48 THE HUNTING FIELD 



might have happened to any pack ; indeed Beckford 

 relates a somewhat similar accident with his hounds, 

 owing to the falling off of a whipper-in at exercise ; 

 but it is nevertheless perfectly true, that an acquaint- 

 ance with harriers unfits a man for appreciating the 

 discipline requisite for foxhounds. They think too 

 lightly of it. They are like a friend of ours, who 

 being asked if he thought he could edit a Newspaper, 

 replied "he thought any old woman in their work- 

 house could do that." 



Huntsmen are well aware of the feeling of harrier 

 huntsmen, and some of them seem to take a pleasure 

 in selling an innocent a bargain. We once overheard 

 a dialogue between a young scratch pack gentleman 

 Huntsman and a top-sawyer, which concluded by the 

 young one, after sundry sporting and pertinent 

 questions about a draft he had recently got, saying, 

 he "supposed they had never worried sheep." " Oh, 

 no, sir" replied the Huntsman with a shake of his 

 head and touch of his cap, adding, sotto voce, to a 

 friend at his side, "but they d d soon will" 



A " real tool," or " cake," of a Huntsman is a thing 

 one rarely meets with, at least not in a civilized 

 country. We once saw a fellow arrive in a greasy 

 hat, and an old drab great coat over an older 

 red one, on a visit of inspection to another pack, 

 who was pointed out as Huntsman to the Scamping- 

 ton hounds, and very like the thing he looked. 

 They said he was the cleverest hand at drawing on 

 a public house that ever was seen ; no matter 

 whether he had ever been in the country before or 

 not, he could always find them, and his nose did 

 credit to the liquor. As to hunting a pack of hounds 

 he had not the slightest idea. When at length he 

 got straggled up at a check, instead of making a cast 

 at once with promptitude and decision, he would sit 

 on his horse exclaiming, " Ah, dear ! whichiver way 

 can he have gone ? Which way do you think he's 



