4 THOUGHTS ON HUNTING 



fore, to enumerate the heroes of antiquity who were taught the art of hunt- 

 ing, or the many great men (among whom was the famous Galen) who have 

 united in recommending it. I shall, however, remind you, that your be- 

 loved hero, Henry the Fourth of France, made it his chief amusement (his 

 very love-letters, strange as it may appear, being filled with little else) ; 

 and that one of the greatest ministers which our own country ever produced, 

 was so fond of this diversion, that the first letter he opened, as I have been 

 told, was generally that of his huntsman. 1 In most countries, from the 

 earliest times, hunting has been a principal occupation of the people, either 

 for use or amusement ; and many princes have made it their chief delight ; 

 a circumstance which occasioned the following bon mot : Louis the Fifteenth 

 was so passionately fond of this diversion, that it occupied him entirely. 

 The King of Prussia, who never hunts, gives up a great deal of his time to 

 music, and himself plays on the flute. A German, last war, meeting a 

 Frenchman, asked him very impertinently, ' Si son maitre chassoit toujours ? ' 

 * Oui, oui? replied the other ' il ne joue jamais de la flute.' The reply was 

 excellent ; but it would have been as well for mankind, perhaps, if that 

 great man had never been otherwise employed. Hunting is the soul of a 

 country life : it gives health to the body, and contentment to the mind ; 

 and is one of the few pleasures that we can enjoy in society, without pre- 

 judice either to ourselves or our friends. 



The Spectator has drawn with infinite humour the character of a man 

 who passes his whole life in pursuit of trifles ; and it is probable that other 

 Will Wimbles might still be found. I hope, however, that he did not think 

 they were solely confined to the country. Triflers there are of every de- 

 nomination. Are we not all triflers ? and are we not told that all is vanity ? 

 The Spectator without doubt, felt great compassion for Mr. Wimble ; yet 

 Mr. Wimble might not have been a proper object of it ; since it is more 

 than probable that he was a happy man, if the employment of his time in 

 obliging others, and pleasing himself, can be thought to have made him so. 

 Whether vanity mislead us or not in the choice of our pursuits, the pleasures 

 or advantages which result from them will best determine. I fear that the 

 occupation of few gentlemen will admit of nice scrutiny : occupations 



amendment proposed by the learned gentleman be desirable or not, I shall forbear to deter- 

 mine ; taking the liberty, however, to remind him, that as hunting hath stood its ground 

 from the earliest times, been encouraged and approved by the best authorities, and prac- 

 tised by the greatest men, it cannot now be supposed either to dread criticism, or to need 

 support. Hunting originates in Nature itself ; and it is in perfect correspondence with this 

 law of Nature, that the several animals are provided with necessary means of attack and 

 defence. 



* l ' Sir Robert Walpole loved to take company home with him to dinner after a debate : 

 when the letters came in he threw such and such aside, and said they might stay till to- 

 morrow : when he saw the direction of his huntsman he said he would read it immediately.' 

 Walpoliana, by the Earl of Hardwicke. 



