THE IIOUSDS. 167 



to spare for giving tongue ; or it may bo tliat the pleasure derived from the 



scent of a fox is not so keen as from their accustomed hare. 



Hark ! hark 1 from yun \allev come musical sounds, 

 'Tis the lun-n of the huntsman, the cry of the hounds. 



One day at Ness, when we had enjoyed a good afternoon through and ahout 

 Haddon wood, a gentleman, who had been at Windle Hill, said to one of us, 

 '* Why don't you train them to make less noise ? I heard the dogs yelping 

 •' all afternoon. Can't you stop them from making all that noise?'"' 



" v'v'/t'Avj- "' are those hounds which give tongue when they are not on the 

 line. Tiiese sometimes form a tail at some distance from the head of the 

 pack, running after them with their heads up, and making as much music as 

 if they had die scent breast high. They will also break out while running to 

 a view away, before getting on the line. This fault is usually stopped at 

 once by the huntsman's rate, ^^'hen hounds are thrown oft", they will often 

 break out into riot in the exuberance of their joy, but they settle down before 

 tliey have gone over half a field, as soon as they get their noses down. 



" S/a'r/i'fs' are a jealous kind of hound, which probably inherit the vice 

 from their progenitors. They are a nuisance to the whips, as they delight to 

 keep well away from the body of the pack, hunting on their own account, 

 apparently in the hope of picking up the line clear of the other hounds, and 

 getting away by themselves, 



'■- J^abi'ifcrs.'' It seems to be impossible to entirely cure beagles of the 



fault of running after rabbits. The cry of "'ware rabbit" is a familiar one 



in our ears. It often comes at a critical stage of a run, when so much time 



is lost in getting the hounds back to their line, and so much confusion is 



caused by the rating and whipping, that it is very difficult to get on to our 



hare again. Many a run has been spoiled by this fault. It may be too 



much to expect that hounds should clearly distinguish rabbits from hares, as 



many beaglers are at a loss in the matter ; but still it may be often noticed 



that son)e hounds will turn after a rabbit in such a shame-faced kind of 



manner, as makes it quite clear tliat they know they are doing wrong. There 



is some iiope, therefore, that the fault is not incurable. Hounds have a 



natuial tendency to chase any animal which runs away from them : as a 



Tipperary man has, if lie sees a head to iiit at it with a slick. 



Greasby, 30th Nov., 1848. This did not prove a very sporting day. Such 

 a profusion of rabbits spoiled the sport. One small hare fell a prey to the 

 hounds, and a dozen rabbits. Four members present, and twenty-two couple 

 of hounds. 



Perhaps there were too many hounds out on this occasion. 



Nor is"t enough to breed, but to preserve 



Must be the huntsman's care. The stanch old hounds, 



Guides of thy pack, tho' but in munbcr few, 



Arc yet of great account ; shall oft untie 



