86 THOUGHTS ON HUNTING 



of young hounds, I shall now take notice of that part 

 of your last letter, where, I am sorry to find, our 

 opinions differ. Obedience, you say, is everything 

 necessary in a hound, and it is of little consequence by 

 what means it is obtained. I cannot altogether concur 

 in that opinion ; for I think it very necessary that the 

 hound should at the same time understand you : 

 obedience, under proper management, will be a neces- 

 sary 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 which he has often felt, I know will 

 stop. I also know that he will commit the same 

 fault again, if he has been accustomed to be guilty 

 of it. 



Obedience, you very rightly observe, is a necessary 

 quality in a hound, for he is useless without it. It is, 

 therefore, an excellent principle 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 torment his hounds mal-a-propos, by forcibly 

 exacting from them what is not absolutely necessary 

 to your diversion. He intends, you say, to enter 

 your young hounds at hare : is it to teach them 

 obedience ? Does he mean to encourage vice in 

 them, for the sake of correcting it afterwards ? I 

 have heard, indeed, that the way to make hounds 



