324 THE IMAGE OF WAR 



Cropper Hounds, in his book, Inside the Bar, Whyte- 

 Melville has the Milton pack in mind. This is what 

 he says of them : — 



" The hounds are beyond all praise. ... In the 

 best part of a century, a uniform height, an equal 

 excellence, and a family likeness are to be attained 

 with constant perseverance and unlimited expense. 

 From generation to generation the Earls of Castle 

 Cropper have devoted their leisure, their money, 

 and their attention to this favourite hobby. The 

 present successor may well be satisfied with the 

 result. 



^'They are rather large, solemn - looking hounds, 

 extremely rich in colour — the dark and tan, both in 

 dogs and bitches, predominating.^ They have a 

 strong family likeness in the depth of their girth, the 

 width of their loins, and the quality of the timber on 

 which they stand. You might seek through the 

 kennels at the Castle for a summer's day without 

 finding a pair of legs that were not straight 

 and square as a dray-horse's, with feet as round as 

 a cat's. 



'* In hunting they run well together, without flash- 

 ing to the front ; and although other hounds may 

 seem to make their way quicker across a field, the 

 Castle-Croppers keep continuously on over a country, 

 seldom hovering, as it is called, for a moment, and 

 carrying the scent with them, as it were, in defiance 

 of all obstacles. Old Hawk assists them but little, 

 and holloas to them not at all. These hounds are 

 never seen with ears erect and heads up, waiting for 



^ Perhaps it is unnecessary to say it, but dark colouring is not a 

 characteristic of the Milton pack, which has enough light-coloured hounds 

 to look " homely " to one hailing from the Marches of Wales. 



