succinct 
 and critically arranged history of the Jews which is extant ; it exhibits 
 throughout manifest impressions of the same care, diligence, deep 
 research, and sound judgment, which characterize his other treatises." 
 Rev. H. Home's Introduction to the Scriptures. 
 
 DODDRIDGE'S SERMONS, 
 
 On various subjects, never before published, 4 volumes 8vo., 
 handsomely printed in large type, bound in cloth and let- 
 tered, now offered at only 12s., originally published at I/. 16s. 
 
 " The same clearness of thought, unaffected learning, fidelity to the 
 souls of men, and deep and chastened devotion which characterize his 
 other printed Sermons, will be found richly scattered over these pages. 
 Ministers of the Gospel and intelligent private Christians will here dis- 
 cover a mine of spiritual wealth, from which they may be enabled at 
 once to enrich their understanding and their hearts." 
 
 ARABIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS. 
 
 A new and handsome Edition. 4 vols. Foolscap 8vo. Bound 
 in embossed cloth, lettered, only 10s. The same edition, 
 illustrated with 24 spirited engravings, 12s. 
 
EVANS'S TABLES OF DISCOUNT 
 AND PROFIT, 
 
 On a new and comprehensive plan, exhibiting, atone reference, 
 the Discount and net Proceeds of every sum, by the advance 
 of One Penny, from a Penny to Forty Shillings, and from 
 One Pound to One Thousand Pounds, at progressive rates 
 per cent., commencing at One and a quarter, and advancing 
 in that ratio to Fifty per cent., and shewing the gross 
 amount to which any sum must be augmented, to sustain 
 the re-action of any given Discount, without injury to the 
 principal. By JOHN EVANS. The Tenth Edition, to 
 which is now added, Rules applicable to any Rate per cent, 
 above Fifty. Super-royal 4to., price ll. Is. half bound. 
 
 %* The extensive sale this work has experienced, fully proves its 
 utility, and it is confidently recommended to Merchants, Manufacturers, 
 and Tradesmen, as a book by which, not only much time may be saved, 
 but many losses avoided. 
 
 MAJOR'S EDITION OF 
 WALTON & COTTON'S COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 Illustrated with nearly 100 engravings on copper and wood, 
 by first-rate Artists, an Introductory Essay and Notes. 
 Price reduced to only 12s. bound in cloth. 
 
 POPULAR TALES AND LEGENDS OF THE 
 IRISH PEASANTRY. 
 
 With Illustrations. By SAMUEL LOVER, Esq. Second 
 Edition. Price 5s. cloth. 
 
 .LEGENDS, TALES, AND STORIES 
 OF IRELAND. 
 
 Illustrated with ten characteristic engravings. Price 5s. cloth. 
 
 NEW MANUAL OF DEVOTIONS. 
 
 In Three Parts. To which are added some Occasional Prayers. 
 A new Edition, printed in large type, price 3s. 6d. bound in 
 purple roan and lettered. 
 
 GROVES'S GREEK AND ENGLISH LEXICON, 
 
 Comprising all the Words in the Writings of the most popular 
 Greek Authors, in the Septuagint and New Testament. 
 Designed for the use of Schools, and the Under-graduate 
 Course of a Collegiate Education, with an English and Greek 
 Vocabulary. By the Rev. JOHN GROVES. Seventh Edi- 
 tion, considerably enlarged and carefully revised. One 
 thick vol. 8vo. price 15s. bound and lettered. 
 
 %* All the inflections in the New Testament, and many of the more 
 difficult that occur in other Greek writings, are to be found in this work. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, 
 or on the date to which renewed. Renewals only: 
 
 Tel. No. 642-3405 
 
 Renewals may be made 4 days prior to date due. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 SANTA CRUZ 
 
 INTERUSRARY LOAN 
 
 MAY 7 197,3 
 
 a& 1S73 
 
 
 Berkeley 
 
JW316775