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 ex- 

 perience, that it is much less difficult to follow 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 

 pretend 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 that 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 that it is not sport ly. I believe that I have not 

 often used it ; and when I have, it has been to dis- 

 tinguish between 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, I 

 must catch him first. 



You say, that I have not enlivened my chase with 



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