LETTER XXI 



YOUR huntsman, you say, has hunted a pack of harriers : it might 

 have been better, perhaps, had he never seen one ; since fox-hunting, 

 and hare-hunting differ almost in every particular ; so much, that I think 

 it might not be an improper negative definition of fox-hunting to say, it is, 

 of all hunting, that which resembles hare-hunting the least. A good hunts- 

 man to a pack of harriers, seldom succeeds in fox-hunting : like old hounds, 

 they dwell upon the scent, and cannot get forward ; nor do they ever make 

 a bold cast ; so much are they afraid of leaving the scent behind them. 

 Hence it is, that they poke about, and try the same place ten times over, 

 rather than leave it ; and, when they do, are totally at a loss which way to- 

 go, for want of knowing the nature of the animal they are in pursuit of. 

 As hare-hounds should scarcely ever be cast, halloo'd, or taken off their 

 noses, hare-hunters are too apt to hunt their fox-hounds in the same man- 

 ner ; but it will not do ; nor could it please you if it would. Take away 

 the spirit of fox-hunting, and it is no longer fox-hunting : it is stale small- 

 beer compared to brisk champagne. You would also find in it more fatigue 

 than pleasure. It is said, there is a pleasure in being mad, which only madmen 

 know ; and it is the enthusiasm, I believe, of fox-hunting, that is its best 

 support : strip it of that, and you had better leave it quite alone. 



The hounds themselves also differ in their manner of hunting. The 

 beagle, who has always his nose to the ground, will puzzle an hour on one 

 spot, sooner than leave the scent ; while the fox-hound, full of life and 

 spirit, is always dashing and trying forward : a high-bred fox-hound, 

 therefore, shows himself to most advantage when foxes are at their strongest, 

 and run an end. A pack of harriers will kill a cub better, perhaps, than a 

 pack of fox-hounds ; but, when foxes are strong, they have not the method 

 of getting on with the scent which fox-hounds have, and generally tire them- 

 selves before the fox. To kill foxes, when they are strong, hounds must 

 run, as well as hunt : besides, catching a fox by hard running, is always 

 preferred, in the opinion of a fox-hunter. Much depends on the style in 

 which it is done ; and I think, without being sophistical, a distinction might 

 be made betwixt hunting a fox and fox-hunting. Two hackneys become 

 not racers by running round a course : nor does the mere hunting of a fox 

 change the nature of the harrier. I have also seen a hare hunted by high- 



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